Undergraduate Catalog
2005-2007

The University of Houston libraries include

• the M.D. Anderson Library (the main library),
• the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library,
• the O'Quinn Law Center Library,
• the Music Library,
• the Weston A. Pettey Optometry Library,
• and the Pharmacy Library.

These libraries constitute a premier research facility with collections of more than 2,000,000 volumes, 15,000 journal and other serial subscriptions, as well as large quantities of microforms, manuscripts, maps, and other library materials.

The M.D. Anderson Library is open more than 100 hours a week. Reference service, available more than 70 hours a week, provides users with assistance in locating information and resources. Subject librarians in all major disciplines offer specialized reference and research assistance, lecture regularly to classes, and develop the library collections in their subject areas.

In the Research Center on the first floor, faculty and students can use over 200 networked databases. These databases contain the full text of millions of articles, indexes to help users identify articles and reports, statistics, directories, and many other types of information. Most of the databases are available to UH students, faculty, and staff from their homes or offices. A wireless network within the M.D. Anderson Library provides access to the Internet and online library resources. Students may use their own laptop or borrow a wireless-enabled laptop to use within the library building.

In addition to course-related research methods classes, librarians offer several basic classes on topics such as introductory research methods and effective Internet searching. Electronic research guides in many subject disciplines are also available through the Libraries' web site (info.lib.uh.edu). Other resources and services available in the M.D. Anderson Library include a 24-hour Student Lounge, a self-serve photocopying center, access to the University's CougarNet (with word processing and courseware capabilities), a leisure reading collection of recent, popular fiction and non-fiction, and a copy of the textbooks for most courses in the University's Core Curriculum. Quiet study areas are available throughout the building, and there are many collaborative study rooms avaialbe for those working in groups.

The M.D. Anderson Library contains a balanced collection with particular strengths in science, engineering, education, psychology, and business. The library is a depository for both United States and Texas state documents. Extensive holdings of newspapers on microfilm include complete files of

• the London Times,
• the New York Times,
• the Houston Post and Chronicle,
• plus substantial runs of other significant national papers.

Several large sets of research materials are available on microform, such as the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) research reports in education, company 10-K and annual reports, and the papers of a number of United States presidents. The Special Collections and Archives department of the library houses rare books, the University Archives, the Women's Archives Research Center, manuscripts of several American authors, including Larry McMurtry, Beverly Lowry, and Fritz Leiber, and substantial collections of rare and historical works, especially in Texas history.

An online library catalog provides information about the collections of the University of Houston libraries as well as those of the UH Law Library, the UH-Downtown Library, and the UH-Clear Lake Library. The online catalog may be searched from remote sites through the campus network or the Internet. University of Houston students may borrow materials from all University of Houston System libraries.

In addition to this large size and scope, the university libraries extends its collection by participating in a number of resource sharing networks. On the state level, the university's membership in the TexShare cooperative program provides access to some of the most popular databases. Traditional collections of books and journals are available through the TexShare library card program. This allows students, faculty, and staff of the university to borrow items at over 130 libraries statewide. At a national and international level, the university's membership in the Center for Research Libraries provides shared ownership of more than three million research materials. Online access to the cataloging records of more than 32 million items in 30,000 libraries worldwide is also available. Students may borrow materials from other research libraries in the United States and abroad through the Interlibrary loan program.

Locally, the Houston Area Research Libraries Consortium (HARLiC) functions as a cooperative network by sharing research materials and services, and building a shared awareness of available resources and services.

The HARLiC member libraries are

• Rice University,
• the Texas Medical Center,
• Texas Southern University,
• the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston,
• Houston Public Library,
• Prairie View A&M,
• and the University of Houston.

In cooperation with the Houston Public Library, all university libraries are affiliated with the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, which houses a large collection of manuscripts, archives, and photographs pertaining to the city of Houston.

The staff of the libraries welcomes inquiries concerning library programs, resources, and services.

M. D. Anderson Library

Dean of the Libraries: Dana C. Rooks

Librarians: Charles W. Bailey, Jr., L. Patricia Bozeman, Suzanne Ferimer, Barbara Kemp, Judy E. Myers

Associate Librarians: Evelyn Brass, Damon Camile, Jill Emery, John E. "Jeff" Fadell, Clara Fowler, Richard R. Guajardo, John D. Hall, Keiko Horton, Lawrence R. Keating II, John Lehner, Carolyn Meanley, Derral Parkin, Laura M. Snyder, Robert C. Spragg, Audrey Taylor, Linda Thompson, Marc Truitt

Assistant Librarians:  Nicole Abbott, Michelle Boulé, Kristen Bullard, Richard Dickerson, Catherine Essinger, Ellen Feinberg, Julie Grob,   Diane Gwamanda, Adrian Ho, Sarah Holland, Rafael Kasprowski, Laura Koltutsky, Nancy Linden, Anne Mitchell, Steven Perkins, Sara Ranger, Paul Sharpe, Tammy Ravas, Amy Sisson, J. Michael Thompson, Robert Wright

William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library

Coordinator: Catherine Essinger  

John M O'Quinn Law Library

Director: Spencer Simons

Associate Director: Mon Yin Lung

Librarian: L. Virginia Davis

Associate Librarians: Harriet Richman, Marek B.C.M. Waterstone

Assistant Librarians: Adrienne Cobb, Peter Engler, Nicole Evans, Yuxin Li, Chenglin Liu

School of Music Library

Acting Coordinator: Tammy Ravas

Weston A. Pettey Optometry Library

Coordinator: Suzanne Ferimer

College of Pharmacy Library

Coordinator: Robert Wright

 

Last updated:
Wednesday, June 8, 2005 - 10:35 AM