Unlocking Knowledge: A Guide to Wheaton College Library Resources
Wheaton College's Wallace Library serves as a central hub for academic exploration, providing a wealth of resources to support the coursework, research, and intellectual curiosity of students and faculty. Recognizing the evolving landscape of information access, the library strategically selects scholarly, authoritative, and timely materials in various formats to meet current and future curricular needs. From traditional print collections to cutting-edge digital platforms, the library offers a diverse range of tools and services designed to empower users in their pursuit of knowledge.
Navigating the Physical Collections
The Wallace Library houses an extensive collection of physical materials, carefully organized to facilitate efficient browsing and retrieval.
- Circulating Book Collection: Located on the Stacks Level, this main collection is arranged according to the Library of Congress call number system. Call numbers A-Ps can be found in the main stacks room.
- Fine Arts: A comprehensive fine arts collection (Library of Congress Call number N) resides on the First and Second Mezzanines of the Atrium and in the Clark Room between the First and Second Mezzanines.
- New Books: A collection of popular novels and non-fiction titles is located on the Main Level near the front entrance.
- Reference: Dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, and other essential reference works are available in the print reference collection.
- Rare Books & Special Collections: Unique and valuable materials are housed in the Gebbie Archives & Special Collections. For information about these special collections, please refer to the Gebbie Archives & Special Collections.
- Journals: Physical journals are located in the compact storage shelves on the Stacks Level. Most periodicals are available in digital format through the catalog. Older periodicals can be found in the archives by appointment with the archivist.
- Journals on Microform/Microfiche: Microfilm and microfiche are located behind the compact shelving on the Stacks Level.
- Music Scores: A large collection of music scores is located in the compact shelving on the Stacks Level.
- Audio: Music and spoken-word CDs, tapes, and vinyl records are located in the Music Seminar Room on the Stacks Level.
- Video: The DVD collection is held behind the Information Desk.
- Board Game Collection: A collection of board games is located on the Periodicals Level.
Exploring Digital Resources
In addition to its physical collections, the Wallace Library offers a vast array of digital resources accessible both on and off-campus. These resources provide access to a wealth of information, research tools, and learning materials.
News and Current Events
Stay informed about local, national, and international events with access to a variety of news sources:
- Chicago Tribune: Search articles, obituaries, and more from 1849 to 1998. Read the full-color edition of today’s newspaper and the previous 30 days. Read the paper as it was printed from 1941-1985 plus 2018-present. Comprehensive coverage from 1985 to the present.
- Daily Herald: Read the full-color edition of today's newspaper and all issues from 2021-present by selecting the Image format.
- Financial Times: Weekly financial newspaper providing in-depth analysis on investments and economic trends. Read today’s paper and previous issues.
- New York Times: A free subscription is available to all members of the Wheaton community.
- Wall Street Journal: Weekly financial newspaper providing in-depth analysis on investments and economic trends. Read today’s paper and previous issues.
- The Guardian: Read the full-color edition of today's newspaper and all issues from 2018-present by selecting the Image format.
- The Washington Post: Read the full-color edition of today's newspaper and recent issues by selecting the Image format.
- Access news content from local, regional, and national sources such as printed and online newspapers, blogs, journals, newswires, broadcast transcripts, and videos.
Scholarly Databases and Research Tools
Conduct in-depth research and access scholarly publications through these databases:
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- Business Source Complete: Full-text articles from thousands of journals in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, and accounting.
- Consumer Reports: Ratings, reviews, recommendations, and buying advice for thousands of products including cars, appliances, electronics, and more.
- Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970: Fire insurance maps chart the growth and development of towns and cities in Illinois. They are large scale plans of a city or town drawn at a scale of 50 feet to an inch.
- FamilySearch: As a FamilySearch affiliate library, access worldwide genealogical records, images, and documents.
- Fold3: Search public records for new businesses, real estate transactions, foreclosures and auctions, and bankruptcies by county in Illinois.
- HeritageQuest Online: Search census records, city directories, family and local histories, Revolutionary War files, and Freedman’s Bank Records.
- Access over 4,000 newspapers dating from the early 1700s to the 2000s.
- Ancestry: news articles for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 to present.
- Findmypast: Search primary sources such as census records, city directories, family and local histories, Revolutionary War files, and Freedman’s Bank Records.
- Contains millions of searchable newspaper pages published 1607 to present from more than 400 cities in the United States, United Kingdom, and more than 15 other countries.
