FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

Leonard Lief Library

The Library serves as an institution of teaching and learning. Lehman is the home of a recently inaugurated Honors College, and has a special Honors College seminar room in the Library. Lehman was recognized by the Policy Center on the First Year of College as an “Institution of Excellence in the First College Year” for its Coordinated Freshman Programs that help students understand the relationship between academic course work and the world of work. The Teacher Education program is the first in the CUNY system, and one of only a few in New York to be accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. The College has flagship programs in Teacher Education, Biological Sciences, and Computer Graphics and Imaging. Lehman has the only CUNY doctoral program in Plant Sciences in conjunction with the New York Botanical Garden. The High School for American Studies recently opened on campus, and four New Visions High Schools are under way. The Leonard Lief Library provides information resources to support this vast array of educational opportunities ranging from materials for promising high school students to college and doctoral students.

The largest publicly supported academic library in the Bronx, the Leonard Lief Library has a CUNY-wide online book and journal catalog. The Library houses two new computer laboratories where users access information electronically. It also has special holdings that support scholarship at all levels:

• Federal Government Documents depository

• Full ERIC microfiche collection

• Bronx community and oral history collection

• CD, video tape and DVD collections with listening booths and monitors 

• Children's literature book collection

Electronic Resources

Electronic databases allow users to quickly locate current information. Selected resources include: Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, EconLit, ERIC, Ethnic NewsWatch, Gale Literature Resource Center, Health Reference Center, Jstor, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Science Direct, and Sociological Abstracts. The CUNY + database, the library catalogue for City University of New York, is available via the web. Lehman's librarians help students and faculty develop skills to search for information pertinent to their studies and research. The capacity to find, evaluate, apply, and synthesize information is the mark of a well-educated person. 

How Friends of the Library Can Help

Friends of the Lehman Library are donors who provide financial support for collections, electronic resources,  and facilities. The rapid expansion of information places increased demands on libraries as the gateway to print, electronic and multimedia information. In the face of escalating costs of library materials, and the fiscal crisis faced by the City and State, support of Friends is vitally important. By making a minimum gift of $50, you can support the Library and have library privileges. Larger gifts provide greater support for information resources used by students and faculty.

Benefits for Friends

Direct benefits to Friends include:

• Access to a comprehensive college library

• Research assistance by reference librarians

• Book borrowing privileges

• Announcements of Books Sales and special events

• Library newsletter

Updated November 13, 2009