As of January 2020, the OCAD University Library has changed circulation policies so that undergraduates, special members, continuing studies students, and direct borrowers from other universities can now sign out Reference and Quick Reference books or Periodicals (current or back issues) for a 1 day loan period. Previously, only a short term 4 hour duration was allowed. We hope that this new policy will help our research community make more meaningful use of our remarkable collection of monographs, exhibition catalogues, and other scholarly publications for creative, studio-based research.
Also, after consultation with library staff, we have enacted a significant change to our support of researchers from other universities in Canada. Since 2002, CURBA (Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement) has offered unprecedented access to our national university libraries. As negotiated by librarians at each university in Canada, undergraduates, graduates, staff, and teaching faculty are able to use "direct borrowing" to sign out books on-site from any university in Canada with the notable exceptions of:
OCAD University also established anomalous direct borrowing policies by allowing all faculty, staff, or graduate students from other universities to sign out library print materials; however, only undergraduates from York or Ryerson Universities were able to access direct borrowing privileges. All other undergraduate students from across the country were unable to sign out materials.
To better respond to the open access goals of CURBA, we have removed these strictures and now allow all university researchers to benefit from our art and design intensive print collections. We feel that this new policy will help integrate our unique collections into the wider academic research community, helping to support and inspire creators throughout the GTA and beyond.
