Books

The library houses a collection of more than 130,000 volumes including extensive holdings in theology, biblical studies, missions, pastoral theology, history, Islamics, music, English literature, behavioural science, and business. 

The library also has access to over 350,000 e-books to support our courses and physical collections. Both physical books and e-books can be accessed by searching the library's catalogue. 

Search Catalogue

Periodicals & Journals

The library subscribes to more than 97,600 e-journals and 112 paper magazines and journals. In the latter case, back issues are either bound or in microform. The physical periodical collection is available for in-library use only, but students may copy ($0.10/page) or scan (no charge) articles using the library’s photocopier or, in the case of microforms, reader-printer (copying only, $0.15/page). The bulk of the library's journals (e-journals) can be accessed either through the catalogue search, or through databases by subject through the link below. 

Journal Databases by Subject

ATLAS for Alumni

Google Scholar

Reference Collection

The library’s extensive reference collection of more than 4,000 volumes includes dictionaries, handbooks, encyclopedias, atlases, and duplicate copies of the major biblical commentary series. Reference volumes do not circulate.

Audiovisual Media

The collection includes more than 500 videos and DVDs and more than 1,600 sound recordings. These media are available for two-week loan.

Oversize Collection

To facilitate reshelving the library places any book taller than 28.5 cm. in a special oversize collection. Such volumes are designated “oversize” in the catalogue. The oversize collection is housed adjacent to the reference collection. Oversize items may be borrowed on two-week loan.

Special Collections & Archives

The library has a specialized research collection in the history of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and the Church of the Nazarene.

The Ambrose Archives document the history of Ambrose University and its predecessors. The Archives also serves as the official archives of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada and the Church of the Nazarene in Canada.

C&MA Resources

Ambrose Archives

Chinese Resources

The library houses a collection of theological books in Chinese (catalogued).

Chinese Language Collection

Newspapers

Access back issues of prominent British and North American newspapers. Coverage extends mostly from the 19th to the 21st centuries.

See British and North American Newspapers

• 19th Century North American Newspapers
• Associated Press Collections Online
• British Newspapers I-V
• Burney Collection of 17th/18th Century Newspapers
• Canadian Newsstream
• Daily Mail Historical Archive 1896-2004
• Financial Times Historical Archives 1888-2010
• Illustrated London News Historical Archive 1842-2003
• Independent Digital Archive 1986-2012
• New York Times (1851-2008) with Index (1851-1993)
• Sunday Times Digital Archive 1822-2006
• Telegraph Historical Archive 1855-2000
• Times Digital Archive 1785-2008
• Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive 1902-2009

Other Recommended Libraries

We recommend the following libraries to find other resources outside of the Ambrose library:

• University of Calgary Library
  • Ambrose students and employees are welcome to borrow directly from U of C libraries with their Ambrose ID cards. Any materials borrowed from U of C may be returned to Ambrose Library; we will send them back to U of C on your behalf.
• Calgary Public Library
  • Sign up for a free Calgary Public Library card to take advantage of their resources, services, and programs.
• WorldCat
  • Search libraries across the world to see which libraries have titles in their collections.