The library lies at the heart of Lehman's College's undergraduate and graduate programs, serving as an institution of teaching and learning. Lehman is the home of a newly 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 Teachers 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. In addition, this year the High School for American Studies opened on campus and four New Visions High Schools are underway. The Lehman College 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 college library in the Bronx, the Lehman College Library has a CUNY-wide online book and journal catalog. The library houses two brand new computer laboratories where users access information electronically. It also has special holdings that support scholarship at all levels: