Vassar College Library Resources: A Comprehensive Guide
Vassar College boasts an exceptional library system, ranking among the best liberal arts collections in the United States, both in the number of titles (over 1,000,000 volumes) and in their exceptional variety and depth. These libraries effectively merge traditional materials with newer technologies, providing students with extraordinary access to a broad range of resources. This article will explore the various resources available through the Vassar College libraries, encompassing print and electronic materials, special collections, and departmental resources.
Overview of Vassar College Libraries
The Vassar College libraries comprise several distinct yet interconnected facilities. The main library includes the Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library, the Helen D. Lockwood Library, and the Martha Rivers and E. Bronson Ingram Library. The Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library, dating back to 1905, is considered one of the most beautiful Collegiate Gothic buildings in the country. The Ingram Library, the most recent addition, houses the Catherine Pelton Durrell Archives and Special Collections and the Francis Fitz Randolph Rare Book Room. During the construction of the Ingram Library, the Thompson Library underwent extensive renovation. In addition to the main library, Vassar also houses the Van Ingen Art Library and the George Sherman Dickinson Music Library.
Access and Accessibility
The recommended accessible entrance to the main library is located on the North end of the building across from Chicago Hall. Patrons can enter by card access or by using the call box for assistance. Upon entering there is elevator access to the main floor. There is elevator access to most levels of the library, with accessible restrooms on the main floor and in the basement. The main entrance is not accessible. The north entrance features a single door with a push-to-open button. Inside is a lift. The library also provides support services for students and faculty with disabilities through the Office for Accessibility and Educational Opportunity. Please contact the circulation desk for assistance with the online catalogs and research workstations, book retrieval from the stacks, and individualized library orientation.
Print Resources
Vassar’s libraries have more than 1 million volumes in print, including over 50,000 rare books. The libraries offer a broad range of print materials including books, journals, manuscripts, rare books, and archives.
Electronic Resources
Vassar Libraries effectively merge traditional materials with newer technologies, giving students extraordinary access to electronic resources such as electronic journals, indexes, full-text indexes, databases, web-based resources, and videos. The library also subscribes to two full-text databases: BREPOLiS Latin Complete, a resource that includes Latin literature from the 3rd BCE-16th century CE; and Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, a corresponding resource for Greek literature from Homer to the fall of Byzantium in 1453 CE. In addition, there are subscriptions for the major encyclopedia resources, Brill’s New Pauly and the Oxford Classical Dictionary as well as L’Annee Philologique, the primary tool for discovering scholarly works in Greek and Roman studies, philology, and related fields.
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Special Collections and Archives
The Catherine Pelton Durrell ’25 Archives and Special Collections houses a number of papyrus fragments, manuscripts of ancient texts, early Greek and Latin Bibles, and materials related to the development of writing in antiquity that are available for students and faculty to consult.
Departmental Resources
Several academic departments at Vassar College have their own specialized resources, often housed within their respective buildings.
Classical Studies Department
The Classical Studies Department houses a complete collection of the Loeb Classical Texts, ancient Greek and Roman texts with facing English translations. These texts are available for individual use in the department. The department also maintains a collection of frequently consulted reference works, dictionaries, and texts of Greek and Latin authors which can be borrowed by students. The Vassar Main Library has an excellent collection of monographs and periodicals on Greek and Roman religion, history, art, philosophy, archaeology, and literature. It has been strengthened considerably by an annual contribution to the cost of acquiring books on classical subjects by the Blegen Fund. All permanent and visiting faculty have the opportunity to order any book which they feel is important for a collection of this quality to have.
Art Department
The Art Department’s offerings are divided into three areas of study-art history, studio art, and architecture-each with its own resources. Based in Taylor Hall in between the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center and the Art Library, the department offers direct access to Vassar’s extraordinary collections as well as courses covering the full range of art worldwide in lecture halls and seminar rooms equipped with state-of-the-art projection systems. The Studio Art program has sculpture and printmaking facilities in the Doubleday Studio Arts Building, drawing studios in Ely Hall, and photography, new media and video, and painting studios in New Hackensack, where studio art majors also have individual studios. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center has a small but rich collection of ancient artifacts-vases, coins, sculptures, and inscriptions. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center houses one of the oldest college art collections in the country and has been named one of “the best university art museums in America” by Architectural Digest. The collection contains more than 21,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and photographs spanning the history of art from ancient Egypt to the present. It is particularly noted for its collection of 19th- and 20th-century European and American art, Greek and Roman sculpture and ceramics, Old Master prints, 19th-century British watercolors and drawings, and photographs.
Drama Department
The Drama Department is located in the Vogelstein Center, which houses a 320-seat theater with a traditional proscenium stage, a small black box studio, and production spaces and classrooms equipped with advanced technology.
