About the FSU Libraries

 

The mission of the University Libraries is to support and enhance the learning, teaching, research, and service activities of the Florida State University by providing organized access to quality information in all formats, promoting information literacy, preserving information and engaging in collaborative partnerships to disseminate ideas to advance intellectual discovery.
In support of this mission, the Libraries' collections contain more than 3 million volumes, with more than 549,000 available as e-books. The Libraries subscribe to more than 78,000 periodicals and serials and more than 600 databases, many of which are available for searching via the Internet. Materials not available at the libraries may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. The library is a member of the

• Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
• Center for Research Libraries (CRL)
• Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL)

Research assistance is offered by professional librarians in person, over the telephone, via e-mail and through live Internet chat sessions. Library and information literacy instruction sessions are available to classes and groups in the Strozier Instruction Lab upon request. Academic departments have designated librarian liaisons that offer resources and assistance customized to each department's needs. University Libraries offers a variety of tutoring and other academic services, including The Learning District, the in-house peer tutoring program made possible by funding from the Student Government Association. The Libraries are committed to offering as many resources to distance learners as possible.

 

We welcome the opportunity to work with high schools and various groups to provide tours and more on an as-need basis. Library tours or special instruction needs to be scheduled at least one week in advance by contacting Jacque Druash (jdruash@fsu.edu ) or 850-645-2164.

Tours are designed to fit the users' needs. They may include Learning Commons, Scholars Commons, Special Collections and Dirac. Groups will be advised on circulation, printing and copying. Tours will average from 5 to 30 minutes depending on the needs of the visitor.

The Florida State University Libraries (www.lib.fsu.edu) include 8 libraries on campus:

• Strozier Library
• Dirac Science Library
• Claude Pepper Library
• College of Music Allen Music Library
• School of Library & Information Studies Goldstein Library
• College of Law Research Center
• College of Medicine Maguire Medical Library
• FAMU/FSU Engineering Library

 

The Special Collections and Archives division of the University Libraries supports and advances research, teaching, and scholarship by acquiring, preserving, and providing access to collections of original manuscripts, rare books, and university archives for use by students, faculty, and researchers worldwide. The Claude Pepper Library and the Heritage Protocol archives are part of University Libraries' Special Collections.

Library materials and services are also available at the FSU Panama City (Florida) campus, as well as at FSU International Programs study centers in London, Florence, and Panama. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, has a library containing art-related research materials as well as a collection of rare books. The entire FSU community can search the University Libraries catalog via its website (www.lib.fsu.edu).

 

 

The Robert Manning Strozier Library, the University's main library, is located strategically in the center of the main campus and occupies seven floors. Its main floor is an undergraduate-focused Learning Commons, while its lower level is a graduate- and faculty-focused Scholars Commons. Its collection includes a wide variety of research materials, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. The library serves as a regional depository for federal and Florida government documents as well as United Nations documents. During the academic year, Strozier is open 24 hours a day from Sunday through Friday. In its technology lab and digital media center, Strozier provides equipment, software, and facilities for listening to, viewing, and editing multimedia materials. Internet-accessible computers with word-processing software, printers, and photocopiers are available throughout the library. The Assistive Technology Lab provides adaptive equipment and software for students with disabilities.

 

 

University Libraries Special Collections has management offices, an Exhibit Room, and a Reading Room in Strozier Library. Its collections comprise more than half a million items. Manuscript collections include Florida political collections, Southern business history, literary manuscripts, and local and regional Florida history. The rare books of Special Collections support a wide variety of disciplines and research interests. The collection includes incunabula, books from small and private presses, first editions, and limited edition works. Notable book collections include Napoleon and the French Revolution, Shaw Childhood in Poetry, Kelmscott Press, Carothers Memorial Rare Bibles, and the works of Lois Lenski. Special Collections, which includes University Archives, Heritage Protocol, and the Claude Pepper Library, welcomes class visits and provides a hands-on learning environment for students. Heritage Protocol maintains the Norwood Reading Room on the second floor of Strozier Library, where rotating exhibits of FSU memorabilia are displayed.

 

 

The Claude Pepper Library, housed on-campus in the Pepper Center, was established in 1985 as the official repository for the Pepper Collection, a unique and multi-faceted collection of manuscripts, photographs, audio/video recordings, and memorabilia by and about U.S. Congressman Claude Pepper (1900-1989).

 

 

The Paul A. M. Dirac Science Library, located in the heart of the Science Center complex, consolidates the University libraries' scientific and technical books and periodicals in one central location. The Library's Web site is located at http://www.lib.fsu.edu/about/fsulibraries/dirac.

 

 

The College of Music Warren D. Allen Library is located in the College of Music and one of the Southeast's major music libraries, contains a collection of recordings, scores, books, and periodicals that support the school's curriculum. The library's Web site is located at http://www.music.fsu.edu/Quicklinks/Music-Library.

 

 

The Harold Goldstein Library, located in the School of Library and Information Studies, contains a collection of professional library science materials and reference materials, as well as juvenile materials and picture books. Visit /for more information.

 

 

The College of Law Research Center has a collection of nearly 500,000 volumes and offers an active program of legal research instruction, an experienced and helpful staff, and extensive collections of law and law-related information. Legal research is complemented by an array of electronic databases, including the LexisNexis and WESTLAW legal research databases. Visit http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/ for more information.

 

 

The College of Medicine Charlotte Edwards Maguire Medical Library provides access to a number of electronic medical databases and a collection of books and journals. It provides 21st century information resources to cultivate physicians who are expert learners, problem solvers and agents of change and provides access to high quality, relevant, and current information in a supportive environment. Visit http://www.med.fsu.edu/library/ for more information.

 

 

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Library is housed on the Ringling Museum Campus in Sarasota, Florida, the largest museum/university complex in the nation. The Library contains more than 75,000 volumes, exhibition and sale catalogs, and more than 100 current periodical titles supporting art-related research. Special collections contain circus history items including John Ringling's original collection of more than 600 books. The library's Web site is http://www.ringling.org.

 

 

The FSU-Panama City (Florida) Library and Learning Center provides computers, e-books, e-journals, and research help. The 6,000 items in its collection of printed books and journals are available at the Gulf Coast State College Library. For more information, please visit http://pc.fsu.edu/QUICK-LINKS/Current-Students/Library-and-Learning-Center. The FSU Panama Branch Library offers services and a collection of over 45,000 items to students at the FSU branch campus in Panama City, Panama. Students and faculty at this location may borrow materials housed at the Tallahassee campus libraries and may access all of the electronic resources the libraries offer. For more information, go to http://www.lib.fsu.edu/panama/.