| Michigan State University Libraries | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | East Lansing, Michigan,United States |
| Branches | 9 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 8,543,550 volumes 10,858,158 titles (2021 data)[1] |
| Other information | |
| Director | Neil Romanosky |
| Website | http://www.lib.msu.edu/ |
Michigan State University Libraries (MSU Libraries) is theacademic library system ofMichigan State University inEast Lansing, Michigan,United States. The library system comprises nine branch locations including the Main Library. As of 2021–22, the MSU Libraries ranked 26th among U.S. and Canadianresearch libraries by number ofvolumes (8,543,550 volumes) and 7th among U.S. and Canadian research libraries by number of titles held (10,858,158 titles).[1]
The Africana Collection is one of the largest of its kind in the nation with a collection of over 200,000 items.
Other significant collections include the G. Robert Vincent Voice Library, the largest academic voice library in the nation, containing a collection of over 100,000 hours ofspoken word recordings and includes the voices of over 500,000 persons from all walks of life,[2] and theRussel B. Nye Popular Culture Collections which includes the extensiveComic Art Collection.[3] This collection includes over 100,000 comic books, and 10,000 related books and periodicals. The Turfgrass Information Center is recognized as the most extensive public collection of turfgrass educational material in existence.[4]
The Branch Libraries are subject collections located in the Main Library as well as in two branch libraries located in other buildings on campus. Each of the branch libraries have their own subject specialization.[5]
Branch Libraries locatedinside the main library building include:
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Branch Libraries locatedoutside the main library building include:
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The Africana Collection of the MSU Library has become one of the largest in the United States, having been built up since 1960 to support the broad faculty involvement in different projects on the continent, including research and development.[6]
In the last few years the MSU program about Africa has been consistently rated among the top one or two programs in the country, both the number of faculty involved and the number of doctoral dissertations produced. The Library has 2 full-time professional Africana librarians, both of them holding doctorates in African Studies, who provide reference assistance to a wide range of faculty and students at MSU and elsewhere. The librarians are also very involved in national cooperative projects.[7]
The Library collection is roughly 270,000 books, pamphlets, maps andmicroform units covering all disciplines there is an emphasis on the socio-economic development and history ofsub-Saharan Africa, with special emphases (reflecting faculty interests) on Ethiopia/Eritrea, Zimbabwe, South Africa, theSahel region ofWest Africa, and Nigeria (especially the Eastern Region). Library materials come from all African countries (less so forNorth Africa) are collected at a high level and from all historical periods.
In 1999 it launched the open access
African e-Journals Project (OCLC 216849920).
TheCesar E. Chavez Collection is an interdisciplinary browsing collection consisting of titles in a variety of formats, research levels and locations onChicano andBoricua Studies. Chavez Collection materials in other locations require the storage, access/viewing facilities and services not available in an open shelves collection. The main part of this collection is located on the first floor, west wing lobby of the Main Library. This browsing collection is reinforced throughout the Libraries system by other titles in the main stacks collection and various branch collections.[8]
The collection is representative of Chavez's life. It reflects his commitment to unions and labor, non-violence, truth, respect and an appreciation of diversity, education and his cultura. Chavez was a frequent visitor to the Lansing area, and as such, the collection also reflects the Midwest presence of migrant farmworkers.[8]
The Digital and Multimedia Center is the MSU Library's internaldigitization facility and media center. In addition to offering online collections, representing many books and journals digitized by DMC, a set of over 10,000 multimedia items are held and are available for check out. These include theatrical movies and video games that can be used in the DMC. DMC also assists in obtaining permissions from copyright holders for MSU faculty who need to use protected materials in courses and academic projects.[9]
The Music Library is located in the west wing of the Main Library on the fourth floor. It houses the collections for:
The Art Library is located on the third floor of the west wing of the Main Library. It houses art books and periodicals.
