Services

To start exploring the resources for students and library online resources, all you need is your Colby username and password.

Use your Colby Card to borrow books at any Colby library or to pay for photocopies or library fines.

Renew your books in your online library account using your Colby username and password. See student loan periods and policies here.

To request books from Bates and Bowdoin, click on the Request button, which can be found in an item record in the Books and More Search (LibrarySearch), and then enter the barcode numbers only (no letters) on the back of your Colby Card.

Explore items (laptops, cameras, etc.) available for loan at the library.

Use our Interlibrary Loan service to borrow books or other materials or to get copies of articles from other libraries.

Faculty members sometimes put materials (books, DVDs, etc.) on “reserve,” meaning students can only borrow these materials in the course, usually for a shortened loan period. Search for reserves here.

Additionally, faculty members will sometimes put course textbooks (books that offer students a comprehensive compilation of content) on reserve. Examples of these textbooks would be textbooks used in science and language classes. The library currently does not purchase these types of textbooks for loan.

Library liaisons to academic departments are available to help you learn to find books, articles, data, websites, and other resources for your papers or projects. Any student, whether on or off campus can email [email protected] to set up a meeting to help with your projects!

Use our Research Support page for tips and guides on student research. We’ve collected some of our best advice, databases, and guides here.

Our Special Collections librarians would love you to use our unique digital archives and old manuscripts. See their resources and work opportunities here.

If you are pursuing an Honors or Senior Scholars project, meet with a library liaison for suggestions on research, resources, and how to deposit your finished thesis with the library.

Colby has two libraries with many spaces for studying. These include Miller Library’s Brewster Reading Room, second and third floors, and the Bixler Art and Music Library’s relaxing atmosphere and media lab for access to design and music programs.

Please set your cell phones to silent or vibrate. Review our policies for using the spaces (food, music, etc.).

Depending on space, we sometimes can offer a personal locker for student use on the third floor of Miller.  There are limited spots, and students should show demonstrated need (senior thesis, major research project, documented learning differences). To apply for using a locker, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Dean of Studies Office at x4560 for an application.

Do you need to print from your laptop, or have other questions about printing? Check out the ITS online help page. There are also step-by-step instructions on how to add a printer.

There are self-service copies/scanners in the Miller and Bixler Libraries

• Copies are $0.10 per page and require a Colby ID or copy-card
• There is no cost for scanning materials and sending them to your email

• Use your Colby Card to borrow books and other items at any library or pay for photocopies or fines.
• See what you have checked out or renew materials in your online library account using your Colby username and password.
• Set up an interlibrary loan account to borrow books from other libraries.
• Contact your library liaison to learn how the library can help with your research and teaching.
• Use this form to request books, e-books, and films for purchase.
• You can place required readings on reserve at any library for a short-term loan to students. Find out more here.

Reference and Instructional Support

Liaisons to academic departments are subject specialists who work with faculty, students, and staff to support research, teaching, and learning. Contact a library liaison if you:

• Want to provide your class or students with research consultations and library instruction.
• Would like to offer asynchronous modules to support your course’s research projects
• Would like feedback on research assignments
• Are interested in us sending announcements about library services and relevant programs or events to the class
• Want support locating or using a resource

Special Collections: Teaching with Archives

The librarians in Special Collections run archival labs to train students in the use of primary sources and archival materials. Find out what Special Collections offers our faculty here.

Email them at [email protected] or call them at 207-859-5150

Library Classrooms

You may reserve the Bixler Media Lab (in Bixler) or Davis Classroom (in Miller) for one-off library instruction or interactive instruction sessions with your students. Find out more about reserving these computer labs here. or email us at [email protected]

Library liaisons are happy to consult with any faculty member on their research needs and library-related workflow. Contact your department’s liaison to set up a time to meet and discuss:

• Copyright for books or materials used in your class.
• Open access and maintaining copyright on your scholarship.
• Digitizing or managing your research data and field notes.
• Using Citation Alerts to get notifications of new research in your field.
• Managing your citations in Endnote, Refworks, Mendeley, or Zotero.
• Browsing the latest issues of top journals with Browzine.
• Writing data management plans for external grant applications.

Discover additional resources available through the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs

Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin

You can easily borrow books from Colby, Bates, or Bowdoin (CBB) using our shared catalog at LibrarySearch using Book and more or ExploreCBB. Your borrowing privileges include:

• 365 day loans for CBB books and government documents
• 120 day loans for CBB sound recordings
• 28 day loans for CBB audiobooks
• 7 day loans for CBB periodicals, multimedia, maps, and videos

MaineCat

If materials are not available locally, use the our library catalog to request them from MaineCat, which give us access to books from other Maine libraries.

WorldCat

WorldCat is an international catalog of books at libraries across US public and academic institutions, as well as public and academic universities worldwide. If you can’t find things locally or regionally, you may well be able to find a book’s record in WorldCat.

Interlibrary Loan

If we still don’t have what you’re looking for, you may request books, articles, and book chapters through interlibrary loan. Read more here.

Use this form to request books, ebooks, films for purchase.

Digital Commons@Colby

Explore this online collection of College publications and scholarship produced by Colby students, faculty, and staff, including:

• Colby Quarterly, published from 1943 to 2003, documented gifts to Special Collections in its early years and later developed into a respected journal devoted to English and Classical literature.
• Colby Histories by Whittemore, Marriner, and Earl Smith, whose volume covers years through the early 2000s.
•  Student Research, including hundreds of Honors Theses and Senior Scholar Projects.
• Most of the last 140 years of Course Catalogues.
• Colby Photos, digitized from the huge collection of prints curated in Special Collections
• The Colby Echo‘s archive containing issues from 1877 through 2006.

We are always happy to welcome alumni back to campus and hope you will stop by one of our two Libraries or visit our Special Collections and Archives. To borrow materials from our collections, please stop by any library service desk to apply for an alumni library card. For any questions regarding loan policies, please see our loan policies.

Miller Library

At the heart of the campus, the Iconic Miller Library houses materials in the social sciences and humanities. During your visit, see the beautifully restored Brewster Reading Room, with its wonderful view of hills to the east.

Special Collections

Miller Library is also home to Special Collections and Archives, which partners with the Libraries’ Digital Initiatives group to increase the availability of their unique holdings. Explore the rich manuscript collections and enjoy multi-modal electronic access to portions of the Wesley McNair Collection. Learn more about their Services to Alumni.

Bixler Art & Music Library

Adjacent to the museum, Bixler Art & Music Library includes collections and services tailored to the needs of the art, music, museum, and theater programs.

• For general information, please call 207-859-5100 or email us at [email protected]
• For assistance with databases or research questions, contact Karen Gillum, Humanities Librarian

Retired employees, family members, and patrons with an active library card at a Maine InfoNet library are all welcome to use their card to borrow books from the Colby libraries. This includes people at Bates, Bowdoin, Waterville Public Library, and many more. See here for more on your borrowing privileges.

Colby visitors may browse the books, use computers, or use microfilm for genealogical research.

The Colby College Libraries welcome many visitors each year to view our libraries and use resources within the library. If you would like to stop by while visiting campus, you may find driving directions to Colby here and a campus map here.

Visiting scholars can consult with Special Collections in order to view old manuscripts and archival materials within Miller Library.

Regional high school classes are welcome to arrange a tour or teaching session at Miller Library. Please consult your school librarian first about resources available within the school, and then email [email protected] to schedule a tour at a mutually convenient time.

Note that we cannot teach or provide tours during Colby exam periods and that all class visits should be arranged beforehand.

The libraries are highlighted on the campus map here.