The University Libraries system on the West Lafayette Campus includes 11 subject-oriented libraries and the Hicks Undergraduate Library. The Libraries Web site at www.lib.purdue.edu is the Libraries gateway to information services. The Libraries offer a wide variety of electronic information sources, including 2,800,000 bibliographic databases, e-journals, and e-books. The Libraries provide a print collection of more than 2,500,000 volumes and over 3,000,000 microforms of older scholarly materials as well as many current scientific and technical reports. Approximately 36,000 serial titles are received, including periodicals and serial publications of societies, institutions, and the federal and state governments. Federal government publications and patents are received on a depository basis.

Local library resources are supplemented by the 4,000,000 items of research materials held by the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago, including 7,000 rarely held serial titles. Through Purdue’s membership in the center, faculty and graduate students are assured of fast access to this material through the Interlibrary Loan Office in the Humanities, Social Science, and Education (HSSE) Library in Stewart Center.

The library collections and services of the Big Ten libraries, the University of Chicago, Ball State University, and Indiana State University also are available to Purdue students and faculty under cooperative agreements. Individuals who wish to use these facilities are encouraged to contact Circulation Services in the HSSE Library.

The Digital Learning Collaboratory (DLC) is located in the Undergraduate Library. It is a joint initiative of the Purdue Libraries and Information Technology at Purdue. The DLC supports student learning through access to state-of-the-art hardware and software for creating multimedia projects, in individual, group work, and instructional settings. It facilitates the integration of information and technology literacy into the undergraduate curriculum.

Special Collections: Significant manuscript collections include the papers of aviator Amelia Earhart; playwright George Ade; cartoonist John T. McCutcheon; Nobel-prize winning chemist Herbert C. Brown; author Charles Major; designer of the Golden Gate Bridge, Charles Ellis; and time and motion study pioneers, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. Noteworthy rare book collections include the Krannert Special Collection on the history of economics and economic thought, the W. F. M. Goss Library of engineering history, and the Anna Embree Baker collection of books designed and printed by renowned typographer and book designer Bruce Rogers. Rounding out the collections are the university archives, which document the origin and history of Purdue University.