FAQs
Here are the questions we hear most often from our users. If you don't find answers to your questions here, please contact us.
For Visitors
Can I visit the libraries?
Yes! The Oberlin College Libraries are open to the public. Follow any ObieSafe guidelines for masking and distancing.
Current Oberlin students, faculty, and staff may visit any branch during open hours. When classes are in session, OCID is required to swipe or tap into the Terrell Main Library (Mudd Center) between 8pm and closing Sunday-Thursday, and between 4pm and closing Friday and Saturday.
Members of the public may visit the Terrell Main Library until 8pm Sunday-Thursday and until 4pm on Friday and Saturday when classes are in session. Open hours are reduced during recesses, summer, and winter term; visitors are welcome until 4pm on days the library is open.
General
All Gender Restrooms
Main Library: There is a multi-stall all gender restroom on A-Level that includes two single-use wheelchair accessible restrooms within. There are two single-use all gender restrooms behind the scanners on the first floor Academic Commons (near study room 101C). Both the second and third levels have a single-use all gender restroom near the scholar studies that overlook Wilder Bowl. The second, third, and fourth floors have gendered multi-stall bathrooms in the building core. The libraries ask that all patrons be respectful of other restroom users and not question other patrons' choice of restroom.
Conservatory Library: There are two single-user, all-gender, ADA restrooms on the second floor of the Conservatory Library. You can find them near the copy machine directly off the elevator.
Science Library: There are no restrooms within the Science Library. There are two single-user, all gender ADA restrooms on the first floor of the Science Center, next to K100. There is a multi-stall, all gender ADA restroom on the second floor of the Science Center, near A255.
Can I print in the libraries?
Yes! You can use the PaperCut Web Print system to submit print jobs from your computer. Learn more about papercut. Most printers only have letter size (8.5 by 11) paper, exceptions are noted.
Terrell Main Library:
- Commons-Bizhub
- Commons-Color
Art Library black and white:
- ArtLibrary-BW1 (prints letter, legal (8.5 by 17), and tabloid (11 by 17) pages)
- ArtLibrary-BW2
Art Library color:
ArtLibrary-CP1, (prints letter, legal (8.5 by 17), and tabloid (11 by 17) pages)
Science Library:
- ScienceLibrary
For questions about the PaperCut system contact support@oberlin.edu
Is the Writing Center / Speaking Center open?
The Writing and Speaking Center will be open for drop-in service from September 9 - December 15, 2024. Book appointments and check detailed hours at WCOnline.
Accessibility
The library staff is committed to assisting all library users in finding information, developing strategies for conducting effective library research, and learning how to use the library and its resources. Library staff will attempt to accommodate the needs of users who identify as having a disability. Requests for assistance are confidential. Review our accessibility policies here, and contact library-accessibility@oberlin.edu with questions or concerns.
Technology Help
To open tickets and read help articles from Oberlin CIT, visit the Oberlin Services Portal.
Library Resources
How can faculty put items on reserve for their 2024-25 courses?
- Search OBIS to determine if the library already owns the item, if so, note the call number.
- If the library does not own the item, note the publication year (all item formats), ISBN (books), director's name (films), and journal title, doi, volume, issue, and page numbers (articles).
- Submit the course reserves request form.
Contact your branch library's reserves coordinator with questions:
- Terrell Main Library (Mudd): Michael Palazzolo, mpalazzo@oberlin.edu
- Art Library: Natalie Gutiérrez-Negrón, ngutierr@oberlin.edu
- Conservatory Library: Gwen Oeseburg, goesebur@oberlin.edu
- Science Library: Jillian Schwab, jschwab@oberlin.edu
My syllabus says that a reading is on reserve. How do I access it?
Reserves of print materials circulate for either 5 hours or 48 hours. Digital reserves are uploaded to your course blackboard site. Consult your syllabus for details.
To find print reserves, search the OBIS reserves tab by course number or faculty name to see which items are on reserve for your course, which library they are located in (e.g. Terrell Main, Art, Conservatory, or Science), and whether they are being used by another student. Note the call number, and bring it to the circulation desk of the relevant branch. Circulation and research help can assist with searching OBIS.
