The Warren Hunting Smith Library and Melly Academic Center is home to well over a half a million volumes in all disciplines as well as personal and group study rooms and classrooms.
Volumes -- 387,650
Microform -- 77,510
Print and Electronic Periodicals -- 12,014
Video Titles (DVD and Video Cassettes)-- 8,037
The Hobart and William Smith archives, on the lower level of the Warren Hunting Smith Library, safeguards many primary research materials including the official Colleges archives, rare books, manuscripts, photographs, local history and art works.
Professional reference librarians guide campus researchers to the print and electronic resources best suited to their needs. The reference desk is staffed seven days a week during academic semesters and reference assistance is available throughout the year.
The Voyager online catalog provides Web access to the Colleges' print, video and electronic holdings as well as electronic reserve materials for classes. A wide range of Web-based resources are reached through the library’s Web page, including electronic-text databases, Web sites, direct connections to other library catalogs, and our interlibrary loan system.
Librarians conduct a vigorous program of course-related research instruction in first-year through upper-level courses and for the Honors Program throughout the year. Central to the program is not simply the use of research tools, but our contribution to the larger goal of a liberal arts education: the critical thinking skills necessary to be a life-long learner.
Through membership in the Rochester Regional Library Council, the library's student and faculty researchers can borrow from local library collections in excess of five million volumes. Through the OCLC network, students and faculty members can borrow more than 52 million titles from more than 9,000 libraries. Hundreds of statistical, bibliographic and full-text files can be searched by students, or as necessary, by librarians.
Twelve dual-user computer workstations with access to the campus network are arrayed for workshops and informal teaching by librarians. Students and faculty learn much more efficiently how to access and apply the broad range of electronic tools available, including the Internet, CD ROM indexes and specialized resources essential to particular fields.
An advanced instructional facility allows students and faculty to apply a wide range of audio, video and electronic resources and work interactively with one another at networked terminals. The most advanced facility of its type on campus, the multimedia classroom accommodates classes of 30-50 students.
A specially equipped classroom links HWS in "real time" with faculty and students on other campuses and provides access to other distant resources via the Colleges’ satellite receiver.