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Modern Languages and Literature Departments
The modern language and literature departments of French and Franchophone Studies, German Studies, Hispanic Studies, Italian, and Russian Studies are located in Chicago Hall which houses the Foreign Language Resource Center (FLRC), a multimedia facility incorporating a networked computer classroom, a 30-seat film and video theater/lecture space, video viewing facilities for individual and small group use, and media production studios. All classrooms in Chicago support Internet-based and multimedia presentations, and direct foreign language television is available through satellite-based providers. The Asian Studies Program offers instruction in Korean language, with classes held in Chicago Hall. The Department of Chinese and Japanese is housed in Sanders Classroom, which features seminar rooms, lecture rooms, “smart” classrooms, and a 158-seat auditorium.
Social Sciences Departments
The social science departments (Anthropology, Economics, Education, Geography, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion, and Sociology) are housed in Blodgett Hall, Ely Hall, the Maria Mitchell Observatory, Rockefeller Hall, and Swift Hall. The Department of Anthropology, located in Blodgett Hall, has laboratories for archaeology and biological anthropology as well as for digital media and sound analysis. The Archaeology Labs contain equipment for analysis and curation of artifacts, mapping and spatial analyses of field sites, and the identification of animal bones from North American contexts. The Biological Anthropology Labs contain equipment for conducting three-dimensional and virtual reality analyses of primates, and an extensive collection of replica skeletons and brain endocasts from non-human primate species.
Science Departments
The sciences reside in the Integrated Science Commons, in Rockefeller and Ely halls, and the Class of 1951 Observatory. The Integrated Science Commons includes four buildings, fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration: Olmsted Hall, Sanders Physics, and New England Building as well as the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences, spanning the Fonteyn Kill and connected to Olmsted. The Biology Department (Bridge for Laboratory Sciences and Olmsted Hall) supports the process of biological inquiry from molecules to ecosystems. Major instrumentation and facilities include genomic/proteomic/biochemical instrumentation; a cell imaging facility, including epifluorescent and confocal microscopes with image acquisition and analysis tools; a scientific visualization laboratory; plant and animal physiological instruments, cell culturing facilities, including sterile cell culture; a large greenhouse an herbarium; a phytotron facility; a vivarium that includes an aquatic organism laboratory and sound and video analysis instrumentation and an evolutionary robotics laboratory with a 3D printer. The Chemistry Department is located in the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences. Chemistry faculty and students carry out experiments using an extensive array of state-of-the-art instrumentation for molecular structure determination, spectroscopy, chromatography, and other specialized techniques. Major research instrumentation funded by the National Science Foundation includes a liquid chromatography electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (LC-ESI-MS) used to study the structure and composition of lipids and proteins, and a charge-coupled device (CCD) dual source X-ray diffractometer used to determine the three-dimensional molecular structure. The Computer Science Department (Sanders Physics) has its own hardware lab and machine room. The machine room is equipped with a full complement of Linux servers and Virtual Machines, behind a firewall, on a dedicated network of 60 Linux workstations-around 50 of which are available 24 hours a day in our two computer labs. Students may also access on-campus HPC (High-Performance Computing) and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) computer clusters supporting multiple parallel, distributed, and grid computing paradigms. These computational resources collectively support faculty and student exploration and research in areas such as artificial intelligence, computational linguistics, natural language processing, multi-agent systems, temporal networks, computer animation, computer games, distributed algorithms, mobile computing, vehicular networks, distributed systems, parallel computing,evolutionary computing, bioinformatics, robotics, programming languages, computer security, and data science. Information Systems (GIS). Major instrumentation includes an X-ray diffractometer for studying crystal structures, a laser diffraction particle size analyzer, a coulometer and Chittick apparatus for carbon analysis, an alkalinity titrator, and a 19-seat GIS computer lab for cartography, spatialdata analysis, and numerical modeling. The department makes extensive use of the environmental sciences lab, located in the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences, for teaching and research. The Mathematics and Statistics Department is located in Rockefeller Hall. The Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sanders Physics) provides computer laboratories equipped for work in observational astronomy (image processing and data analysis) and computational physics. Physics research labs contain multiple laser systems, including 6-Watt and 4-Watt 532-nm continuous-wave lasers and an ultrafast laser capable of producing sub-picosecond pulses. The applied optics lab is equipped for spectroscopy and applications such as characterizing the motion of microscopic organisms. A high-vacuum sputter coater is available for the growth of metal films that can be as thin as a few nanometers. The Class of 1951 Observatory includes a double-domed structure which houses a 32-inch reflecting telescope (tied for largest in New York State) and a 20-inch reflecting telescope. Each is equipped with a CCD camera and spectrograph. There are also several small telescopes, including an historic 8” refractor, and a solar telescope. The observatory also has a warm room for controlling the telescopes, a classroom, and an observation deck. The Psychological Science Department (New England Building and Olmsted Hall) maintains state-of-the-art laboratories for research in physiology, neurochemistry, experimental learning, and electrophysiology, as well as observation and testing suites with sophisticated audio and video recording equipment for the study of development, individual differences, and social behavior. The Scientific Visualization Laboratory, located in the Bridge for Laboratory Science building, is a multidisciplinary computing space dedicated to research and teaching in the natural sciences. It is designed to be both a classroom for sessions requiring the use of high-end software tools and a research facility where Vassar faculty and students develop individual and collaborative projects. The Class of 1951 Observatory includes a double-domed structure which houses a 32-inch reflecting telescope (tied for largest in New York State) and a 20-inch reflecting telescope. Each is equipped with a CCD camera and spectrograph. There are also several small telescopes and a solar telescope. The observatory also has a warm room for controlling the telescopes, a classroom, and an observation deck.
Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve
An invaluable resource for the entire community, the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve encompasses over 525 acres, most of which are actively managed as an ecological preserve. The preserve contains a wide range of habitats-floodplain forests, shrublands, old fields, wetlands, streams, and ponds. Located on the preserve, the Priscilla Bullitt Collins Field Station houses a classroom, laboratory, and a weather station. Exploring Science at Vassar Farm, an educational outreach program that introduces local school children to hands-on science and gives Vassar students training as science educators, is based at the field station. The field station supports science classes and numerous ongoing faculty-student research projects as well as community-engaged learning and environmental outreach efforts. Adjacent to the preserve are the Vassar Barns, rugby fields, community gardens, and the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, a member-supported organic farm. The Environmental Cooperative at the Vassar Barns, an outreach and education initiative, supports local and regional conservation and environmental efforts.
Technology and Support
The Service Desk is centrally located in the College Center to provide IT support, ID card services, technology training, and certified Apple and Dell repairs. Public computers, available in the College Center, the library and dormitories, provide students access to shared software, academic resources and printers. The library is home to the Design Studio and Collaboration Studio, spaces for learning, collaboration, and technology exploration. CIS offers Google Apps for Education as a communication and collaboration tool for students, faculty and employees. CIS also provides Office 365 licenses on request and other specialized applications in computer labs and public areas.
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Additional Resources
Vassar College provides additional resources to enhance the learning and research experience.
Omeka
Omeka is a free, open-source content management system for online digital collections that allows users to publish and exhibit scholarly collections and cultural heritage objects.
Scalar
Scalar is an open source, web-based publishing software from the University of Southern California’s Alliance for Networking Visual Culture that allows you to create networked, multi-media online publications.
Campus Life Resources
Main Building, Vassar’s oldest and largest building, is the heart of the residential campus. A handsome and monumental structure designed by James Renwick Jr., it houses the Office of the President, the College Center, and other administrative offices. The top three floors serve as a residence hall for approximately 300 students. The College Center, at the rear of Main Building, is the hub of campus life. The center provides rooms for social, educational, and extracurricular activities and auxiliary services for the college community. The College Center also includes the College Information Center, the James W. Palmer III ‘90 Gallery, and the multipurpose room. The College Information Center disseminates information about campus events as well as local area events and points of interest. Residential life is an essential component of a Vassar education, giving students the opportunity to experience the value of being part of a diverse community. In addition to Main, there are seven coeducational residence houses, one house for women only, and one cooperative. Most students live in one of these houses through their junior year. Most seniors (and some juniors) choose to live in one of the college’s partially furnished apartment complexes-the Town Houses, Terrace Apartments, and South Commons. The residence houses are self-governing and self-directing, with leadership provided by elected student officers and members of the residential life staff. House fellows-faculty members who live in the residence houses, many with families-help to create a sense of community. They serve as informal academic advisors and play a major role in the intellectual and cultural life of the house. Working with the house fellows are house advisors, full-time residential life professionals. Students, too, are important members of the residential life team. Chosen and trained by Residential Life, student fellows work with the first-year students on their halls to make the transition to life at Vassar as smooth as possible. Each residence has a house student adviser who coordinates the activities of the student fellows. Finally, every residence elects student officers who help provide leadership in the houses. In addition to Gordon Commons, Campus Dining offers options in other convenient locations for members of the community who want to grab a bite to eat or a beverage. The Retreat in the College Center serves breakfast and lunch with made-to-order sandwiches and grill items, soups and salads, daily specials, and more. The Vassar Express, also in the College Center, offers self-serve breakfast and lunch options. The Vassar Student Association (VSA), the student government represents the students of the college. The VSA Executive Board is composed of seven elected officers who act as a team to oversee the day-to-day operations of the VSA. They serve on VSA Senate and meet weekly to discuss issues, agenda items for senate meetings, and funding requests. The VSA Senate, the legislative body of the student government, is made up of three senators from each class, one each in the areas of Activities, Student Affairs, and Strategic Planning, as well as other Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs, in addition to the Executive Board. The Senate meets weekly on Sunday nights at 7:00pm in New England 105. The VSA leadership represents the student body in college policy-making, which affects both educational and personal lives.
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