What equipment can I borrow?
Terrell Main Library has external region 1 DVD, region 2 DVD, and Blu-ray players. Additional regions are available with advance request to Michael Palazzolo. We also have dongles, HDMI cables, an SD card reader, a flash drive, phone chargers, laptops, laptop chargers, and headphones. We also have scientific and graphing calculators, as well as happy lamps, a white noise machine, and portable fans.
The AV Department has more equipment and is open to students, faculty, and staff on the fourth floor of the Mudd Center.
Which newspapers can I access?
Rather a lot! For access options for major national and regional papers, consult the Major Newspapers research guide.
New York Times: For current access to nytimes.com register while on campus. Once registered you can access nytimes.com from any device. N.B. Although the page says “24 Hours of access,” access is for a full year. You’ll need to re-register yearly, as long as you’re a student, faculty, or staff member at Oberlin College.
Wall Street Journal: For current access to wsj.com and Wall Street Journal apps, register with your Oberlin email. (You do not need to be on campus).
Find news databases (including current, historical, regional and international coverage) by filtering the databases list to the type "News & Newspapers."
If you have a particular paper you want to browse, search the Journal Finder by publication title.
How do I get materials that we do not own/have access to?
Request PDFs of articles and book chapters through Interlibrary Loan. Request print books held in another Ohio library through OhioLINK or SearchOHIO, and print books not held in Ohio through Interlibrary Loan. All services are free unless you accrue overdue fines.
Can I borrow a laptop?
Short term loans for students:
Terrell Main Library: More than 30 laptops, Mac, Windows and Chrome operating systems are all available
Science Library: 12 Macbook Air laptops
Art Library: 11 Macbooks
Conservatory Library: 2 Macbook Airs, 8 Macbook Pros
Long term loans for students: Contact Michael Palazzolo, michael.palazzolo@oberlin.edu
Faculty should contact the CIT at support@oberlin.edu
Can I screen films in Terrell?
The library offers three full-size Blu-ray/DVD players (DVD regions 1-7, Blu-ray region A) for film screenings. One is located in study room 403 (14 seats, LCD screen), one is located in study room 108B (8 seats, LCD screen), and one is available for checkout at the circulation desk and can be used in any Terrell study room that contains an LCD screen.
Additional external DVD/Blu-ray drives (DVD region 1, Blu-ray region A, DVD region 2) and laptops can be checked out at the circulation desk.
A full list of bookable group study rooms that allows you to filter by the availability of screens and other equipment is available on the website.
Terrell does not have a VCR, visit the Conservatory Library to view VHS tapes.
Public performance rights are required for most public screenings, check OBIS to see if Oberlin already has the rights or learn more about PPR.
Can I use microfilm or microfiche?
Yes. The reader is located on the Terrell main level near the scanners and restrooms between study rooms 108A and 101C. There is no need to reserve access.
Can I have a scholar study or study carrel in Terrell?
A limited number of scholar studies are available for short term booking, reserve a room here.
Honors students and capstone students who benefit from a personally assigned longterm room (e.g. because they need to store a large volume of print materials) may email their application to reference@oberlin.edu.
Request long term study carrel reservations at the circulation desk beginning September 7, 2024.
Can I borrow DVDs?
Yes, videos on DVD and Blu-Ray discs will circulate for one week. The Terrell Main Library checks out external DVD and Blu-ray drives, dongles to convert from USB-A to USB-C or HDMI, and headphones that connect to most laptops at the circulation desk.
Can I recall something in OBIS?
If the Library's copy of an item is checked out (and alternate copies are not available) a user may place a recall request in OBIS or request an additional copy through OhioLINK, SearchOHIO, or Interlibrary Loan service.
Off-campus Access to Library Resources
For access to licensed content while off campus, access resources from the links on the library website, Databases A-Z list, Journal Finder, Summon, or OBIS, and authenticate with the Oberlin proxy server using your ObieID and password.
