The library holds over 250,000 volumes in the General, Reference, and Periodical Collections. The general circulating collection is shelved by Library of Congress call number on the third floor stack areas. Developed to support the College's curriculum, the strengths of the collection include American history and English literature.

Reference Collection

The Reference Collection -- encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, handbooks, atlases, and similar materials used within the library -- is located on the second floor behind the Reference Desk. Print and online indexes to periodicals, newspapers, and government documents are available. Please ask for assistance.

Periodicals and Newspapers

The library subscribes to approximately 300 current print periodical titles in many disciplines. In addition, several thousand online periodical titles are included in the library's online catalog. An electronic journal finder is available for searching these full-text e-journals. The most recent issues of magazines, journals, and newspapers are placed on shelves on the lower level of the second floor. Bound periodicals are shelved alphabetically by title on the first floor. Back files of selected newspapers and journals are available on microfilm in the Microformats Room on the second floor.

Project Muse, JSTOR, WorldCAT, and other online resources provide access to full text periodicals.

The titles of all of the Library's periodical and newspaper holdings are included in the online catalog.

Children's Collection

The Children's Collection is maintained primarily for community use. It is located on the Fourth Floor of the Library in the Children's Collection Reading Room. Most, but not all, of the collection is entered into the online catalog.

Special Collections

Special Collections include the Rare Books Collection and the Hampden-Sydney Collection. Rare Books are often items that are considered scarce because of age and condition or valuable signatures. The Hampden-Sydney Collection includes books and a small number of manuscripts that are associated with the College--faculty members, alumni, and history. Rare books are kept in a storage vault on the first floor. The H-SC Collection and the UPLS Collections are shelved on the fourth floor. Most of the items, other than manuscripts, are included in the online catalog. Ask a library staff member for assistance with finding materials and retrieving materials from these collections. Patrons using materials from the library's Special Collections will need to fill out the Rare Books & Special Collections Registration and Request Form.

Government Documents Collection

Documents published by the United States government and by the state of Virginia are located on the second floor. Included in this collection are a wide variety of books and pamphlets about government, environment, history, foreign relations, business, population, and many other topics. To find titles in U.S. documents, consult the online Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, or ask for assistance. Useful websites include GPO Access, the Government Printing Office Portal, and USA.gov, the U.S. Government's Official Web Portal.

Microforms Collection

Microform (microfilm and microfiche) materials are located in the microformats room on the second floor. Assorted periodicals and newspapers, as well as a small collection of government documents, are available in microform. A Microfilm reader/printer is available. Please ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk.

Video, Audio, Slide, and Software Collections

 An extensive collection of sound recordings (audio compact discs), video resources (videotapes, DVDs), slides, and computer software are located in the Fuqua International Communications Center.  Resources may be checked out for five days.  Overdue fines are one dollar per day per item.  All media resources are included in the library's online catalog.  Limit your search to the location "Fuqua" to eliminate print resources.

Online Resources

Click here to view a list of the library's Online Resource subscriptions. Access to the library's Online Resources is restricted to Hampden-Sydney College Users only.