Libraries
The Mississippi State University Library System is composed of the Mitchell Memorial Library (Main Library) and the Bob and Karen Luke Library (college of Architecture, Art, and Design), the College of Veterinary Medicine Library, the Jackson Design Center Library and the Phil Hardin Foundation Libraries (MSU – Meridian College Park Campus and the Riley Campus).
The University Libraries include a collection of over 2,000,000 volumes and over 100,000 journal/serial titles. Including print and electronic formats. The Libraries regularly receive many of the publications of leading universities and scholarly societies. The Library is a selective Government Document Depository and United Nations Depository. The Libraries provide a full complement of full-text journals as well as scholarly journals in electronic format and accessible remotely from offices and dorms on campus as well as at home and from a distance off campus. Through the Libraries web page, patrons have access to a wide variety of databases and full-text journals. The Libraries provide a full range of individual reference services including customized instruction sessions, one-on-one consultations and virtual reference services. Providing services and resources to distance education students is a priority on campus with growing online degree options.
The resources of the Special Collections Department include materials of research value on the local, state, regional and national levels. Among the valuable documentation in the Archives of the University are papers of the university’s presidents and other officers, college, division and departmental records, faculty papers, records of committees and university related organizations. The Manuscripts Division includes many significant collections, especially in the areas of journalism, civil rights, agricultural, and political history. Among the most important are the Tuner Catledge Papers, Hodding and Betty Werlein Carter Papers, Mississippi Republican Party Papers and the Delta and Pine Land Papers. The Mississippiana Collection contains significant works about Mississippi and by Mississippi authors and a large rare book collection. The Rare Book Collection houses, preserves, and protects thousands of rare and diverse volumes, and makes them available to researchers. Through the years, MSU Libraries has purchased or received donations of many important, historic and valuable books. The Congressional and Political research Center houses the papers of Senator John C. Stennis, Congressmen G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, David Bowen, Charles Griffin, Mike Espy, Chip Pickering, and Marsha Blackburn.
The MSU Libraries is also the home of the Ulysses S. Grant Association and the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library. The Grant Library along with its vast collection of materials and resources by and about U.S. Grant is one of only five academic institutions that have a Presidential Library on their campus.
Mitchell Memorial Library is the home of the Charles H. Templeton, Sr., Music Museum, John Grisham Room and the Stennis/Montgomery Room. The Templeton Museum showcases a vast collection of music instruments, sheet music and recordings. The John Grisham Room showcases materials found in the MSU alumnus’ collection and features an event space use for special events. The Stennis/Montgomery Room showcases memorabilia from U.S. Congressional leaders Senator John C. Stennis and Congressman G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery.
The Library provides over one hundred computers for students in the Computer Commons Lab and Research Services Department. Students who want to use the sound capabilities of the Internet may plug their own headphones into headphone jacks on the PC’s and MAC’s. The Lab also offers two laser printers and a color laser printer. The Library’s Computer Commons Lab is open until 1:45 a.m., Sunday through Thursday and until 7:45 p.m. on Friday and until 5:45 p.m. on Saturday.
The Instructional Media Center (IMC) offers professional consultation, a state-of-the-art multimedia lab, and an environment essential for learning about new technologies for teaching and research. The IMC Lab offers state-of-the art hardware and software, in an environment conducive to individual and group project work. The Lab, which features 28 new PCs and four MACs, is always staffed by professionals or highly-trained lab assistants. The Lab offers the latest software including Adobe Creative Suites, Microsoft Office, ArcGIS, MathCAD, MATLAB, Camtasia, SketchUp, Snagit, SAS, MovieMaker, Finale, Audacity and much more. The Lab also has scanners, music composition stations and video capture stations. High-end color printing, wide-format printing and laminating services, 3D printers and a 3D scanner are also available for students and faculty to use. The IMC also provides regularly scheduled workshops on a wide variety of software applications including the Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Suite, and many emerging technologies. Teaching faculty can partner with IMC professional staff to conduct workshops specifically geared toward their course objectives. The IMC also checks out equipment to students, faculty and staff. Equipment available for checkout includes laptops, digital cameras, video cameras, projectors, and cassette recorders.
The Libraries, a charter member of the Southern Library Network (LYRASIS), hold memberships in the American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), EDUCAUSE, EPSCPR/ESIG libraries, CNI and CLR, and was a founding member of SPARC. The Libraries are one of five supporting regional libraries within the National Agricultural Library Aquaculture Library Network, established to link the research and extension activities of the Regional Research Centers with the Network. The Main Library plays a major role in Mississippi’s statewide consortium MAGNOLIA (Mississippi Alliance for Gaining New Opportunity through Library Information).