IX.A. General Information
Binghamton University Libraries are the center of the University’s intellectual community, providing a welcoming environment for the creation and management of knowledge through innovative thinking, open inquiry and collaborative partnerships. The Libraries’ website is a gateway to a wide variety of online books, magazines, journals, encyclopedias, databases and a wide assortment of other digital collections that may be accessed from anywhere on or off campus.
The Libraries offer a wide range of services including research consultation and assistance in person and electronically, scholarly communication services, customized instruction sessions and digital preservation. Additionally, patrons can utilize extensive borrowing privileges, course reserves, laptop and technology lending, Interlibrary Loan and document delivery. We are a leader within the SUNY system, offering faceted, relevance-ranked, categorized, visualized and self-tagged search capabilities. Together these services enable the Libraries to provide faculty access to first-rate collections and research opportunities in support of the University mission. Regular news and updates about the Libraries are available through the Libraries blog and various social media channels including Facebook, X and Instagram.
The University Libraries include:
- The Glenn G. Bartle Library which houses collections in the social sciences, arts and humanities, mathematical and computer sciences as well as government documents. The Fine Arts Collection focuses on works relating to art, music, theater and cinema. Special Collections, which contains the internationally recognized Max Reinhardt Archives and Library and the Link Collections, is also housed in Bartle Library. The University Archives, housed in Special Collections, holds materials relating to Binghamton University including publications, photographs, building plans and records of University organizations and departments. The Bartle Library Information Commons, located on the first floor of Bartle Library and second floor mezzanine, has computer workstations with access to online research material, productivity software and scanning equipment as well as student quota printing.
- The Science Library, a separate building conveniently located near the Science buildings, contains materials in the fields of science, engineering, nursing and psychology while housing the University map collection. The Science Library Information Commons, located on the main floor of the Science Library, has 50 computer workstations with access to online research material and productivity software as well as student quota printing.
- The University Downtown Center Library and Information Commons (UDC Library) supports the College of Community and Public Affairs. The UDC Library offers a full range of library services including circulation, course reserves, interlibrary loan and reference assistance. The UDC Library, located on the main floor of the UDC, houses a local collection of books, current periodicals and government documents. Materials from other library locations are available for delivery to the UDC Library. The facility has 36 computer workstations with access to online research material, productivity software, scanning equipment and student quota printing.
- The Library’s Collection Management Facility (the CMF), operating for retrieval as of November 1, 2023, is a high-density storage facility. The CMF creates flexibility for the Library and increases the space available for users on campus. In addition it ensures the preservation of Library collections through conservation-level environmental controls for books and journals, archives and manuscripts, and rare and fragile materials. Materials may be requested and delivered to Bartle, UDC or Science libraries and electronic delivery is available for journal articles and book chapters.
The renovation project on the third floor of Bartle Library is well underway with improvements expected to add several new resources and spaces that will support student and faculty use. The new space will be able to adapt and meet the needs of the campus community as scholarship demands may change over time. Because of the work being done on the third floor of the Bartle Library, collections usually housed in Bartle are either located offsite or on the ground floor of the Science Library. Renovations on the third floor are expected to be completed in Spring 2025.
The Libraries hold more than 3.5 million volumes, including print volumes, government documents and electronic books which are all searchable via the Libraries’ online discovery search tool and catalog. The collections also include over 238,339 electronic and print scholarly journals, 385 databases and over 50,000 print/electronic maps and 150,000 microforms.
Subject Librarians
Subject librarians provide a range of specialized services to faculty and students by focusing on a particular area or discipline. They:
- Serve as liaisons between the Libraries and one or more of the University’s academic departments, programs or schools;
- Provide general reference service and specialized research consultation;
- Initiate the selection and acquisition of materials for the collections; and
- Provide subject-specific instruction in the use of library and online information resources.
Find a subject librarian by subject area or name.