The Government Documents Library is the Main Library location for publications of theUnited States government, theCanadian government, theState of Michigan, theUnited Nations and many other international intergovernmental organizations. It contains over 3 million documents in paper,microformat, and electronic formats. A significant portion of the collection is presently uncataloged and, therefore, does not appear in the Libraries' catalog.[10]
The library has been aFederal Government Depository Library since 1907 and currently receives approximately 80 percent of the publications made available todepository libraries. An extensive range and variety of subjects are covered in the U.S. documents collection. It is particularly strong in the areas ofagriculture,demography andpopulation,education,environmental sciences,international relations,labor, andlaw. The collection is arranged by Superintendent of Documents call number which organizes publications by issuing agency rather than by subject.[10]
There are over 7,000 serial titles, many of which are complete from early dates, including Foreign Relations of the United States from 1861,Geological Survey Professional Papers from 1896, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers from 1902, and the Bulletin of theUnited States Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1913.[10]
In 1967, the library became a selectivedepository of Canadian federal documents to support theCanadian-American Studies Program. The library selects a general range of publications from science toforeign policy andlabor relations. It is particularly strong inagriculture,demography andpopulation,fisheries andwildlife,forestry, andhistory. The collection includes Canadian censuses, statutes, and proceedings and reports of theCanadian Parliament.[10]
In 2007 the Library ended its status as a permanentDepository for official publications of the State ofMichigan. All of the materials received including the House and Senate Journals, reports on a variety of subjects, statistical reports and annual reports of various state agencies are maintained in the Government Documents Library.[10]
The collection includes documents and publications issued by the main United Nations organs since 1946. It also includes materials issued by various UN programs and bodies including, but not limited to, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, theUN Development Programme, UNICEF, UNRISD, UN University, and theUN Environment Programme.[10]
The collection also contains publications issued by most of the UN specialized agencies and autonomous organizations. These include theFood and Agriculture Organization, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development,International Monetary Fund, International Telecommunication Union, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, World Bank Group, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Materials issued by several UN specialized agencies (International Atomic Energy Agency, International Labour Organization, World Health Organization) are housed in the main stacks.[10]
The Government Documents Library also collects materials issued by other international intergovernmental organizations including, but not limited to, the European Union, Asian Development Bank, Organization of American States, Council of Europe, NATO, Association of South East Asian Nations, Western European Union, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.[10]
The Map Library, located on the 2nd floor of the east wing of the Main Library, houses a collection of general and thematic maps and atlases for most areas of the world. The collection consists of approximately 200,000 sheet maps and 4,000 atlases, gazetteers and other reference aids including wall maps, globes, CDs and Internet-accessible resources. The collection is especially strong in Michigan topics, United States, Canada, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, though all areas are collected at some level.[11]
The Brunnschweiler Geography Library Endowment Fund was established in 1993 by Dr. Tamara Brunnschweiler for the acquisition and preservation of geography materials. Purchases from this fund are often old and rare maps and atlases relating to the MSU Libraries' mission.[12]
In 2015 theRovi Corporation donated more than 850,000 movies, CDs and video games to the MSU Libraries, this collection is now the largest media collection in the United States. The archive consists of CDs that have been commercially available in the United States since the early 1990s and includes some releases imported from Europe. The DVD collection, which was started the year DVDs were introduced, similarly represents the vast majority of commercially released DVDs in the United States. The games archive focuses primarily on console games and PC from 1993 to 2014 and includes a few titles dating back to the early '80s. Some of the materials from the collection are available to the MSU community through the MSU Libraries catalog and to Michigan residents through MeLCat, the Michigan e-library catalog.[13]
The Turfgrass Information Center (TIC), a specialized unit at the Michigan State University Libraries (MSU), contains the most comprehensive publicly available collection ofturfgrass educational materials in the world. TIC has over 250,000 records in its primary database, the Turfgrass Information File (TGIF).[14]
In the 1960s, the Michigan State University (MSU) Library began to collect printed turfgrass materials. In 1968, the personal collection of the late O.J. Noer, pioneer turf agronomist, was added to the library holdings through the O.J. Noer Foundation. Later gifts have included the Noer/Milorganite® Image Collection (on indefinite loan), the Scotts Company Archive, and most significantly, the James B Beard Turfgrass Library Collection. Today, the combined collection is recognized as the most extensive public collection of turfgrass material in existence.[14]
Between 1983 and 1992, theUnited States Golf Association (USGA) Turfgrass Research Program supported the development of the USGA Turfgrass Information File (TGIF). Using the Noer Collection as a foundation, TGIF was designed to systematically inventory published turf research and make the bibliographic information available via acomputerizeddatabase.The TGIF database is accessible online through the Web. With over 250,000 searchable items using over 300,000 keywords, these resources cover the full scope of the turfgrass industry.[14]
This database monitors over 1,000journals andmagazines, research reports, and conference proceedings. In addition, the database includes records for extension bulletins, books and book chapters, technical reports, theses and dissertations, web documents, published Q & As, scannedgolf course plans, and video interviews.[14]
