The Library is an intellectual crossroads at the center of Manhattanville College. Extensive online services, thoughtfully designed spaces, and diverse collections make the Library a reliable hub for student and faculty productivity. Student support services in writing, tutoring, and accommodations form an incubator for learning and new knowledge production. The Library empowers faculty for success in their teaching, scholarship and research. Manhattanville College supports Information Literacy instruction across the curriculum. Librarians teach credit-bearing Information Literacy courses, and also assist faculty at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The Library has a strong tradition of offering accurate, thorough, prompt, courteous, and confidential service. The Library stands as an enduring symbol of academic rigor at Manhattanville, a sanctuary for reflection and synthesis apart from distractions.
Facilities
As a gateway to information, the Library is both a repository of accumulated knowledge and an access point to current resources. The Library building houses nearly 250,000 volumes of books and journals. Our web site provides access to thousands of electronic journals and multimedia resources. Wifi access extends through all common spaces except the stacks. Computers, with Internet access, Microsoft Office, and other educational software, are located in the Reference Commons, the stacks, the News and Events Room, the Cafe, the Digital Innovations lab, and the Educational Resource Center. Laptops, tablets, and accessories are available for loan.
The public spaces of the Library offer comfortable areas for study and research. Large rooms on the main (first) floor provide tables for both quiet study and group study. Another group study area with whiteboards is located on the second floor. There are carrels for private study on each stack tier, with computers in each carrel on the third, fourth and fifth tier. The Educational Resource Center on the second floor provides materials for teacher training and children’s literature. Group viewing areas are available. An electronic classroom provides the ideal environment for learning about Information Literacy.
The Library offers modern facilities for printing and scanning. Touch-screen, self-service scanners make document conversion a breeze. High-speed printing is available on the first and second floors. There are dozens of public computers for writing papers, watching videos, doing homework, and connecting with friends.
The Digital Innovations lab on the second floor has both Macs and PCs, and movable furniture adaptable to group study. The Rare Books Room contains unique manuscripts, incunabula and historic records. Archives containing College historical artifacts are also housed in the Library building.
The Library Café on the first floor is one of the most popular spots on campus. Here students can study, use technology, and talk while enjoying coffee, sandwiches and salads.
Collections
In addition to the quarter of a million volumes and 20,000 bound periodicals, the Library holds extensive audiovisual and microform collections. The Library subscribes to essential print journals, and, through various electronic services, has access to more than 46,000 electronic journals. The Library also has thousands of electronic books, an exceptional array of online reference tools and full-text databases. These can all be discovered using the Library's web site, custom-created library guides for every academic department, and our online catalog. Our web site and catalog are accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.
Subscription databases can be accessed off-campus 24/7 by current members of the Manhattanville community. Reserve collections consist of special materials requested by professors for class use. These are kept at the Circulation Desk and/or made available through the Blackboard learning management system.
Expanded Hours
The Library is open around the clock Sundays-Thursdays from the third week of each semester until the end of final exams. Limited hours apply during holidays, between semesters, and in both winter and summer sessions. The Library's web page always links to the most current schedule information.
Rare Book and Archives
The Rare Books collection contains 2,320 volumes consisting of manuscripts, incunabula, 17th Century books, first editions and other valuable items. Subject areas of special interest include: correspondence of the Civil War Period; early American text books; Catholic Church history in the United States; liturgical music; first editions of English and American literature; and literary and historical autographs. The Archives house documents and materials relating to Manhattanville College history.
Audio/Visual Services
The library has comfortable listening and viewing areas for videos, CDs, streaming video, etc.
Extended Access to Resources
The Library is a portal to libraries and repositories from all over the world. Books and periodical articles may be borrowed using Interlibrary Loan from other libraries in the region, state, country, and even internationally. In addition, there is reciprocal borrowing with nearby Purchase College (SUNY) Library. Students may borrow materials from any Westchester County Public Library with a Westchester Library System library card provided by the Purchase Free Library. The White Plains Public Library, 10 minutes from campus, holds an extensive Children’s Literature collection of great value to Education students. A METRO referral card, obtainable at the Library's reference desk, admits students with specific research needs to member libraries throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Reference
The Reference Commons houses a collection of 2,000 volumes; the Library web site provides access to premier scholarly reference databases. Reference sources include both print and electronic encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, and indexes. Reference schedules vary, but librarians are available most days during the semester from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM. Individual consultations are also available by appointment using an online form. The Library offers SMS text reference services with next-business day response.
Workshops
A wide variety of workshops are offered on research techniques and tools for specific groups and applications.