3.5 LIBRARIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

Libraries at The University of Alabama provide graduate students with an extensive array of print and virtual online collections that encourage and support a rich and fruitful graduate education. With nearly three million volumes and access to more than 35,000 scholarly journals, the Libraries rank among the top thirty publicly funded U.S. university research libraries in annual expenditures for collections per Ph.D. program.

The University Libraries' website is available 24/7 from any computer, provides all library users with access to integrated collections, services, and information resources. Currently the University Libraries provide access to 30,000 full text electronic journals. In addition, nearly 300 databases including indexes, abstracts, and other reference resources are linked from the Libraries' website. A growing number of electronic books are also being added to the collection.

The Libraries' catalog containing records for nearly three million items in all formats (print, microfilm, archival, serials) can also be accessed via the Libraries' home page. Digital collections from the W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library are linked through a separate catalog on the home page. Links to books and electronic materials on reserve, to Interlibrary Loan services, and to other self-initiated services such as renewing books and requesting materials from the Libraries' Annex are also available. Faculty and students also have access to research collections encompassing more than 600,000 titles from the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) via interlibrary loan.

Subject specialists work closely with graduate students and faculty to assist them in ordering or locating materials and in advising students and faculty who need specialized assistance with research projects. A list of subject specialists is available on the Libraries' website.  Reference services are available in person, over the phone, and online. The University Libraries provide services for users with disabilities. In addition, librarians provide instruction for courses and can assist graduate assistants and faculty with developing course-specific instruction or tutorials. For students needing digital media for class projects or individual papers, expert assistance is provided in the Sanford Media Resource and Design Center in Gorgas Library.

As research has become increasingly interdisciplinary in nature, scholars may find collections of importance in more than one library. There are eight libraries on the University of Alabama campus. Five discipline-related libraries compose the University Libraries system. Three others are attached to their respective administrative units (Health, Law and Maps).

Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, serving the humanities, social sciences, and arts is centrally located on the University Quadrangle. Three other units are located adjacent to their discipline-related teaching areas: Angelo Bruno Business Library, McLure Education Library, and Eric and Sarah Rodgers Library for Science and Engineering. The W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library is located on the second floor of Mary Harmon Bryant Hall. Under separate administration are the Health Sciences Library located in the University Medical Center, the Bounds Law Library located in the Law Center, and the Map Library located in Farrah Hall.

The W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library contains materials related to Alabama and the Deep South (including manuscripts), rare editions, Confederate imprints, pamphlets, maps, archives of the University, and Alabama state publications.

The Libraries serve as the Regional Depository for United States government publications. Through interlibrary loan and document delivery services, the Libraries provide options for obtaining materials unavailable in the University's collections. The University issues each student an Action Card that provides access to library services throughout the University Libraries system. 

The University of Alabama has an academic membership in the Association of Research Libraries, a selective group of institutions emphasizing research and graduate instruction at the doctoral level and supporting large, comprehensive collections of library materials. The University Libraries also hold memberships in the Center for Research Libraries, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, the Southeastern Library Network, the Coalition for Networked Information, and the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA GRADUATE CATALOG

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Update: July, 2009