University Libraries

The SLU Libraries’ Mission statement sets forth the following key goals:

• prepare students for a lifetime of learning by teaching them not only how to locate information but also how to evaluate the sources retrieved;
• build, maintain and make accessible on-site collections that support the liberal arts;
• expand gateways to scholarly resources beyond the bounds of the campus.

Toward the achievement of the above goals, the SLU Libraries now make available to students and faculty almost 1.5 million items, including over 576,000 books, approximately 417,000 government documents, 1,900 print subscriptions, 597,000 microform units, and 5,000 videos. In addition to these local print and microform resources, the SLU Libraries provide access to the world’s scholarship by means of a Library Web Page that connects St. Lawrence students and faculty to collections and resources available through the World Wide Web. This year it is possible to search more than 123 networked bibliographic databases as well as over 20,000 online full-text periodicals from any location on or off campus. For an online view of the libraries’ services and collections, visit the Library Home Page.

Library Facilities
Even as the SLU Libraries staff have aggressively added scholarly resources in digital form to the already quite substantial print collections, they have also attempted to create physical spaces that support both research and instruction.  Thus, the Owen D. Young Library, renovated in 1999, includes a new electronic classroom and group study space dedicated to the teaching mission of the Library.  Highlights of the six million dollar ODY renovation include the following:

• 3 new electronic classrooms, equipped with workstations and state-of-the-art teaching equipment for hands-on learning; when the classrooms are not scheduled for class use, they are available for student use.
• 14 new Group Study/Seminar rooms available for individual and group use.
• 200 new seats in locations that are "wired" for network and internet access, and in the 2005-2006 academic year, the library went "wireless" on all three levels. The library makes seating available in the Owen D. Young and Launders Libraries to roughly one-half of the student body at any given time.

In addition to ODY, which houses the college’s major collections in the social sciences and humanities, the Launders Science Library (opened in 1994) now provides a home to the science and technology collections at St. Lawrence.  The science library occupies the upper two floors of Madill Hall and triples the space available for science resources and services.  Highlights of this space include many attractive group studies, a seminar room with a projector for online instruction, a map room, and a new Geographic Information System (GIS) lab. Launders is "wireless" as well.

Library Instruction
Research competency is one of the formal curricular objectives of the University.  By the time students graduate, they are expected to be able “to conduct research and think critically.”  Students at St. Lawrence learn how to use Library resources intelligently in the new Bibliographic Instruction/Electronic Classroom located adjacent to the Reference Desk area in ODY and in the Launders Library Seminar Room.  Library instruction is offered in courses across the curriculum and through a variety of general and special offerings.  Assistance is also available to students through a term paper consultation service designed to provide individual help for students working on research papers or doing special projects.

Special Collections
The ODY Library’s wonderful collection of primary scholarly resources may be viewed and used in the beautiful new Frank and Anne Piskor Special Collections Reading Room, located directly across the atrium from the Main entrance of the Library.  Each semester the special collections staff offers instruction to classes from a variety of academic departments and programs, including Fine Arts, French, English, History, Environmental Studies, and Economics.  In addition, the Special Collections area includes a laboratory press that enables students to explore the art and history of books through hands-on activities.

Highlights of St. Lawrence’s Special Collections include the Ulysses S. Milburn Collection of Hawthorniana, the Edwin Arlington Robinson Collection, and the Frank P. Piskor Collection of Robert Frost.  Other special collections include manuscripts devoted to Frederic Remington, the Adirondacks, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and other aspects of Northern New York history.  Access to the Special Collections Web Page.