Clark Memorial Library

Opened in 1991 and a charter member of OhioLINK, Clark Memorial Library is home to high tech library options in relaxed, friendly surroundings. Comfortable seating for reading and study, conference rooms for group work, seminar rooms with satellite and Web technology for teleconferencing and distance learning activities, a 350-seat lecture hall, a Curriculum Materials Center and Graphics Lab, a wireless network, a profusion of loaded public computers, and the Jazzman Café provide for a diverse range of needs and allow students to accomplish many different activities within the Library.

Reference and information counter staff are always present and ready to personally assist any student who wants help locating information or using the Library’s resources. Library staff promote information literacy and are committed to helping students gain “the ability to access, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources” (Doyle, 1992). Whether a student is in the library doing research for a class assignment or logging into the library website to link to an online resource, service is a high priority and is advanced in the electronic environment by online “Ask-A-Librarian” assistance.

Clark Memorial Library’s online resources can be used anytime, anywhere on campus or from homes, schools, and businesses. The library catalog and over 170 research databases provide online access to more than 25,500 electronic books; nearly 1,000 online reference resources; more than a million online videos, audiofiles, and graphics; and well over 15,000 online magazines, journals, and newspapers that augment the Library’s in-house collections.

To supplement local cataloged resources, students can order, electronically and at no cost, virtually any of the more than 49 million items available in the OhioLINK system. An inter-campus delivery service assures that items requested from other campuses will be available for checkout at the desired location within three working days. As a member of the U.S. Government Depository program, the Clark Memorial Library also provides access to government documents and other resources in print and on the Web.

The mission of Clark Memorial Library is to “bring people and information together” to foster excellence in learning, teaching, and research.

The Library also shares the University’s mission statement and recognizes the importance of knowledge, values, and cultural enrichment. The library program is committed to collaborating with faculty to provide undergraduates an education that fosters competence in oral and written communication, scientific and quantitative reasoning, and critical analysis/logical thinking.