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.

News

Here are the latest news items from the Oberlin College Libraries. Also watch our social media channels for updates about our resources, services and programs.

March 10, 2025

Faculty Course Information Literacy Grant

Class session in the Library Learning Lab (Terrell Main Library) Are you considering revising your class to strengthen your students’ information literacy and research skills? Have you wanted to redesign a series of assignments or try something entirely new? Consider applying for the new information literacy grant with... Continue Reading

February 28, 2025

Clarence Ward Art Library Call for Artists: Extended Deadline

Salon-style exhibition wall The Clarence Ward Memorial Art Library has extended the deadline to submit work for their Spring Semester Exhibition until 11:59pm on Friday, March 14. The Oberlin College & Conservatory student community of artists working in two-dimensional mediums are invited to submit photos of their... Continue Reading

February 19, 2025

2nd Annual Oberlin Edible Book Festival

The Oberlin College Libraries and the Oberlin Public Library are joining forces for a second annual Oberlin Edible Book Festival on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Sponsored by each libraries’ Friends group, the event brings the community together through creative—and edible—literary works of art inspired by a... Continue Reading

February 17, 2025

Spring Deadlines for Faculty

Oberlin College Libraries staff are hard at work on the migration project for our primary library systems platform. The new system will go live in late June 2025. Some library services have unusual spring and summer deadlines due to the migration. March 7, 2025 - All purchase and Course Reserves requests for books, streaming... Continue Reading

February 06, 2025

Clarence Ward Art Library Call for Artists

Salon-style exhibition wall In an effort to make the communal space more lively and inspiring, the Clarence Ward Art Library will be displaying student artwork throughout the Spring 2025 semester. Students are encouraged to submit a photo of their mount-ready work to art.library@oberlin.edu to be considered. All entries must... Continue Reading

January 24, 2025

2025 Weidenthal Undergraduate Summer Internship

The Oberlin College Archives invites applicants for the position of Weidenthal Undergraduate Summer Intern for 2025. The internship provides an opportunity for an undergraduate student at any institution to learn about arrangement and description of collections, digitization, exhibit installation and outreach activities... Continue Reading

January 21, 2025

New Library System Coming Summer 2025

We are excited to announce that Oberlin College Libraries will be upgrading its library services platform to Ex Libris Alma/Primo in the summer of 2025. Alma/Primo is the most-used library system in U.S. academic libraries, with more than 65% of Association of Research Libraries using it–including Harvard, Yale, Duke, and... Continue Reading

December 02, 2024

Scenes from Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd

A Ship Aground (1828), J.M.W. Turner To celebrate the exhibition Melville's Billy Budd at 100 currently on display in the Terrell Main Library's Special Collections and Archives until December 20, the Oberlin Conservatory's Opera department will be presenting Scenes from Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd on December 10. Be sure to... Continue Reading

November 26, 2024

Clarence Ward Art Library Book Club

Illustration of Oscar Wilde (Credit: Junelle Apuya) The Clarence Ward Art Library Book Club is official! The community was polled on what the first book of the series should be and the winner is: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. If you would like to join the discussion on December 10, you can pick up one of the... Continue Reading

October 08, 2024

Third Annual Long Story Short Award

The third Annual Long Story Short Award begins today, October 8, and runs until October 29. Entry is free for Oberlin students. All submitted works will be published on the contest webpage and the public (American colleges and universities) will vote on their favorites. Winners will be announced November 27. Submission... Continue Reading

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Learn More About Our Libraries

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.