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The Library Collection – what do we have and how you use it
The Library Catalogue – accessing the library collection online
Library Loans – what can be borrowed, how to borrow it, and what happens when loans are overdue
Other Library Services – photocopier, public computers, audiovisual machines
Location, Hours and Contact Information
The material in the ACT Library covers psychosocial topics that are of concern to prevention education and support services for people living with, at risk, and affected by HIV/AIDS. Psychosocial topics include mental, emotional, behavioural, social, legal, political, and religious concerns, among others. We also have HIV/AIDS related biographies, personal accounts, fiction, and poetry. We do not focus on treatment information at the ACT Library, though we do have some basic treatment materials available.
Most of the resources in our collection have a consumer health focus. The language, level of detail and subject matter of consumer health information is directed towards the average person, or the patient as opposed to the doctor. You do not need specialized medical knowledge to understand consumer health information. We do have some journals and textbooks that have a specialized medical focus, and we also have resources that are directed towards service providers like counsellors, education workers and people in the public health field. You may need to know a little about these fields to be able to best use these resources.
Our collection contains material in different formats. This includes printed material like books and periodicals (journals, magazines and newsletters), audiovisual material like videos, audiocassettes, and DVDs, CD-ROMs and online web resources. We also have a vertical file collection on a wide variety of subjects that you can browse within the library.
Most of the material in the library collection is in English. To support the Portuguese speaking services offered at ACT we have some books and videos in Portuguese. To support ACT’s Employment ACTion program we also have employment related books on resumes, interviews, career planning and job hunting.
The ACT Library is open to the public. Anyone can visit the library and use the collection. You do not need an appointment.
The Library subscribes to periodicals that relate to the subjects in our collection (see the What do we have in the collection? section for more information on subjects). Our periodical collection includes both journals that are published by the academic community for people working in the HIV/AIDS field, and periodicals that are published by AIDS information providers, like other AIDS service organizations, for people living with HIV/AIDS.
You can view a list of our periodical subscriptions online by choosing the Periodicals List link on the Library homepage on the ACT website. We also receive newsletters from other HIV/AIDS related organizations. Some of these are listed on the periodicals list, and some unlisted titles can be found in our vertical files (the Organization Files).
The Library’s Poster Archive contains HIV/AIDS related posters from the 1980’s to the present. We collect both the posters produced by ACT and the posters produced by other organizations. The posters are mainly about education and awareness, though we also have some event related posters.
The Poster Archive is available for public use, though please be aware that the posters are a unique collection and should be handled with care. The posters cannot be removed from the Library.
If you want to view the poster collection you need to come to the Library Office and ask a librarian to open the poster drawers for you. If you want to access the poster collection in the evenings when there is no librarian in the office please call ahead so that we can make arrangements for the poster drawers to be opened for you by the evening Service Access Coordinator.
No. The Library catalogue is available online through the ACT website. You can get to it from any computer that has Internet access. See the more search tips and help link at the bottom of the “Search Tips" box on the catalogue’s search screen for more information on doing a library catalogue search.
No. You can search for books in the online library catalogue, but you need to come to the library if you actually want to read the books themselves.
You can also search for selected articles from the journals we subscribe to through our library catalogue. We started adding journal article records to our library catalogue in 2002, so if you are looking for articles published before 2002, we will only have a small number of records.
Some books and journals are available for free online by the organization that publishes them. If an item is available with free access online, there will be a link to the online version in the library catalogue record for that item.
Anyone can borrow material from the library. You do not need a library card. We will, however, ask you to fill out a sign-out form. You will also be asked to show some ID, and leave us some contact information so that we can contact you if the borrowed material is not returned.
All videos and audiocassettes can be borrowed from the library. A small part of our book collection and some CD-ROMs can also be borrowed.
When you look at a book on the shelf or in the library catalogue, a circulating book will be identified by the CIR abbreviation in the call number (eg. CIR 616.9792 WOM ALL 2003). Books with REF or GEN in the call number cannot be signed out. The books in our Portuguese language collection with PCC in the call number can be signed out.
Books can be signed out for 7 days.
Videos and audiocassettes can be signed out for 2 days.
Most CD-ROMs can be signed out for 2 days. CD-ROMs that accompany circulating books can be signed out for 7 days. CD-ROMs that accompany reference books cannot be signed out.
All loans can be renewed once. You can renew a loan in person, by phone, or by e-mail. See below for contact information.
Please return all borrowed material on time so that other library users can access the material you have signed out. The ACT Library is a shared, community resource and we rely on all library users to help us keep the collection accessible to everyone.
If your loan is not returned on time, the library will give you overdue reminders using the contact information you provided when you signed out your loan.
If a loan becomes three weeks overdue, you will not be able to borrow any additional material until all your overdue items are returned. You can continue to use the library on-site, but you will not be able to sign out anything for use outside of the library.
If you are unable to return your loan for health-related reasons, please let the library know so that we can consider accommodations for your situation.
If you cannot return your loan because your overdue material was lost or stolen, please let the library know. You will be able to borrow material again if your overdue material was lost or stolen, but only after you have told the library about the loss or theft. The ACT Library does not charge fines for lost material, but we will accept a donation to cover the cost of missing material if it is voluntarily offered by a library user.
If you have still not returned your overdue material after one year, you will be able to borrow material again after the year is over, but a restriction may be placed on your next loan at the discretion of the librarian. The restriction would remove the three week overdue grace period. This means that if your new loan becomes one day overdue, you will not be able to borrow any additional material again until all your overdue items are returned.
We would like the library collection to remain accessible and available to everyone, and encourage all library users to use the collection responsibly. Please note that we may restrict the borrowing privileges of library users with repeated late, unreturned, or lost loans. If you have any concerns about your borrowing privileges, please feel free to speak to a librarian.
Yes. There is a public photocopier in the Access Centre, where the library is located. Photocopies are 10 cents a page.
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Yes. There are three public computers in the Library. All of the computers have Internet access and are attached to a printer. Printing is 10 cents a page.
The public computers support ACT’s programs and services and are provided for the use of ACT’s clients, volunteers, and library users. The computers are not available for general recreational use. If you are not a client or volunteer and are using the computers for recreational purposes, you may be asked to discontinue using the computers in this way. Please ask the Library for a copy of the Public Computer Guidelines pamphlet if you would like additional information on using the public computers.
Yes. The Library has a public TV/VCR and DVD player that you can use to watch the videos and DVDs in our collection. Unfortunately we do not have a public tape player to use with the audiocassette collection at this time.
If you would like to use headphones with the TV/VCR, you can sign out the headphones that are available in the Library Office. You will be asked to provide some contact information when you sign out headphones so that we can contact you if the headphones are not returned.
- 399 Church Street, 4th floor - Toronto, ON - M5B 2J6
- The Library is located in the Access Centre, which is on the 4th floor of the ACT offices.
- Monday - Thursday: 10am to 9pm (Librarian available until 6pm)
- Friday: 10am to 5pm
- Weekends: Closed
- Or visit our library catalogue online any day, any time: www.actoronto.org/library
- Drop in and pay us a visit!
- Send us an e-mail: library@actoronto.org
- Give us a call: 416-340-8484, ext. 303
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