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Tour of Knight Library

General Information

  • Largest library in Oregon
  • 3 million volumes - great stuff for academic success
  • Great staff to help you find things you need
  • Open 24/7 most of the term for UO students & faculty
  • Includes books, government information, sound recordings, videos, unique collections
  • Lots of great electronic information that students & faculty can access from off-campus
  • 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 - see http://oregondigital.org/digcol/oac/

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
  • 10,000 videos, including many documentaries, foreign films, etc
  • Viewing stations are available in the 3rd floor Douglas Listening Room

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
  • Learn how to pay for printing or photocopying
  • Get help with reserving study rooms etc.

Reference/Learning Commons

  • Some general public use Internet Only computers
  • Lots of computers with word processing, desktop publishing, etc. (UO email address required)
  • Expert research help in person, via chat, email, and phone
  • 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:  Find it Fast
  • Presentation practice room
  • Free large open-bed scanner

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 five 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
  • Get help at the Document Center reference desk

Microforms

  • Oregon newspapers from 1800s - present
  • 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

South Reading Room

  • Beautiful & quiet reading room
  • Lots of study space & laptop plugins

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 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

THIRD FLOOR

Music Collection

  • Music books, journals, scores
  • Recordings (CDs, records, and tapes)
  • Douglass Listening Room with composer workstations
  • 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

Last Modified: 02/01/2012