Research Assistance
Librarians provide individualized assistance in locating materials on a topic or using the many online or print resources provided by the Libraries for your research and teaching needs. Email, chat and text research assistance are offered. Email inquiries are usually answered within 24 hours, except on weekends and holidays.
For more information, visit Ask A Librarian.
Instruction Services
Librarians collaborate with faculty, instructors and graduate teaching assistants (TAs) in support of the teaching mission of the University. Our instructional services include:
- Course-specific and general library sessions customized to meet the course goals and student needs. Most sessions are offered in the Bartle Library instruction lab, which allows hands-on active learning;
- Personal research consultations for individuals or small groups of students, faculty or staff;
- Customized online tutorials and websites that can be used via Blackboard or independently.
Borrowing Privileges
Faculty and professional staff may borrow materials for a one-year loan period with a current Binghamton ID card. Bound journals may be circulated for two weeks; current periodicals are due at 5 p.m. on the day borrowed. All books may be recalled immediately if needed for course reserves or if requested by another patron. Faculty and staff are responsible for replacement fees for lost books.
Lost books
Lost book charges are assessed when a borrower declares a book lost on books overdue for more than 30 days and in response to borrower inquiries. Unresolved obligations will be referred to the Office of the Vice President for Administration.
Electronic and Physical Reserves
The purpose of Binghamton University’s Course Reserves department is to aid instructors in delivering course-related materials to students. These materials are added to the Reserves Collection at the request of Binghamton University instructors.
The Reserves Collection consists of both physical and electronic items:
- Electronic reserves refers to items that are uploaded to myCourses by Reserves staff
- Physical reserves refers to items that are circulated at the Bartle Library Reader Services desk and the UDC Library. Each item in the physical Reserves Collection may be checked out for one the following loan periods (dependent upon material type and the requesting instructor’s preference): 2 hour, 3 hour or Next Day.
To place a request, visit here.
Materials are circulated in accordance with the fair use provisions of the United States Copyright Act of 1976. The principle of “fair use” is established in 17 USC Section 107. According to this principle, the reproduction of copyrighted works for certain limited, educational purposes does not constitute copyright infringement.
The following policy guidelines have been established to ensure the efficient processing of reserve requests and to assure conformity with the fair use provisions of the copyright law.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan expands the range of research materials available for scholarship and instruction. Materials not owned by the Libraries may be obtained from other state, national or international libraries. Binghamton faculty, staff and students can submit requests via ILLiad software, accessed from our library home page , using their University PODS username and password.
The Libraries are members of several groups and library consortia which help to facilitate resource sharing among their partners:
For all Interlibrary Loan requests, the Libraries will notify you via email when items arrive. Articles and chapters can be accessed electronically and returnable items, such as books and microfilm, can be picked up at the Bartle, Science or UDC Libraries’ Reader Services Desk during library hours.
Requests are processed within the guidelines of the American Library Association Interlibrary Loan Code and US copyright legislation.
Special Collections
Special Collections consists of rare books, manuscripts and archival records, oral histories, photographs, artwork, maps and plans, audiovisual materials and realia. Diverse subjects spanning several centuries and continents are represented. It is also home to the University Archives.
Notable rare book collections include:
- Items donated by prominent Binghamton attorneys Archibald Howard and George Hinman (chiefly literature and history);
- The Allen Rogg Collection (history of cinema);
- The Herbert Reichner Collection (history of printing and publishing); and
- The William J. Haggerty Collection of French Colonial History.
Significant holdings of interest to scholars include:
- A Latin edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493);
- A first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (1855).
