Library System

Director of Libraries: Jay Schafer
Hours of Opening (a recording): 545-0414
Reference and Information: 545-0150
Circulation Office: 545-2622

Website: www.library.umass.edu

The Library System provides access to an extensive collection of electronic services and resources, which are available 24 hours a day through its Web site, www.library.umass.edu. The campus libraries are the W.E.B. Du Bois Library, the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library, and the Music Reserve Lab. Library staff members in each location provide research assistance to users. In addition, the libraries offer students individual and group study spaces, computers, and access to well over 5.8 million items, ranging from books, magazines, and journals to newspapers, maps, musical recordings, and government documents. More than two million items in the libraries are in microformat. A current UCard, the University photographic I.D., serves as a library card.

The Learning Commons, centerpiece of the Du Bois Library’s 2008 renovations, is a central gathering place for studying, engaging in research, and learning in collaborative, technology-rich settings. In addition to reference and research assistance, students have access to technical support, writing assistance, advising, and tutoring.

Reference librarians provide information about the library system and the use of its collections and services. They offer instruction in using electronic resources and developing research strategies through class sessions, workshops, and individual appointments. A virtual reference service provides round-the-clock reference librarian assistance in real time via the Web.

The W.E.B. Du Bois Library is the location for most reference materials, and the book and periodical collection in the social sciences and humanities. It also houses Special Collections and Archives, and the Law, Government Documents, Maps, and East Asian Collections. The reserve reading collection, audio-visual reserve materials, and music listening facilities are also located in Du Bois Library.

Materials in the sciences are located in the Integrated Sciences and Engineering Library, tel. 545-1370, on the second floor of the Lederle Graduate Research Center. The Music Reserve Lab, with listening facilities, is located in the Fine Arts Center and provides access to recordings, scores, books, and videos assigned for music classes.