Libraries

As one of the great academic research libraries in the United States, the Cornell University Library is a highly valued partner in study, teaching, and research at the university, offering a full spectrum of resources, from rare books and manuscripts to a rapidly expanding network of digital materials, along with cutting edge services. Other special libraries on campus augment the mission of the University Library. Together, they serve as integral components in the variety of educational programs and research projects under way at Cornell.

"...if you are in need of recharging your batteries...you have only to step into the library."

Juan Carlos Esguerra '73, Colombian statesman and former ambassador to the United States

Clocktower at dusk with Uris library

Clocktower at dusk with Uris Library

Cornell University Library Units

Other Cornell Libraries

Anne Carry Durland Memorial Alternatives Library
Located in Anabel Taylor Hall, the Durland Alternatives Library provides resources on contemporary issues and ideas as well as philosophical and spiritual studies usually unavailable in research and public libraries.
Adelaide and George W. Knight Visual Resources Facility
The Knight Visual Resources Facility currently houses about 430,000 slides which provide instructional and research support for the academic programs of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and the History of Art Department within the College of Arts and Sciences.
Arecibo Observatory Library
A small library with specialized books and journals is located in Building 2. Our librarian, Carmen Segarra, will be happy to assist you.
Bailey Hortorium Library
Within the Bailey Hortorium Herbarium, are the combined botanical resources from the personal library of Liberty Hyde Bailey and the Wiegand Herbarium. Among its holdings are roughly 30,000 volumes, hundreds of shelf-feet of reprints, and over 200 journal titles.
Career Library
Our goal at the Career Library in Barnes is to help you find the best career-related information in the shortest time possible.
CIIFAD Resource Center
The CIIFAD (Cornell Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development) Resource Center at 31 Warren Hall has a special collection of interdisciplinary educational materials that are generally not available elsewhere on campus.
Cornell Hillel Rabbi Morris Goldfarb Memorial Library
The Memorial Library may be found on the ground floor of Anabel Taylor Hall. It contains more than 2,000 books related to Jewish topics, from the history of Jews in the United States, to Torah commentary, to novels, biographies, and poems by influential Jewish authors. This collection is open to the entire Cornell and Ithaca community.
Macaulay Library
Residing in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Macaulay Library houses the world's largest archive of animal sounds and associated video.
Physics Educational Computing Facility Library
The physics department's new reference library is in Rockefeller Hall and contains many advanced technology and programming texts.
Women's Resource Center Library
Inside Willard Straight Hall, find information on dating, stress, health, sexual harassment, or on the many local agencies in Tompkins County. We have a great lending library with over 1000 books, cool magazines and topical files.

Reading Rooms

Woman studying on a couch by the window
Mary Donlan Hall Library
The building, which has an unusual postmodern layout, contains a recently renovated first floor with a small quiet library.
RisLibrary
Located in Risley Hall, the RisLibrary is more of a quiet place to study than a library - though it does house the second largest collection of romance novels on campus (after the Cornell Library, of course).
Snee Hall Reading Room
A glass enclosed reading room with a view of the Cascadilla gorge - it is a popular place to study.

Affiliated Libraries

A.D. White Reading Room
The Cornell Club New York
Relax in the quiet Andrew Dickson White Library.
Paleontological Research Institution Library
Our library of over 50,000 volumes focuses on paleontology, geology and natural history. The Wells Rare Book Room houses an important collection of books on corals, mollusks, and foraminiferans. Our oldest volume dates back to 1684. Help is needed in general library upkeep, organization of volumes and the restoration of old books. In addition to our library, we have an extensive collection of photographic and glass slides, photos and memorabilia from PRI Directors and other notable scientists. Help is needed in organizing and in writing short histories of the different collections.