TheG. Robert Vincent Voice Library, located within the Digital and Multimedia Library, is a collection of over 100,000 hours of spoken word recordings, dating back to 1888. The collection includes the voices of over 500,000 persons from all walks of life. Political and cultural leaders and minor players in the human drama are captured and catalogued to serve the research needs of a local, national and international user base. Clients include students and faculty of Michigan State University, other scholars and researchers, broadcasting networks, news agencies and film, video, and Web production companies.[15] It is the largest academic voice library in the United States and is part of the Michigan State University Libraries.[15]
The Special Collections Department of the Michigan State University Libraries collects, houses, and preserves rare and unique materials within the MSU Libraries. The Special Collections was formally established in 1962 with the charge to house special materials, as well as to build, preserve, and make accessible important research collections for educational use. In 2019 Dr. Keelung Hong donated the personal papers and research material of his spouse Dr. Stephen O. Murray, and in 2020 the name of the archive was changed to Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections.[16]
The materials cover a vast array of topics, but materials in Special Collections cannot be checked out, they can be used only in the Special Collections reading rooms.Today, the Special Collections holds over 450,000 printed works, numerous manuscript and archival collections, and an extensive collection of ephemera supporting research in popular culture, radicalism, comic art, and gender. Notable rare book collections include early veterinary medicine, eighteenth century British history and culture, modern American literature, cookery, and natural history. The Russel B. Nye Popular Culture Collection is one of the largest collections of its kind in the world while the Radicalism Collection features extensive holdings on a wide range of political, social, and economic viewpoints.[17] The oldestprinted book in the MSU Libraries is held in Special Collections. Its title is Scriptores Rei Rusticae, and was printed inVenice in 1482, only a short time after the invention of themoveable type printing press byJohannes Gutenberg in Germany about 1455.[18]
A Division or Branch of the Special Collections Department isThe Comic Art Collection. The Comic Art Collection holds over 200,000 items. It is the largest library comic book collection in the world.[19] While the bulk of the collection is made up of Americancomic books, it also includes over 1,000 books of collectednewspapercomic strips, nearly 15,000 comics from other countries, and several thousand books andperiodicals about the subject. The major focus of the collection is on collecting published work, in its effort to give a complete view of the 20th century. Comics are currently the largest and fastest-growing special collection at the MSU Libraries.[20][21] Its coverage of comic strips was significantly enhanced with the donation in 2007 of theKing Featuresproof sheet collection consisting of roughly one million sheets containing about two million individual strips (a duplicate set was donated toOhio State University'sBilly Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum). In addition, the same year retired Professor Richard Webster of theUniversity of Toledo donated his collection of one million comic strips collected from around the world during the 1960s.[22] The Comic Art Collection accepts unannounced donations. Materials not accepted into the collection are sent to another appropriate library or sold to support endowment funds for the Comic Art Collection.[23]
All contents of the collection are listed in the MSU Libraries' online catalog as well as in the international OCLC computer network.Microfiche copies of several hundred extremely rare superhero comic books from the early 1940s are also available in the Special Collections reading room.
These are included in the library catalog but physically located outside the Main Library.Branch Libraries located outside of the main library building include:[5]
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The William C. Gast Business Library is located in Room 50 of the Law College Building across from the Eppley Center. It is the largest of the branches at MSU Libraries and has three business librarians, two support staff and twenty-five student employeesThe library provides seating for 450 and has wireless access as well as Internet connections at most tables, carrels andcubicles. There are group study rooms available, as well as cubicles for group use.Laser printing, including color, is available from the computers or laptops through e-token accounts. Room 22 serves as an instruction and computer lab with 28 seats. The branch is open 109 hours each week during the fall and spring semesters.[24]
The Labor and Industrial Relations (LIR), collection is located in the Business Library and is open to the public. It consists of a non-circulating LIR Reference Collection on site, with access to the rest of the University Libraries’ system. Established in 1957, it is jointly funded and administered by the School of Labor and Industrial Relations and the MSU Libraries
Areas of strength in the LIR Reference Collection include labor and employment law, and grievance arbitration. There are also several information reporters and loose-leaf services for LR/HR information.
Unique among its holdings is the Michigan Public Sector Agreement Collection. In 1972 the LIR Library was designated by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) to be the repository for Michigan public sector agreements. The current agreements are in the LIR Library and superseded agreements are in the University Archives.[25]
The MSU Law Library is administratively separate from other libraries on campus.[26] It contains materials of use to students in the MSU College of law, but is also open to other MSU Students and the general public.[27]
This MSU branch library, also known as theGull Lake Library, was part of Michigan State University'sW.K. Kellogg Biological Station. The Gull Lake Library contained over 1,200 volumes, many of which are bound journal volumes. The collection supported the research interests of KBS faculty, staff, students and visiting scientists in aquatic and terrestrial ecology, evolution, behavior and agro-ecology. KBS is Michigan State University's largest off-campus education complex and one of North America's premier inland field stations.[28]
The first director of the station, Dr. Walter F. Morofsky, was anentomologist with MSU. Historically, the library had a strong historical entomology collection. Earlybird sanctuary research and teaching led to a goodwaterfowl collection. Once the year round research station was established in 1965, and the branch library was established, a strong research program inlimnology was begun, which continues to this day. Currently, there are strong research programs in limnology,microbial ecology,plant ecology,agriculturalecology, fish ecology andvertebrate behavioral ecology.[29]
The Gull Lake Library permanently closed in 2022.[30]
42°43′51.68″N84°29′0.93″W / 42.7310222°N 84.4835917°W /42.7310222; -84.4835917
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