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

Page spread of Robert Hooke's Micrographia picturing a flea.

February 23, 2024

Friends Support Library Acquisitions

Spread of Robert Hooke's Micrographia A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed—and we are indeed grateful for the generous support that the Friends of Oberlin College Libraries provides for library acquisitions each year. This year we were able to purchase electronic access to: Klassiki, a streaming video platform focusing on... Continue Reading

Student sitting at table paging through a book with various books off to the side.

February 23, 2024

Libraries’ Winter Term Courses – Teaching and Partnering

Student working on Winter Term project The College’s 2024 Winter Term included seven courses taught or supported by Library experts, many of which fulfill the practicum requirement for the Book Studies minor. Terrell Library Special Collections offered its Letterpress Intensive, experience-based instruction for students... Continue Reading

Students gathered around tables working with Spanish play materials.

February 23, 2024

Digital Collaborative Receives Grant to Digitize Spanish Plays

Students working with Spanish play materials The Oberlin College Libraries received a small grant from the Pine Needles Foundation of New York, NY, to digitize selections from Terrell Library’s Special Collections holdings of Spanish plays (comedia sueltas) from the 17th- 20th century. The grant will be used to hire a... Continue Reading

Visitors gathered around tables and shelves observing various archival materials.

February 23, 2024

Upcoming Events in the Libraries

Visitors at the 2023 Archives Reunion Exhibition March 6, 7-9pm in Terrell Special Collections: Medieval Manuscripts in a Digital Age with Emerson Morgan March 14, 7-9pm in Terrell Library: Jane’s Games: Card Games in Jane Austen, Robin Bates of St. Mary’s College, followed by an evening of playing the... Continue Reading

Exterior of Mudd Center, a multi-level concrete building, on a sunny day.

February 23, 2024

New Leadership for Friends of Oberlin College Libraries

Exterior of Mudd Center With the start of a new year, we welcome our new Friends of the Libraries officers and council members. Marilyn McDonald, professor emerita from the Conservatory and a prodigious book collector herself, is our new President. Alumna Ruth Spencer ’72 will serve as Vice President, and Noah Pollaczek... Continue Reading

Four color theory study samples using overlapping colors.

February 21, 2024

Check It Out: Color Theory: Chevreul & Albers

Examples of Alber's sample studies from Interaction of Color The Clarence Ward Art library has a large color theory collection containing many important primary works, including two of the best known texts in this field: M.E. Chevreul’s The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours and Josef Albers’ Interaction... Continue Reading

February 16, 2024

Oberlin Edible Book Festival

The Oberlin College Libraries and the Oberlin Public Library are joining forces to inaugurate the first annual Oberlin Edible Book Festival on Monday, April 1, 2024. Sponsored by each libraries’ Friends group, the event brings the community together through creative—and edible—literary works of art inspired by... Continue Reading

Portrait of Toni Morrison, black and white photo.

February 09, 2024

Toni Morrison's Signed Copy of Jazz

Toni Morrison was born and raised in Lorain, Ohio about 12 miles north of Oberlin. In celebration of this luminary, who received both Pulitzer and Nobel prizes, the Ohio state legislature designated her birthday, February 18, “Toni Morrison Day”. Our Conservatory Special Collections include a copy of... Continue Reading

February 08, 2024

Performers Needed for the Con Library’s Tiny Ref Desk Concerts

The Conservatory Library is looking for individual or ensemble performers to perform a 30-minute Tiny Ref Desk Concert in the Conservatory Library's East Wing. We host a Tiny Ref Desk Concert every month, on the second or third Friday, from noon to 12:30pm. This month, we're hoping to find a talented musician to play on... Continue Reading

Two tattoos, one with a gold fish and coins and one with a red snake with flowers, illustrations.

February 07, 2024

Check It Out: Japanese Tattoos: Meanings, Shapes and Motifs by Yori Moriarty

What is it about? The intimate relationship between Japanese irezumi tattooing and the dark world of the yakuza has helped cover this form of artistic expression with an aura of mystery. However, the culture of irezumi is deep and rich in meanings. Shapes and motifs from color woodblock prints are applied to the skin to... Continue Reading

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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.