- The archive and library of renowned Austrian-born actor and theatre director/producer Max Reinhardt;
- The Vera Beaudin Saeedpour Kurdish Library and Museum Collection which contains books, journals and newspapers in Kurdish as well as artifacts, photographs and traditional clothing;
- The papers of Edwin A. Link, Jr., local inventor, industrialist and pioneer in aviation simulation, underwater archaeology and ocean engineering, together with the papers of his wife, journalist and collaborator Marion C. Link as well as records from various Link enterprises;
- Papers, books, ephemera and artifacts relating to local history consist of Civil War letters and diaries;
- Papers and records of prominent local individuals, families and businesses, including the Rose Family, David Bernstein and Lamont Montgomery Bowers, the former personal secretary to John D. Rockefeller;
- Records of local organizations like the YWCA and Business and Professional Women’s Club chapters, institutions such as Binghamton General and Wilson Memorial Hospitals;
- Additional medical history collections.
Special Collections has strong holdings in the performing and visual arts and music. In addition to the Reinhardt Archives, an extensive library of books and musical scores, our collections include:
- Materials from Peter Wexler (theatre designer and producer) and Tilly Losch (dancer, actress, artist);
- A large Theatre Collection of 19th and 20th century American and European playbills, playscripts, photographs, posters, books, ephemera and artwork;
- The Frances R. Conole Archive of Recorded Sound which documents the history of recorded performance, especially opera.
- The William Klenz Collection includes the personal papers of well-known composer and former professor of music in Harpur College.
The University and Faculty Archives include:
- Campus publications;
- Photographs;
- Records from administrative and academic offices;
- Recordings and videos of campus events; and
- Faculty papers and books.
Numerous faculty collections include the writings of:
- Distinguished sociology professor Immanuel Wallerstein;
- Literary critic William V. Spanos;
- Playwright Loften Mitchell; and
- Poet Maria Gillan.
Much of the material in Special Collections can be located through the Libraries’ search tool Find It!. Additionally, guides to a number of the collections are available via the Special Collections webpage and ArchivesSpace . An ever-growing range of material is available digitally. For further details about the department and its holdings, visit here.
Preservation
Binghamton University Libraries’ Preservation Department restores, preserves and, through environmental monitoring, protects all collections to ensure their continued access for future generations of students and scholars. State-of-the art preservation techniques are employed in accordance with nationally recognized standards for the preservation and conservation of library and archival materials.
Memberships and Affiliations
The Binghamton University Libraries maintain a variety of memberships that extend access to research materials and services:
- Membership in the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) provides access to the Center’s extensive collection that complements and supplements the collections of the major research libraries of North America. Materials owned by the Center are available by placing orders through Interlibrary Loan. Visit the CRL website for more information.
- Membership in the OCLC Shares Program provides Binghamton University faculty on-site access to other RLG libraries upon presentation of their valid BU faculty ID. Exact privileges may vary from library to library. We recommend calling the destination library before you visit. For more information, visit here.
- Membership in the Inter-university Consortia for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) provides Binghamton faculty, staff, and students with access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction. ICPSR also offers training in quantitative methods to facilitate effective data use.
- Membership in the ACRL Diversity Alliance which represents libraries united in their commitment to increase the hiring pipeline of qualified and talented individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. For more incormation, visit here.
- The Libraries participate in the SUNY Open Access Program. Upon presentation of a valid State University ID card from one’s home campus, a reader is entitled to the same use of the collection, and the same services and facilities, as the library offers its own community, including borrowing privileges.
- SUNYConnect is a joint initiative of the SUNY Office of Library & Information Services and the libraries of the 64 SUNY campuses to create a virtual library for the State University of New York. It is the largest public university library system. In addition to providing access to shared database resources, SUNYConnect offers a combined catalog for all SUNY libraries. SUNYConnect increases the purchasing power and influence of all SUNY libraries.
The Libraries maintains a variety of additional memberships and participates in library consortia for purchasing materials. Current consortial memberships include:
Additional memberships include:
The Libraries are also selective depositories for U.S. Federal and New York State government publications.
IX.B. Food, Drink and Noise Policy
Library policies are intended to ensure an atmosphere that is conducive to academic work. The food and drink policy is to aid in the preservation of library materials and electronic equipment and to ensure a comfortable environment for research and collaboration. For more information about library policies, please see here.
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