University Libraries

Cravens Building
Office 101, 745-2905
www.wku.edu/library

Dr. Michael Binder, Dean of Libraries

The purpose of the University Libraries is to support the informational, research and curricular needs of WKU students, faculty and staff by selecting, acquiring, organizing and providing access to all print, non-print, and electronic library resources.  Reference services in person, by phone or electronically, research instruction and orientation classes on demand and a wireless environment provide an attractive environment for small group discussions and quiet study.

WKU Libraries offer services through the main complex, Helm-Cravens Library (located near the center of campus), the Kentucky Library & Museum, the Educational Resources Center, the Visual & Performing Arts Library, the Glasgow Campus Library, and Extended Campus Library Services.  The University Libraries collection includes more than 800,000 books, 100,000 volumes of periodicals, 1.2 million microforms, and one-quarter million government documents. Each year, approximately 12,000 books are added to the collection and over 3,500 subscriptions with online access to more than 20,000 journals through TDNet.  Primary access to the collections is provided by TOPCAT, the Libraries’ online catalog. TOPCAT terminals are located near library service desks and on each floor of Cravens stacks. Remote access is also available.

The main entrance to the Helm-Cravens Library is on the fourth floor of the Cravens building. Circulation Services occupies this floor, where patrons may charge out library materials or request the use of laptop computers.  The Leisure Reading Collection, new books display, photocopiers, and a faculty photocopying service are also located on this floor. The Department of Library Public Services office is located on the fifth floor of the Cravens building. The remainder of the fifth floor, and floors 6 through 9 houses the main portion of the circulating book collection, offices, conference rooms, and graduate student study carrels.  The Libraries’ newest branch, the Visual & Performing Arts Library (VPAL) is located on the second floor of Cravens and houses collections in music, theatre, dance, art, photography, and costume including 7,000 films in DVD and VHS; 3,800 CDs and 15,000 vinyl records.  It provides a special listening and viewing area and soundproof rooms, a large scale digital scanner and at the Libraries’ main reserve collection.  The Department of Library Technical Services, which handles the acquisition and processing of all library resources, is located on the third floor of Cravens.  The Dean of Libraries and his staff are on the first floor.

The Helm building adjoins the Cravens building through walkways connecting the fourth and fifth floors of Cravens to the first and second floors of Helm, respectively.  The Helm building may also be accessed through the first floor lobby entrance; adjacent to this entrance is a popular café. The Reference collection of print, electronic, and microfiche information resources is located on the first floor of Helm along with Interlibrary Loan.  The Periodicals and Microforms collections are located on the second floor of Helm.  Current periodicals and bound volumes of periodicals published since 1980 are located here. The second largest computer lab on campus, the Student Technology Center operated by Academic Computing and Research Services, is also on the second floor. The ground floor of Helm houses the federal depository documents collection, selected Kentucky state documents, and the law collection.  Bound periodicals prior to 1980 are housed in compact shelving on this floor.

The Educational Resources Center (ERC) is located on the third floor of Tate Page Hall. The ERC provides information required for academic and enrichment activities and serves as a repository of many and varied types of curriculum and professional materials and resources in support of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.

The Glasgow Campus Library, located on the WKU Glasgow campus, gives reference assistance to students at the Glasgow campus and assists them in requesting extended campus library services.

The Kentucky Library is located on the second floor of the Kentucky Building. Also on the second floor are the Manuscripts and Folklife Archives collections, and the University Archives. These collections are non-circulating and contain books, manuscripts, microforms, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, scrapbooks, diaries, sheet music, hymnals, maps, photographs, broadsides and reel-to-reel and cassette tapes. Most of these study and research collections relate to Kentucky history and life.

The Kentucky Library & Museum is located in the Kentucky Building.  Its library component provides access to Manuscripts & Folklife Archives, University Archives, rare books, manuscripts, microforms, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, scrapbooks, diaries, sheet music, hymnals, maps, photographs, broadsides, and reel-to-reel and cassette tapes.  Most of these study and research collections relate to Kentucky history and life.  These library collections must be used in the building, being non-circulating.  The museum collection contains thousands of Kentucky and non-Kentucky artifacts, decorative arts, textiles and clothing, an extensive art and quilt collection, silver, Native American tools and textiles, toys, and a wide assortment of everyday artifacts, which are displayed in the exhibits.  The museum also offers a year-round program of field trips, workshops, lectures, receptions, and exhibit openings designed for the University community as well as the general public.

Printed and online guides describing the many services and collections available in the WKU Libraries may be obtained at each service area or branch or online at www.wku.edu/library.

New programs and services are announced on the Libraries’ web site or posted on the Western Kentucky University Libraries Blog at http://blog.wku.edu/library/.

Annually, the WKU library system hosts the Southern Kentucky Book Fest, the Kentucky Writers Conference, the Kentucky Literary Awards, and two lecture series, Far Away Places and Kentucky Live.  It also maintains two popular Kentucky web sites:  Kentucky Information in Cyberspace (www.wku.edu/library/KIIC/index.htm) and Resources on KERA (www.wku.edu/library/kera).