Vanier Library celebrates 60 years

It’s a big year for anniversaries at Concordia. As the university celebrates its 50th, the Vanier Library is marking 60 years. Vanier Library was part of Loyola College when it opened on October 27, 1964, and it has held some key collections and resources for students, faculty and staff over those six decades.

Vanier Library is named after Major-General the Right Honourable Georges Philias Vanier, who was a distinguished lawyer, soldier and diplomat. He also served as the Governor General of Canada from 1959 to 1967. Vanier was a Loyola graduate (class of 1906) and the recipient of the first Loyola Medal in 1963.

The three-storey brick building was built to accommodate 600 library users and house approximately 150,000 volumes. An article written for the autumn 1964 issue of The Loyola Alumnus describes some of the designated spaces of the new library: “Uncluttered and functional, the library has space for 150,000 volumes and features individual study-booths, seminar class areas, typing rooms, lounges and a staff kitchen.”

A press release issued on October 22, 1964, describes the library as “the city’s newest and, by far, the most modern.” The addition of Vanier Library was an important milestone in Loyola College’s history. Its objective was to support the development of college students by providing the best through books. The then-president of Loyola College, Reverend Patrick G. Malone, expressed a similar sentiment in his remarks: “The quality of university work is directly proportional to the quality of its library holdings.”

The building was constructed to accommodate an eventual expansion. In December 1989, Concordia inaugurated an extension to the building, which doubled the shelf capacity and seating.

‘Helping to tell stories that might not otherwise be known’

Among the unique collections at Concordia Library are the holdings of Special Collections and Archives. Located on the first floor of Vanier Library on Loyola Campus, this unit preserves and provides access to a diverse collection of rare books, special materials and archival documents that require special handling due to their fragility, unusual format, rarity or uniqueness.

Concordia’s students and faculty, as well as members of the wider community, can consult more than 200 archival fonds and collections and more than 12,000 rare books and periodicals. Materials preserved in the Special Collections and Archives are non-circulating and available for consultation in the library’s Special Collections Reading Room during its opening hours.

Amy Buckland, university librarian, notes that Vanier Library is an essential resource on Concordia’s Loyola campus.

“The library’s archival and special collections tell the stories of Montrealers past and present. The relationships we build through community partnerships support our student’s future success and bring new opportunities for research,” Buckland says.

Special Collections and Archives acquires materials in several areas, including Canadian and LGBTQIA+ literature, spoken word, jazz and improvised music, counterculture and avant-garde production in Quebec, community and citizen action, Black history and community, and Irish literature and history.

Importantly, the library preserves and provides access to a growing collection of archives documenting the histories and contributions of Montreal’s Black communities. Notable archives in this area include those of the Black Theater Workshop, the Black Studies Center and the Negro Community Centre/Charles H. Este Cultural Centre, as well as the archives of activists, scholars, educators, artists and photographers.

The arts are another significant area for the library’s Special Collections and Archives. Archival and published materials related to the histories of artists, artist-run centres and art galleries in Montreal, including articule, La Centrale galerie Powerhouse and OPTICA, are preserved at Vanier Library.

Alexandra Mills is head of Special Collections and Archives. She notes that the department has grown significantly in the past decade. Between 2014 and 2024, archival collections preserved by the library have increased by 690 per cent. Correspondingly, so has their user base, Mills says.

“Special Collections and Archives staff work with an ever-expanding number of Concordia students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, faculty, community groups and external researchers and scholars, providing access to the important collections in the library’s care,” Mills adds.

“The archival and special collections preserved at the Concordia Library are an invaluable resource that provide insight into the histories and contributions of individuals and communities, helping to tell stories that might not otherwise be known by the wider public.”

Learn more about Concordia’s Vanier Library and its Special Collections and Archives.