Services for Graduate Students

Collection	Off-Campus Access	Subject Librarians
Find, Borrow & Renew	Interlibrary Loan (ILLIAD)	Research Assistance
Course Reserves	Locked Study Carrels	Library Hours
Electronic Resources	Computers & Wireless	Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Welcome to the Binghamton University Libraries' web site for resources and services to graduate students. The Binghamton University Libraries provide leadership to the University community in accessing and using information resources for teaching, learning, and research. There are two libraries on campus, the University Downtown Center (UDC) Library, and the Library Annex@Conklin:

The Glenn G. Bartle Library houses collections in the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and the mathematical and computer sciences. Special Collections and the University Archives and Government Documents are also in Bartle Library.
The Science Library, located in the midst of the university science complex, adjacent to Science II, houses collections in the biological sciences, chemistry, engineering, environmental sciences, geology, physics, health, nursing and psychology disciplines. The Map Room is also in the Science Library.
The University Downtown Center Library, located on the main floor of the UDC, houses a local collections of books, government documents, and current periodicals. Circulation services, course reserves, interlibrary loan, and research assistance are available.
The Library Annex@Conklin, established in 1999, houses important older, but lesser used materials in the Libraries’ collections. Graduate students may request that materials stored in the Library Annex be delivered to the Bartle, Science or UDC Libraries. The Library Annex is located 10 miles from the Binghamton University campus.

The Collection

The Libraries’ collection includes over nearly 2.4 million volumes, over 1.8 million microfiche and microfilm, over 62,000 electronic journals and books, and 204 electronic databases. It also includes U. S. and state government documents, CD-ROMs, videos, DVDs, sound recordings, archival materials, and maps.

Find, Borrow and Renew Materials

Use infoLINK, the Library Catalog to search for library books in addition to the print journals, government documents, CD-ROMs, videos, DVDs, sound recordings, archival materials, and maps owned by the Libraries. The catalog also contains links to authoritiative Internet sources selected by librarians for their research value. You can also try our enhanced search interface for infoLINK, Encore, that allows you to see your results sorted by relevancy and further refine your search using facets and tags.

Your Binghamton University ID card is your library card and will enable you to borrow materials. Graduate Students (Masters and Ph.D.) may borrow up to 100 items at any one time. Books, microforms, and government documents may be borrowed for one year from the check-out date. Journals located in the Annex circulate for 2 weeks; Bartle and Science bound journals circulate for three days; and current periodicals are available for in-library use.

Most books can be renewed online and in person. To renew online, you need to sign into infoLINK. Instructions are provided for entering your BU patron ID and your password. For more information on borrowing privileges, refer to Circulation Services.

Course Reserves

Faculty, grad instructors and teaching assistants may place books, visual and audio materials, articles, or other items on reserve in either the Bartle or Science Libraries for specific courses. Physical items may be checked out at the Circulation Desks in the Bartle Library or in the Science Library. Some materials are scanned and placed on electronic reserve as PDF files, which allow you to access the materials 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on or off campus, through Blackboard. Consult the Course Reserves web page for more details.

Electronic Resources

The Binghamton University Libraries subscribe to a number of electronic journals and databases. Current BU faculty, staff, and students have access to these resources for the purposes of research, teaching, and private study. These "BU Only" resources are library subscriptions that are accessible only from the Binghamton University network or from an Internet Service Provider using the library proxy server. Access and use is restricted by license agreements to purposes of research, teaching, and private study by current BU faculty, staff, and students.

It is possible to search across many of these databases simultaneously AND the Libraries' catalog, infoLINK, using our new federated or "metasearch" service called metaLINK. MetaLINK will allow you to search abstracting and indexing databases, citation databases, and other reference databases, e-journals, our own library catalog as well as other library catalogs.

The Subject Resources web pages contains links to metaLINK searching in addition to links to a variety of web resources that are invaluable for your academic research. These tools have been selected by your subject librarian for their authority and relevance.

To determine if the Libraries offer full-text versions of specific journal titles consult the Electronic Journals web page.

Off Campus Access to the Libraries’ Electronic Resources

When accessing these

materials from off-campus and through an Internet Service Provider, you will be required to provide your BU userID and PODS password for off campus access. More details are available on the Libraries’ Technical Help web page.

ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan)

Materials not owned by Binghamton University Libraries and not available in full-text from our many electronic databases may be obtained from other state, local, national, or international libraries using our online service, ILLiad. There is no charge for this service. First you must register with ILLiad, creating an ID and password. Most articles are scanned and delivered electronically as a PDF file to your ILLiad account. You are notified by email that the item has arrived. Books may be picked up at the Bartle or Science Library Circulation Desks.

Locked Study Carrels and Study Areas

Locked Library study carrels are available to graduate students based upon an agreement by the Library and the Senate Library Committee. Assignments are based on the following priority groups.

First: PhD students who are designated as ABD by Binghamton University.
Second: PhD students who have already completed their master's degree.
Third: Graduate students.

You can apply for the study carrel by completing this online application. You will be notified in 2-3 weeks if you have received a carrel.

More information and an application for a locked study carrel can be found on the Libraries’ Circulation Services web page.

In addition, there are individual tables, carrels, and group study spaces available in the Bartle, Science, and UDC Libraries. Laptop ports for Internet access and wireless capability are also available throughout the Bartle and Science Libraries.

Computers, Laptop Ports, and Wireless in the Libraries

Computers with access to the Internet and library resources are located in the Reference areas and on each floor of the Bartle Library and the Science Library. The computers in the Bartle Instruction lab, located in the Reading Room, have the full Microsoft Office software package and some basic web authoring software.

You will need to authenticate yourself as a BU student by signing in with a BU ID and PODS password to use any library computer. If you don’t remember your password, you can find it on the University’s BUSI Web Center. Laptop ports and wireless spots are available in each library. Look for the "Wireless Hotspot" signs posted throughout the Libraries. Consult the Computing Center's web page Binghamton University Wireless for information on setting up your laptop to access the campus network in the libraries.

Subject Librarians

The subject librarians provide a range of services to students and faculty, which focus on a particular area or discipline. Contact them or make an appointment for any information you need regarding library policies, the collections, or services. They:

serve as liaisons between the Libraries and one or more of the University’s academic departments, programs, or schools
provide general reference service and specialized research consultation
initiate the selection and acquisition of materials for the collections
provide subject-specific instruction in the use of library and Internet information resources.

Research Assistance

Librarians provide individualized assistance in locating materials on a topic or using the many online resources provided by the libraries for your research and teaching needs. In-person help is available in the Bartle, Science, and UDC Libraries. In addition, e-mail research assistance and chat are offered. E-mail inquiries are answered within 24 hours and chat is offered in both libraries during limited hours when classes are in session.

Consult the Libraries’ Ask a Librarian web page for more details.

Instructional Services for Teaching Assistants

Librarians collaborate with BU faculty, instructors, and graduate teaching assistants (TAs) in support of the teaching mission of the university. Our instructional services include:

course-specific and general library sessions customized to meet your course goals and student needs. Librarians can assist with designing effective library assignments to help prevent student plagiarism. Most session are offered in the Bartle or Science Library computer instruction labs, which allow hands-on active learning.
personal research consultations for individuals or small groups of students, faculty or staff.

More information is available from our Instructional Services for Faculty web page. Consult with your subject librarian or Alesia McManus, x7-4122 for more information.