Collection development is the responsibility of the Head of the Blackader Lauterman Library. Regular contact with bibliographers serving related disciplines is maintained through the sharing of relevant review material. McGill Resources BlackaderLauterman Library is the major location for the University's urban planning collection. The Humanities and Social Sciences Library collects urban and regional sociology, economics, geography, history, communications, social service and other social science and humanities publications relevant to urban planning. The Government Documents Department is an important repository for urban planning material issued by federal, provincial and municipal agencies.
Population statistics are of particular importance.
Material on the environment is collected by the Macdonald Campus Library as well as the Physical Sciences and Engineering Library . PSEL also collects technical publications on energy and transport, both of interest to urban planners. Hitschfeld Environmental Earth Sciences Library and Macdonald Campus Library collect material on the soil sciences. Law Library collects material on the legal aspects of urban planning. Subjects of particular interest to the study of urban planning are municipal law, administrative law, environmental law, social law, zoning and land use law, medical law, civil procedure, etc. as well as a wide range of materials in both public and private law.