A handful of specialized resources may only be available from on campus or when logged into the Virtual Private Network (VPN). These should all have an on campus only note at the point of access. Learn more about connecting from off campus.
Summon
Summon searches across the full spectrum of library content from a single search box. It draws from OBIS, many of our research databases, and the full text of ebooks and journals, as well as digital repositories from colleges, universities, research centers, and other open-access archives on the web.
Textbooks
The Library does not have copies of all books required for classes. Check OBIS to see what books we own, and the OhioLINK catalog to see what is available elsewhere in the state. Note: all library books are subject to recall and may not be available for an entire semester. The Science Library has a collection of textbooks on reserve.
Research Help
Find article full-text
If you're starting from a citation, search Summon for the article title or DOI. Advanced users may prefer to search the Journal Finder for the publication title. Learn more about finding article full text at Oberlin.
If you're starting from a citation inside a library database, look for a pdf or html link for full text inside that database. If full text is not available in that database, use the red Find It or green 360Link icons to check for full text in Oberlin's other databases.
In Google Scholar, look for Find Full Text @ Oberlin. These links appear automatically from on campus. To configure your account to show Oberlin content from off campus, visit "Settings" and "Library Links", then search for Oberlin in "Show Library Access Links."
Oberlin has access to many articles on publisher websites and in JSTOR, but those sources only represent a fraction of Oberlin's holdings. Using the methods described above allows you to check almost all of our more than 390 databases simultaneously.
Managing a large research project
Talk to a librarian to get advice on managing research projects and using citation management tools. Citation management tools help researchers gather, manage, store, and share information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies in a wide variety of styles; the library provides access to RefWorks.
Finding articles and databases
Try searching Summon, which provides access to the resources in many of our databases. To choose subject-specific databases click the Databases tab in the search box on the Library web page to view the hundreds of library databases alphabetically or by subject. For help deciding on the right search tools, get research help.
Scheduling a research appointment
Research appointments are one-on-one consultations with a librarian that will help you become a better researcher. We can work with you to map out a research strategy, search databases effectively, and find and evaluate sources. Use the Appointment Request form to schedule appointments with a librarian in any campus library.
RefWorks
RefWorks is a citation management tool that helps you gather, manage, store, and share information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies in a wide variety of styles. See the online tutorial for more information or Ask a Libraran.
Citation Help
See the Citation Guide for assistance with questions about citation formats and styles (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago, RefWorks, etc.).
What is a peer-reviewed article, and how would I find one?
Peer-review is a publication process where research articles written by experts in academic or professional fields are submitted to reviewers who are also experts in the field.
To locate peer-reviewed articles, Summon and most library databases will provide a peer-review limiter that limits results to journals that publish research articles with a peer-review process. Letters, commentaries, news reports, obituaries, and book reviews are generally not peer-reviewed, even if the journal uses a peer-review process for research articles.
In rare cases, databases may have an error about a journal's peer-reviewed status. To be absolutely sure if a journal uses a peer review process, contact research help.
Getting started with research
We recommend:
- Summon -- searches most of what you would have access to through the library, including books and articles in all disciplines
- Subject Guides -- created by our librarians and list the best resources and top databases in a subject area
- Consult a librarian -- plan a research strategy
Special Collections and Archives
Can I visit Special Collections?
Oberlin students, faculty, and staff and community members can visit Terrell Special Collections during open hours or by appointment. Contact Us to start the consultation process.
There will be limited access to the Conservatory Special Collections, by appointment only, through the summer semester. Contact Us to start the consultation process.
The Art Library offers full access to materials Monday-Friday during open hours. Contact Us to start the consultation process.
Can I visit the Archives?
Yes, Oberlin students, faculty, and staff and community members can visit during open hours.
Archives
The Oberlin College Archives is responsible for a vast and varied collection of rare, original, and reproduced materials in printed, electronic, and digitized formats. It holds the permanently valuable records of the institution as well as those of individuals, families, and organizations affiliated with the college, the Conservatory of Music, and the city of Oberlin.