Reference Department

Reference Department staff help library users locate information and research material.
The Library Service Desk on the first floor is the first stop for those who need assistance in learning what resources are available and how to use them. The Library Service Desk will refer research questions to Reference Department staff who are "on-call" all hours the library is open. During the regular semester a librarian is on duty until 10:00 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and a student worker is available  from 10:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. Check out this page for more ways to contact the Reference Department for assistance.

Reference librarians give library tours and workshops on information resources. Faculty may invite a reference librarian to explain and demonstrate sources of  interest to a particular class.  An electronic classroom with 30 computers is available in the library for this purpose.  For more information see Classroom Support for Faculty.

The Reference Department maintains the Government Documents Collection as well as the Reference Collection.  Reference books include:  almanacs, biographical information, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, handbooks, maps, phonebooks, research tools, statistics, and style guides. They are shelved on the first floor.  Many electronic resources are also available.