Directions:

Location:

Mary Church Terrell Main Library
148 W College St. Oberlin, OH 44074-1545

Parking:

The main visitor lot is the east Service Building lot, and the south row of the Carnegie Building lot for visitors to offices within that building.

Search Tools

Summon

Summon provides access to millions of sources of all types (books, articles, audio, videos, images, etc.) on nearly any subject. Summon searches many, but not all, Oberlin College Libraries resources; comprehensive research should include subject databases. It searches the full text of some, but not all, Oberlin books, including books that Oberlin only owns in print.

If you are looking for a specific book, film, or journal, use OBIS, our catalog. If you are looking for a specific journal article, use the Journal Finder. Summon also includes the collection of the Allen Memorial Art Museum as well as materials from other research centers and open access repositories.

Databases A-Z

The Databases A-Z list provides a complete alphabetical list of searchable databases accessible to you through the Oberlin College Libraries. The databases range from those that cover multiple subject areas, e.g. JSTOR or Web of Science, to more narrow research topics, e.g. SOCIndex.

They contain both citations and full text for ebooks, peer reviewed journals, newspapers, magazines, data sets, images, music, primary documents, and more. You will want to use them for finding credible and scholarly materials required for your college research.

If you are unsure which databases are best for your research topic try using the subject and type filters, consult a subject or course guide, Ask a Librarian, or make a research appointment.

OBIS Catalog

OBIS provides access to print and digital books, databases, audiovisual materials, journals, and course reserves. It is the best place to look up books, recordings, journals, and films by title to determine if you can access an item through Oberlin. To see if Oberlin has access to an individual article, use the journal list. OBIS makes it easier to search by subject heading than Summon does, but it does not index the full-text of any books.

In addition to books available at Oberlin through OBIS, patrons also have access to collections from a number of public, university, and college libraries in the state of Ohio through Oberlin College’s partnership with the OhioLink consortium and SearchOhio.

Journal Finder

The Journal Finder lists in one place every print and electronic journal, magazine, and newspaper available through both paid subscriptions and reputable open access platforms. Use the Journal Finder to see if Oberlin subscribes to these publications, to see if they're available online, or to compare coverage dates across databases or subscription services.

The Journal Finder will not allow you to search by article title to determine if Oberlin owns an item - you must search by publication title (e.g. Nature or The New York Times) and then navigate through the volume and issue and year provided by the citation. If you want to search by article title, search for the article from Summon.

OhioLINK Catalog

A virtual statewide library that displays information for items owned by OhioLINK libraries, a consortium of over 100 college, university, and research libraries in Ohio. Items described include books, journals and periodicals, audiovisual materials, sound recordings, electronic resources, government documents, archives and manuscripts, maps, and music scores.

The catalog provides bibliographic descriptions and indicates where copies are located and whether or not copies are available. The OhioLINK Central Catalog allows for delivery of requested items to a member library of your choice. Terrell Main Library is Oberlin’s pickup location for OhioLINK items. OhioLINK's design allows you to transfer a search from our local library catalog, OBIS, to the OhioLINK combined catalog with the touch of a button. Likewise, a search can just as easily transfer from OhioLINK or OBIS to the public library network Search Ohio.

WorldCat

WorldCat contains more than 43 million records describing books and other items owned by libraries around the world. You can search for popular books, music, CDs, and videos—all of the physical items you're used to getting from libraries. You can also discover digital content, such as downloadable audiobooks. Use InterLibrary Loan to order materials that you locate on WorldCat.

Research Guides

Course Guides

Course Guides are organized collections of resources created for the research and information needs of students in specific courses. Research strategies and library services are also included.

Source Type Guides

Oberlin College librarians have identified the best platforms for finding resources by source type, including newspapers, magazines, dissertations and theses, books, music, primary sources, and more. Some guides also provide search tips and techniques.

Subject Guides

Research guides are the gateway to library collections and resources. Created and maintained by Oberlin College & Conservatory reference and subject librarians, Guides by Subject are organized by their relevant subject areas to provide a detailed list of recommended scholarly sources, including: databases; internet and digital resources; and the libraries’ collections of books, journals, magazines, music, art, DVDs, etc.

Guides also help you develop search strategies, cite sources and manage bibliographic references, and lead to a librarian who can provide further assistance. Subject guides are displayed alphabetically.

History

Founded on May 1, 1966, the Oberlin College Archives is an administrative unit authorized by the Board of Trustees of Oberlin College. The Archivist reported to one of the senior administrative offices and outside of the Library until June 30, 2008.

Oberlin Collegiate Institute featuring various buildings including First Church with horse and wagon in foreground and Tappan Square behind, illustration.

Beginning on July 1, 2008, the Oberlin College Archives was placed as a department in the Oberlin College Libraries, and the College Archivist reports to the Director of Libraries.

Over time the holdings of the College Archives have been housed in three locations: Cox Administration Building, up to 1967; Bosworth Hall, 1967-1973; and the Mudd Center, 1974 to present. During the 1990s the College Archives also occupied ancillary storage space on the fourth floor of the Carnegie Library Building.

Between 1899 and the early 1960s Oberlin's Corporate Secretary served as the "unofficial" archivist and was responsible for maintaining and servicing institutional records. Non-institutional records, often referred to as "Oberliniana," were kept by the College Library. George Morris Jones, 1899-1938, and Donald M. Love, 1938-1962, served as secretary and archivist before a professional archivist was employed. William E. Bigglestone served as the first Archivist (May 1, 1966-July 31, 1986). He was succeeded by Roland M. Baumann on January 1, 1987. Baumann presided over the Archives from 1987 until his retirement in September, 2008. Kenneth M. Grossi succeeded him as College Archivist in 2009 after a year as Acting College Archivist in 2008-09.

For additional details on the movement to establish an Archives and on the tenures of Bigglestone and Baumann, respectively, readers should consult the Archives' annual reports, 1966 to 2008, and two written pieces: Roland M. Baumann, "Oberlin College and the Movement to Establish an Archives, 1920-1966," The Midwestern Archivist, 13 (1988): 27-38; and Lisa Hicks, "The Development of the Oberlin College Archives, [1966-1986]," which was a paper submitted to the Kent State University School of Library Science in fulfillment of Ms. Hicks' 1991 M.L.S. Degree. This unpublished paper is filed in the "Oberlin File" (RG 21).

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Course Guides ? Course Guides are organized collections of resources created for the research and information needs of students in specific courses. Research strategies and library services are also included.

Source Type Guides ? Oberlin College librarians have identified the best platforms for finding resources by source type, including newspapers, magazines, dissertations and theses, books, music, primary sources, and more. Some guides also provide search tips and techniques.

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Course Guides

Course Guides are organized collections of resources created for the research and information needs of students in specific courses. Research strategies and library services are also included.

Source Type Guides

Oberlin College librarians have identified the best platforms for finding resources by source type, including newspapers, magazines, dissertations and theses, books, music, primary sources, and more. Some guides also provide search tips and techniques.