Libraries
The Colby College Libraries (the Libraries) provide our users (faculty, staff, and students) with expertise, resources, and services that support learning, critical thinking, research, and the creation of new knowledge.
The Libraries are central to scholarship at Colby. The Colby community has access to one of the most comprehensive and expansive libraries for undergraduate and faculty research in a liberal arts setting. The Libraries are committed to exploring, utilizing, and teaching about the new information and knowledge acquisition fronties in this digital, cultural, and social justice and change age.
The staff of the Colby College Libraries:
- Identifies, acquires, provides access to, and preserves scholarly works and resources that support teaching, learning, and faculty and student research;
- Collaborates with faculty to help support their teaching and research-related needs;
- Manages and promotes the use of the College’s rare and unique materials, among other primary sources;
- Teaches and guides students on how to discover, evaluate, and ethically use information and understand all aspects of information literacy;
- Explores and develops new platforms, resources, and ideas to expand our capacity to innovate in the field of library and information science;
- Develops and maintains user-centered and inspiring group and individual research, study, collaboration, and contemplation spaces.
Highlights of Colby College Libraries
There are two physical libraries on campus and a storage annex just off campus:
Miller Library houses the humanities and social science collections, the College Archives, and Special Collections. The lowest level in Miller, The Street, contains individual and group study space and is open 24 hours daily.
The Bixler Art and Music Library features an extensive collection of art and music books, journals, sound recordings, music scores, and a digital media lab.
Additional materials for all disciplines are housed in our annex storage facility. These items can be ordered through the library catalog and are delivered to Miller Monday through Friday. Physical items in the natural and physical sciences, computer science, and math are housed in the annex.
The Libraries are a member of the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) consortium, which allows us to share collections and resources across our respective libraries quickly.
The Libraries provide access to a wide-ranging collection of print and eBook monographs, full-text databases, electronic journals, and a suite of reference sources, including:
- More than 1.7 million items, including more than 530,000 electronic books, and access to more than 22,000 print and 130,000 electronic periodicals and newspapers;
- Hundreds of popular and authoritative full-text and abstract scholarly research databases, with content across a wide range of disciplines;
- A new zine library with more than 800 zines (and growing) is available to circulate in Bixler Library;
- Colby has been a selective depository for U.S. government publications since 1880;
- Digital Commons @ Colby presents the Colby College community’s intellectual, creative, and scholarly culture. It is a collection of outstanding student work, faculty scholarship, college records, campus history, and the unique materials of the libraries’ Special Collections;
- The Colby Libraries are one of two members of HathiTrust in Maine, which provides increased access to otherwise unavailable primary sources.
Colby College Libraries offer extensive resources and services, including the following:
- A highly skilled and knowledgeable staff that offers expert support and assistance to help students meet academic and lifelong learning goals;
- A comprehensive full-service website from which users can discover and access the majority of services and content curated and provided by the Colby Libraries;
- Collaborative, as well as quiet, study spaces to support research and learning;
- Unique and rare primary sources in Special Collections & Archives, housed in Miller Library;
- A diverse collection of music scores, sound recordings, streaming videos, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and other multimedia;
- Digital media labs, copy machines, short-term computer loans, and access to digital scanners;
- Computer labs, wireless networks, laptops, study areas, and a digital media lab are available for student use in Miller and Bixler;
- Digital preservation and publishing services.
Colby Libraries Special Collections & Archives has been recognized internationally for its first editions and literary manuscripts. Some highlights include:
- The elegant Edwin Arlington Robinson Memorial Room, named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Maine poet, is a venue for poetry readings and other public events, student presentations and exhibitions, and instruction.
- A robust archives education program in Special Collections & Archives also uses the Robinson Room for archival labs that connect hundreds of students each academic year with rich archival collections and rare books, supporting innovative teaching with primary sources. Major literary collections of books, manuscripts, letters, and memorabilia include Robinson, Thomas Hardy, Vernon Lee, Sarah Orne Jewett, Henry James, and Bern Porter.
- An extensive James Augustine Healy Collection focuses on the Irish Literary Renaissance (1880-1940).
- In 2006 Special Collections acquired the personal papers of former Maine Poet Laureate Wesley McNair.
- A growing collection of artists’ books, a new—and growing—collection of zines, and intentional acquisition of other compelling formats that focus on social, political, and environmental activism.
- The Alfred King Chapman Room houses the College archives, which document the College’s development over 200 years. An extensive collection of alumni files is used for archival labs, student scholarship, and family history research.
Detailed information about collections, services, and hours is provided at libraries.colby.edu.