Carleton University Library

For as long as I can recall, Carleton’s library has been under construction. Ok I’m exaggerating– for the past 3 years I’ll say.
Well, where there’s a need there’s a wait. And as you can see by the recent pic, it’s coming together quite nicely, albeit slowly. The interior is still a sham– good luck finding anything and don’t expect comfort or quiet. While the exterior is a vast improvement, it sort of fails as a library of any kind right now. You are lucky to locate a stapler, it is tragically understaffed in the summer, most of the best research books I look for have to be ordered or purchased online… Just. A. Mess.
I RECOMMEND: saving yourself a trip and checking online resources beforehand, incl. what’s available at CU, affiliated libraries or otherwise.
A TIP: Some of this feedback is department-​specific so take with train of salt (I’m in English/​Comparative Literatures).

The Carleton University Library, or more specifically, the Maxwell MacOdrum Library, was, hands down, my most valuable resource when I was a student there.
There are five floors full of material. There are books, newspapers, magazines, journals, government documents, archives, manuscripts, data and research material, CDs, DVDs, and many other types of media, including digital files. There are floors and sections of literature with a very great selection, but, in my opinion, much of the material here is used for something course-​related. By that I mean students will raid the library to find statistics, articles in peer-​reviewed journals, class readings, theses, and anything else they need to complete assignments, take exams, or for more clarification on course content. I was all about their online journals — I took full advantage of this great resource! It’s fast and easy to do searches for the articles and within the articles themselves, and even better when the weather is terrible out and you’d rather stay in and still do research.
If you still can’t find what you’re looking for here or through their website for files digital format, you can always take advantage of their inter-​library services, which allow you to borrow material from other libraries, like Ottawa U, for instance.
The library also has study spaces and group study rooms, individual tables and chairs on each floor, photocopy machines, computer labs, and even a self-​checkout machines. If you need to talk a little louder or want to have more casual discussions while studying, you can try to grab a table at tunnel level.
Because the library right in the heart of the Quad on campus, it’s always rammed with students. There is a café that sells coffee, tea, sandwiches, and snacks. It also has tables and couches, generally with every seat already taken but another student cramming for something.