Tour of Knight Library - UO students, faculty & staff

General Information

• Largest library facility in Oregon
• 2.7 million volumes – lots of stuff to help you ace your courses
• Great staff to help you find things you need
• Includes books, government information, sound recordings, videos, unique collections
• Lots of great electronic information – can access from off-campus too
• Also have fun books such as fiction, hot topics
• Named for the Knight family (Phil Knight of Nike)
• Six other libraries: Architecture and Allied Arts, Science, Math, Law, Oregon Institute for Marine Biology on the south coast, & the Portland branch

Artwork

• Much of the artwork funded by Oregon law which requires that 1% of the money for state construction projects to be used for artwork

• Glass stair lights in stairwell. The stair step lights represent portraits of literary figures, library patrons and characters from literature and history.
  

Special Collections & University Archives

• Rare, unique or especially valuable
• Medieval illuminated manuscripts
• Photographs (Native Americans, historic Oregon/NW)
• Manuscripts (original Oregon Trail diaries, Ken Kesey's book drafts)
• Official archives of the university
• Reading room where researchers can use the materials

1st Floor

Reserves and Videos/DVD Collection

• Materials placed on reserve for your course by your professor
• Reserve items have short loan periods, which are indicated in the catalog
• Electronic reserves through the library's web site
• 6,000 videos – many documentaries, foreign films, etc
• Viewing stations are available in the reading room or can take out. Also group rooms

Check Out/Information Desk

• UO Students can check out as many books as they want
• Undergrads checkout books for 3 weeks & can renew for another 3 weeks
• Older journals checkout for 3 days
• Put Campus Cash on your UO ID to pay for printing or photocopying
• Get help with reserving study rooms etc.

Reference/Information Area

• Lots of computers with word processing, desktop publishing, etc. (UO email address required)
• Expert research help in person, via email, phone, or IM
  
• Major area for humanities & social sciences research
• Largest concentration of computers for library research & many software programs
• Reference books can also help you find facts and background for research papers
• Handouts & maps for basic introduction: At a Glance & Find it Fast

Collaborative Workstations

• Designed for group work
• Computers with word processing, desktop publishing, etc. (UO email address required)
• Some scanners
• Laptop checkout (four hours)
• Presentation practice room (get key from checkout desk)
  

Library Website

• Library Catalog (most of the books, journals, and other types of materials that the library owns)
• Order books from Summit (33 academic libraries in NW) which arrive in two days
  
• Academic databases – important for your research (use these instead of the free Web)
• Electronic reserves
• Reserve a study room
• Guides to doing research in your subject

Document Center

• U.S. government is the largest publisher in the world, many topics covered
• Other agencies: State of Oregon, United Nations, European Union, & World Trade Organization
• Business reference collection
• Maps and atlases
• Biggest aerial photography collection in Oregon
• Useful for majors in business, economics, journalism, political science, and public policy
• Much of this collection is not in the library catalog. Get help at the Document Center reference desk
  

Microforms

• Oregon newspapers from 1800s - present
• Some national and international newspapers (more available electronically – see reference librarian)
• Primary sources: Black Abolitionist Papers, American Women's Diaries, Underground Newspapers
• Microfilm lasts 250 years, computer storage devices last 10-15 years at most
• Staff can assist with finding and viewing the microfilm

SECOND FLOOR

Current Periodicals Room

• Current print journals, magazines and newspapers (increasingly there is electronic access to current journals & newspapers) - Arranged by subject (call number order)
• Older issues are in the main bookshelves under the same call number
• 100 current Oregon newspapers, major US newspapers, some international
• Periodicals and newspapers cannot be checked out of the library
• Photocopiers on each floor of the library: $.08/page with Campus Cash, or $.10/page with coin
  

Main Stacks/Shelves of Books (2nd through 4th floor)

• Knight Library has the equivalent of over 27 miles of books
• Most of the books that you can check out begin on 2nd floor and continue through the 4th floor
• Arranged by subject (in call number order)
• Each range has signs on the ends to help you find the book you're looking for
• Research libraries use a different system for organizing the books than the public library's dewey decimal system. Research libraries use the Library of Congress system which has a different letter for each different subject area

Asian Language Collection

• Books and journals written in Chinese, Japanese and Korean on all topics, including literature

Information Technology Center (ITC)

• Word processing, desktop publishing, multimedia, and graphics production
• 21-station classroom and about 60 networked PCs, printers, scanners, and some printed resources.
• Sign up for computers in advance (there is a sign-up sheet next to each one), or take your chances and just show up. Be forewarned: it can get very busy here
• Open when the library is open, including breaks & 24/7 during finals

THIRD FLOOR

Music Collection

• Music books, journals, scores
• Recordings (CDs, records, and tapes) – some CDs can be checked out
• Douglass Listening Room is available to everyone, not just music students
• Classical, opera, jazz, gospel, blues, world music and some rock 'n' roll

GROUND FLOOR

Media Services

• Check out digital cameras, camcorders, tape recorders, etc for class projects
• Some Classrooms

Daily Grind

• Coffee & Food
  
  Maintained by: Barbara Jenkins, jenkins@uoregon.edu