Libraries
The Mississippi State University Libraries is composed of the Mitchell Memorial Library (Main Library), the Old Main Academic Center, 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 Libraries provide a full complement of full-text journals as well as scholarly journals and online databases available online accessible from offices, dorms and from off campus. The Libraries provide a full range of individual reference services including customized instruction sessions, one-on-one consultations and e-mail and online chat 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 University Archives 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 authors John Grisham and Neely Tucker, Turner 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 Division collects, houses, preserves and provides access to thousands of rare and diverse volumes. 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 six academic institutions that have a Presidential Library on their campus. In 2017, the MSU Libraries became the home of the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana and Civil War Library. These collections contain rare and valuable memorabilia, priceless artifacts, signed documents, and other original and one-of-a-kind items related to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. The Williams Collections and the Grant Collections are housed and showcased in a new facility which opened in 2017.
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 used 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. These computers provide students with access to a wide variety of software needed for the academic career in including Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite and many others. The Lab provides color and black and white printing capabilities as well. 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 Digital Media Center offers professional consultation, a state-of-the-art multimedia lab, and an environment essential for learning about new technologies for teaching and research. The Digital Media Center offers state-of-the art hardware and software, in an environment conducive to individual and group project work. The Lab, which features 32 new PCs and four MACs, is 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, and virtual and mixed reality hardware and software 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 Digital Media Center 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 the staff to conduct workshops specifically geared toward their course objectives. The Center also checks out equipment to students, faculty and staff. Equipment available for checkout includes laptops, digital cameras, video cameras, projectors, projector screens and a variety of tools. The Libraries hold memberships in the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), EDUCAUSE, Coalition for Networked Information and Center for Research Libraries , 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).