Reimagining our library for today’s students

Help us transform the heart of our heritage building!

Since 1989, Dawson College has been housed in the former mother house of the Congrégation de Notre Dame. The building was originally built in the early 20th century and is an official Quebec heritage site.

The main heritage feature of the College is the library, which was originally a chapel. Dawson’s library is treasured by our students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

The library occupies the former Chapel and two full wings of the sixth floor, spanning the entire width of the building. It has always been an important space where students can come to study in peace, or increasingly, gather with classmates to work on group projects.

The Next Phase

While the library is beautiful, it is frozen in time. Renovation is needed to restore the Chapel to its full splendour, update the infrastructure to meet current technological standards, and respond to the changing needs of students.

This upgrade would include: modernizing the layout and furniture; expanding the electrical and computer network infrastructure (including charging and docking stations); installing lighting appropriate for reading; adding trees, plants, and natural features; and working on the ventilation and heating/cooling systems to make the library comfortable for students in all seasons.

A renewed library would be a vibrant centre of well-being for the community and provide students with the tools and spaces they need to study and collaborate effectively, and to reach their full potential throughout their time at Dawson.

Your support will make a difference

To accomplish this, the College requires significant funding that is beyond anything the Government of Quebec can provide.

Any renovations to the Chapel will need careful, long-term planning. We must follow strict guidelines and work with local historical associations to preserve its essential features, because it is a heritage space.

We have more flexibility on the library’s sixth-floor, and Dawson is beginning to think about what a phased-out approach to renewing the library could look like.

This project will only be possible if partners and friends from the broader community join our efforts to help the College.

Supporting the library is a way to boost an institution that is dear to many Quebecers, is part of the fabric of Montreal’s Anglophone community , and that has always excelled at preparing young people to contribute to Quebec society and beyond.