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

Hinton performing with Cab Calloway and touring orchestra, black and white photo.

June 09, 2020

A Jazz Legend Returns to the Road

Oberlin exhibition honoring bassist Milt Hinton visits historically black institutions across the U.S. A one-of-a-kind exhibition created by the Oberlin Conservatory Library tells the story of one of the most prolific jazz musicians of the 20th century: concert performer and session man Milt Hinton, whose seven-decade career... Continue Reading

People seated at tables and chairs facing a presentation projected in the front of the room.

January 15, 2020

History Design Lab Institute Advises How to Launch an Oral History Project

The two-day project during winter term offers an intensive look at how to launch a collaborative oral history project, along with methods of project design and presentation. More than 70 people participated in the History Design Lab Institute, including students, faculty, and staff from on-campus winter term group projects... Continue Reading

An Oberlin historical marker with text on it by an intersection, with trees and flags in the back.

July 15, 2019

App-based Tour Illuminates Oberlin’s History

What began as an aspiration to open a history museum in Oberlin morphed into a series of app-based tours that aim to represent the city’s diverse history. Some of the most repeated Oberlin College history tidbits may be these: that it was the first college to admit all students without respect to race, and it was the... Continue Reading

Alison Ricker holding a stack of books while standing between two library shelves.

April 11, 2019

A Conversation with Alison Ricker, Science Librarian

As the head of Oberlin’s science library, Alison Ricker works behind the scenes in myriad ways. This weekend, in observance of Citizen Science Day, she will lead a volunteer effort to evaluate science-related Wikipedia articles. When did you begin working at Oberlin? Have you always been the science librarian, or did... Continue Reading

Students on floor working on art installation with wood structure holding multicolored hexagons.

October 12, 2018

What I Didn’t Say: A Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Sound Art Installation

As the power of representation has been increasingly noted in media in this modern digital age, technology and art serve as crucial mediums for marginalized voices to be heard and acknowledged. What I Didn’t Say is an upcoming sound art installation designed by Technical Director and Lecturer in TIMARA Abby Aresty and... Continue Reading

Dyani Sabin wearing winter coat and hat in front of snow and ice with mountains.

June 19, 2018

Bringing Science to Life Through Journalism

A love of the sciences, paired with a stint at Oberlin College Library, led Dyani Sabin to a career in science journalism. When Dyani Sabin ’14 began at Oberlin, she was almost certain of her future career, and aspirations of becoming a veterinarian placed her on the premed track. But during the premed information... Continue Reading

Mary Church Terrell portrait, black and white photo.

May 22, 2018

Main Library Will Be Named for Activist, Alumna Mary Church Terrell

The main library in Mudd Center will be named in honor of 1884 graduate Mary Church Terrell, an educator, feminist, civil rights activist, and a founding member of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and the NAACP. When Director of Libraries Alexia Hudson-Ward moved into her spacious, bookshelf-lined office on the... Continue Reading

Amy Margaris wearing gloves while handling part of collection displayed on table in front of her.

August 29, 2017

Reunifying Oberlin’s Natural History Collection

Inside King Hall, Associate Professor of Anthropology Amy Margaris ’96 sifts through bins of plastic sleeves. In each is a carefully preserved object from the department’s ethnographic collection. Margaris gingerly holds a colorfully threaded sack made from the pericardium—the membrane that surrounds the... Continue Reading

Alexia Hudson-Ward holding a black cane outside with a bike rack, grass, and trees in background.

June 22, 2017

Alexia Hudson-Ward Fills Azariah Smith Root’s Very Big Shoes

After a year on the job, Oberlin’s director of libraries shares her vision for the position. Alexia Hudson-Ward likes to brag about her namesake and endowed title, Azariah Smith Root, because anyone in the world of librarianship knows about his legendary career. For the uninitiated, Root (Oberlin graduate of 1884 and... Continue Reading

Letterpress pieces hung on orange wall with letterpress equipment set up and aprons hung on wall.

March 02, 2017

Making an Imprint

Letterpress Printing has been a mainstay of on-campus winter term projects since it began seven years ago. Led by Ed Vermue, Special Collections and Preservation Librarian, the class introduces students to the basics of letterpress printing—typesetting, page architecture, page setting, and illustration—and allows... 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.