Learning and Skill Development
Enhance your skills and knowledge with these educational resources:
- Creativebug: Thousands of award-winning art and craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists, covering topics including sewing, paper crafts, cake decorating, and jewelry making.
- Gale Presents: Udemy: Over 3,500 video courses to learn business, marketing, productivity, photography, and technology skills. Software instruction includes beginner to advanced courses on Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, and much more.
- LinkedIn Learning: Over 3,500 video courses to learn business, marketing, productivity, photography, and technology skills. Software instruction includes beginner to advanced courses on Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, and much more.
- Learning Express Library: Practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, and more to achieve the results you want at school, at work, or in life. Includes tests for elementary, middle, high school, and college students, plus aptitude tests and career information for job seekers.
- Mango Languages: Learn a new language, improve current skills, and increase cultural awareness with 70 world language courses including Arabic, Korean, Polish, Russian, and Spanish.
- SkillSurfer: Use SkillSurfer to access a learning library for kids, teens, and adults on school and career topics. Includes practice tests for GED, ACT, SAT, GRE, AP, ASVAB, and many more. Provides practical tools for job seekers.
Career and Financial Resources
Prepare for your future career and manage your finances with these tools:
- Brainfuse: Connect with a guidance counselor for help with college applications, admissions interviews, and financial aid opportunities. Get individualized feedback on application essays and other writing. Browse resources and take practice tests. daily, plus a writing center (get individualized feedback on your paper).
- Financial Literacy Center: Offers short, easy-to-understand personal finance lessons, videos, and interactive tools that empower you to make informed decisions and achieve your financial goals.
- Morningstar Investment Research Center: Identify stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs that meet your needs. Includes analyst reports, investor newsletters, fund screening tools, portfolio analysis tools, and college and retirement calculators. Research large, mid-cap, and small stocks plus mutual funds and options. Includes stock analysis, industry reports, historical data, market information, and stock screener. Use Investment Education section for glossary, articles, and videos.
Other Resources
- AtoZdatabases: Directory of 50 million businesses and 150 million residents. Find phone numbers, addresses, consumer data and health care listings.
- Chicago Consumer Checkbook: Articles, advice, and consumer ratings of services in the Chicago area. Research auto repair shops, contractors, plumbers, veterinarians, doctors, carpet cleaners, and many more.
- Chicago History Museum City Directories: Search Chicago city directories and US military records from the Revolutionary War onward.
- Gale Health and Wellness: Topics cover health and wellness spectrum-from mainstream medicine to complementary, holistic, and integrated medicine.
- Gale Legal Forms: Find fillable legal forms by state; browse topics including estate planning, family affairs, business law, and immigration; and learn how to navigate a wide range of legal issues.
- Gale Small Business Builder: A guided step-by-step experience for starting, managing, or growing a business. Develop a business plan, create deliverables, and track progress.
- Illinois Driving Practice Tests: Practice driving exams for getting a license in Illinois. Tests for car, motorcycle, and commercial driver’s license (CDL). Read the Illinois Rules of the Road, motorcycle, or CDL handbooks.
- Novelist Plus: Discover expert reading recommendations for favorite titles, authors, and series. Browse reviews, articles, lists, and series information.
- Small Engine Repair Reference Center: Repair guides for small engines and routine maintenance, plus guides on extensive repairs.
- Explore 145,000 maps of the world, continents, countries, and states. Browse antique and historical maps, climate and ecology maps, flags of the world, and glossaries. Improve your cultural intelligence in an increasingly connected world. Powered by the automotive experts at MOTOR, find accurate, authoritative and up-to-date DIY service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported cars, SUVs, vans and light trucks.
- Educational content for homeschooling families and teachers developed by educators.
Wheaton College Digital Repository
Wheaton College’s digital repository serves as a platform to collect, preserve, and distribute born-digital and digitized scholarship and materials. Explore collections such as:
- Wheaton College Digital Resources for Teaching and Research: Demonstrates how 3D models can be presented on JSTOR forum, published for the 2019 Council of Independent College's Consortium on Digital Resources for Teaching and Research grant.
- Marion B. Wheaton College Shell Collection: Seashells from Wheaton's biology department that represents many species of mollusks.
- Wheaton College Permanent Collection: Images of art and artifacts from Wheaton's Permanent (art) Collection. Learn more at the Permanent Collection webpage.
- Wheaton College Visual Resources Collection: Images for teaching and research at Wheaton College.
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