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The Leonard Lief Library

Named for the founding President of Lehman College, the Leonard Lief Library is a state-of-the-art research facility housed in a modern, four-story building. The collections, library faculty and staff, and programs support Lehman's undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Reference librarians provide research support to students, faculty, and visitors, and offer bibliographic instruction. In addition to the Reference Desk and instructional support, library faculty is available by appointment for individual consultation.

The library website [http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/library/] is a dynamic information portal with links to the CUNY+ library catalog, nearly 200 online databases, numerous electronic journals, plus recommended authoritative research websites. These electronic resources are available to the Lehman community both onsite and off-campus. An open stacks book collection of 682,848 volumes is supplemented by a microfilm collection and growing multimedia holdings. The Library is a designated Federal depository for government documents, open to community members by appointment.

CUNY students and faculty may borrow books from all CUNY libraries, and Interlibrary Loan services are available to faculty and graduate students. A continually updated Reserve collection includes textbooks, journal articles, and course materials.

Library collections and services include the following

  • Laptops, iPads, and eReaders may be borrowed at the Circulation Desk

  • State-of-the-art laboratory classrooms, equipped with audiovisual technology and computer resources, are used for research training by library faculty. These open labs provide students with Internet access and academic program software.

  • The Access and Technology Center, located on the second floor, provides assistive equipment and software for students with special needs.

  • The Graduate Research Room on the first floor contains computer resources reserved for this special constituency.

  • The Education collection, supporting the School of Education, holds journals, K-12 curriculum materials, a special instructional collection of children’s books, as well as computer access.

  •  The Periodicals unit on the Concourse level contains current print journal titles, bound volumes, and microfilm equipment.

  •  Special Collections encompasses College records, rare books, digital resources, and the Bronx Institute Archives [local oral histories, books, atlases, photographs, and documents].

  • A limited number of Group Study Rooms are available for small student groups.

The Library publishes a newsletter, prides itself on the active scholarship of its faculty, and offers Readings Series, exhibits, lectures, and film screenings to Lehman and the surrounding community. We regard ourselves part of the Bronx, international library, and global communities.