Library Mission and Collections

The services and resources of the CAMH Library support and enhance the Centre's multidisciplinary research and clinical programs, as well as its educational mandate and health promotion initiatives. As an important contributor to the Centre's provincial role, the Library provides services to professional communities and to the public of Ontario for educational purposes and informed decision making in addiction and mental health related issues. The Library is an active player in cooperative programs, and takes a leadership role in local, national and international resource and information sharing initiatives.

The CAMH Library holds comprehensive collections in mental health, gambling and alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD), building upon the collections of the former Addiction Research Foundation (ARF) Library, the Farrar Library of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry and the Queen Street Mental Health Centre, Health Sciences Library. The collections consist of books, journals, reprints, research reports, government documents, videos and electronic resources. Scope is international and historical in core areas. Ontario and other Canadian materials including laws and government and NGO reports are also a focus of the collections. Special collections include a historical temperance collection. The Library is committed to increasing the Virtual collections, yet continues to maintain and build on print resources.