The University of Memphis Libraries
The University of Memphis Libraries (UML) provides leadership in the access to and management of information services and resources in support of teaching, learning, and research at the University of Memphis. UML is committed to “services… quality… integrity…diversity…collaboration… innovation.” [1]
The University of Memphis Libraries consists of the McWherter Library and five branch libraries – Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Music, and Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. All branches, except the Audiology and Speech- Language Pathology Branch, are housed on the main campus, adjacent to the department that each serves. The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology branch is housed in the School of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, in the medical center area in downtown Memphis. [2] In addition to these facilities, the UML maintains reciprocal-use agreements with other academic libraries in the Mid-South region that allow the University of Memphis faculty and students to use each institution’s library. These institutions include Rhodes College, Christian Brothers University, Memphis Theological Seminary, the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences, Le Moyne-Owen College, Southwest Tennessee Community College, and the University of Mississippi. Students and faculty may also use the Memphis/Shelby County Public Library and Information Center facilities/collections.
The collections held by the University Libraries include 1.1 million bound volumes; 3.4 million pieces of microformat materials; and a wide variety of audio-visual materials. [3] Items not available locally may be obtained through UML’s Interlibrary Loan Department. The Libraries’ use of the ARIEL and ILLiad systems, its use of the Copyright Clearance Center services, and its participation in the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries’ Kudzu Document Delivery Services support the services offered by the Interlibrary Loan Department to all UofM students and faculty.
Two collections of note within the McWherter Library are the Government Publications and the Special Collections departments. The Regional Federal Depository for the State of Tennessee receives everything published by the U. S. government. [4] The Government Publications Collection presently holds over 500,000 hard-copy documents that are available not only to the students, faculty, and staff of the university, but also to the citizens of the State of Tennessee. The Government Publications Department also provides access to Federal electronic resources made available to depository libraries and purchased electronic resources that support the use of the depository collection.
The Special Collections Department houses personal and organizational papers, manuscripts, rare books, photographs, oral history and some university archives. [5] The largest portion of these materials form the Mississippi Valley Collection (MVC), which focuses on the history and culture of the region surrounding Memphis, particularly West Tennessee, North Mississippi, East Arkansas, and the Missouri bootheel. Topical areas with strong holdings include African American history, the Civil War, and American popular entertainment with special emphasis on the early twentieth-century circus. As a member of the Memphis Civil Rights Research Consortium (MCRRC), [6] the University Libraries helps to preserve and make available via the MCRRC website (which is provided by the UofM) civil-rights related holdings of the Consortium members.
The University Libraries recognizes the electronic information resource needs of the students and faculty of the University. UML’s website [7] offers access to over 17,000 full-text journals and 95 databases that in turn provide access to journals, books, newspapers, TV and radio transcripts, etc. In response to the Regents Online Degree Program and the many online courses and programs offered by the UofM, the University Libraries addresses the information resources needs of off-campus students via this website and the reciprocal-use agreements described previously. [8]
Student survey results indicate that students are generally very satisfied with the services and facilities of the UML. [9] Recently, for example, 91% of UofM students rated the availability of library materials as average to excellent, while the ease of locating the materials required was rated as average to excellent by 87% of the students. [9] The University of Memphis Libraries continues to support the programs offered by the UofM by providing a broad spectrum of learning resources and services to users on and off campus.
Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Library
The School of Law Library is administratively separate from the University of Memphis Libraries. It is housed in the Humphreys School of Law Building and contains over 250,000 volumes or microformat and over 2,400 active serial titles. The School of Law Library is available to all students and faculty of the University of Memphis. Its website [10] includes access to electronic databases available to students in the School of Law. The UML and the School of Law Library cooperatively use a library management system for cataloging all holdings.
Other Learning/Information Resources
The University of Memphis supports a number of additional research facilities such as the Benjamin Hooks Institute for Social Change, the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, the Center for Research on Women, the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology, and the Integrated Microscopy Center. [11]
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