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Find, Borrow, Request

Books, articles, & more

The Vassar College Libraries contain more than one million volumes and many different types of materials, in a variety of tangible and digital formats. Need help finding sources for your research, teaching, or creative pursuits? Just Ask a Librarian!

How Do I Find Materials in Library Search?

Search Vassar Library Search by author, title, subject, or keyword for books, government documents, journals, musical scores, audio recordings, videos and other items Vassar owns. Library Search also includes access to many journal articles and news sources. 

  • Tip: “author” is any name associated with the item: editor, translator, actor, composer, performer, etc.

Limit to Physical Collections to find items (books, DVDs, etc.) physically located in the Vassar libraries. Identify the item's

  • call number (where is it on the shelf?)
  • location (which library is it in? which room?)
  • status (has it been checked out?)

Find it:

Items on reserve

Do you need to find materials on reserve? Faculty members set aside books and other materials for classes to use. These materials are in the library and their library location will be marked as "Main Reserve," "Art Reserve," or "Music Reserve" in Library Search. Main Reserve items can be retrieved from the Main Circulation desk and Art Reserve items from the tables and study rooms near the Art Library Circulation desk. Music Reserve items are located at the Circulation Desk in the Music Library, Skinner Hall of Music.

Interlibrary Loan

Use Interlibrary Loan to request books and articles not available at Vassar. 

Databases, journals, and more

The Vassar Libraries also provide access to scholarly journals across disciplines, current and historical newspapers, databases, data sets, primary source collections, streaming media, and more. Many, but not all, of these resources can be found in Library Search. Consult the resources below to find even more sources for your research:

  • Databases: search by title, subject area, or material type (e.g., historical news, government information, etc.)
  • Journals: search for scholarly journals, popular magazines, and newspapers by title
  • Research guides: resources recommended by Vassar librarians for subjects, courses, and research topics

 

More than just books

Learn more about the types of materials you can find at the Libraries:

Printed material

Printed materials -- books, journals, more. Start with Vassar Library Search.

Music scores

Music scores -- find musical scores through the catalog

Video

Videos -- we have a robust video collection! Learn more and start your search.

E-books

E-books -- we subscribe to thousands of e-book packages. Find titles through Vassar Library Search.

Government documents

Government documents -- Vassar is an official U.S. depository for government documents.

Music recordings

Music recordings -- find music recordings using the catalog.

Non-music recordings

Non-music recordings -- find interviews, commentary, etc., through the catalog.