Navigating Knowledge: Exploring the Resources of Cornell University Library
Cornell University Library stands as a cornerstone of Cornell’s intellectual environment. It offers a wealth of resources and services designed to support students, faculty, and researchers in their academic pursuits. From rare manuscripts to digital databases, expert librarians to inviting study spaces, the library system is meticulously crafted to foster learning, discovery, and scholarly achievement.
Comprehensive Collections and Expert Assistance
At the heart of Cornell University Library lies its extensive collections, comprising more than seven million volumes. These collections span a vast range of disciplines and formats, encompassing books, periodicals, manuscripts, and digital resources. Expert librarians are available both in person and online, 24/7, to guide users through these resources. They are equipped to assist with various academic needs, including navigating collections, writing papers, preparing for exams, and conducting research projects. Students and faculty consistently acknowledge the library as a vital contributor to their academic success.
Specialized Libraries and Collections
Beyond the central library, Cornell boasts a network of specialized libraries and collections catering to particular fields of study and research interests.
Durland Alternatives Library
Located in Anabel Taylor Hall, the Durland Alternatives Library supports the Center for Transformative Action by providing resources focused on alternative perspectives and social change.
Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) Library
Housed within PRI's Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, this library contains over 60,000 volumes specializing in paleontology, geology, and natural history. The Wells Rare Book Room, a part of this collection, features an important compilation of books about corals, mollusks, and foraminiferans.
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Cornell Women's Resource Center Library
This library offers resources on topics relevant to women's well-being, including dating, stress, health, and sexual harassment. It also provides information on local support agencies in Tompkins County.
RisLibrary
Situated in Risley Hall, the RisLibrary provides a quiet study environment for students.
Olin Library
Olin Library houses a comprehensive collection of books, periodicals, and digital resources specifically curated for philosophical research. To accommodate graduate students, carrels are often available in Olin's stacks. The Philosophy Study Room, located on the sixth floor, offers convenient access to frequently used periodicals, books, and materials on temporary reserve for graduate seminars in philosophy. Many philosophy graduate students find this space to be conducive to study. The Sage School and the Philosophy Department at King's College, London, jointly sponsor an exchange program for graduate students. This program allows a graduate student from Cornell to spend a semester studying at King's, and vice versa, on alternating years. Funding is often available for specific purposes such as summer language study and travel to participate in conferences.
Medieval Studies Resources
Virginia Cole, Reference and Digital Services Librarian at Olin and Uris libraries, maintains the Cornell Library Medieval Studies Subject Bibliography, a comprehensive research guide to medieval studies resources. Medieval books and manuscripts were among the Cornell Library’s earliest acquisitions. The University’s first president, Andrew Dickson White, and his librarian, George Lincoln Burr (a Cornell medievalist), personally selected many manuscripts during frequent buying trips to Europe. White believed that instruction in history depended heavily on the use of original sources and bought manuscripts for their instructional value. His collection contains illustrative examples of most periods and styles.
Fiske Icelandic Collection
Housed in the Kroch Library, Rare and Manuscripts Collections, the Fiske Icelandic Collection is the largest repository of works on Iceland and on Nordic medieval studies in North America and one of the three largest collections in the world. The collection attracts medievalists from Cornell, as well as scholars from around the world.
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Digital Resources for Medieval Studies
The Cornell University Library provides access to a range of digital resources for medieval studies, including:
Acta Sanctorum
This resource contains the complete texts of the sixty-eight printed volumes, from the two January volumes published in 1643 to the Propylaeum to December published in 1940.
Patrologia Latina Database
This database is a complete electronic version of the first edition of Jacques-Paul Migne’s 217-volume Patrologia Latina (1844-1855, 1862-1865), also available in print in Olin 501, Graduate and Faculty Reading Room. It includes texts from 200 CE through the 13th century, as well as later ecclesiastical and humanistic scholarship.
From Manuscript to Print: The Evolution of the Medieval Book
First published in 2002 to supplement an exhibition in the Cornell University Library, this resource traces the history of the medieval book-its appearance, content, audiences, and forms-from the 9th to the 15th centuries.
Other Internet Medieval Resources
This list offers a snapshot of long-standing internet medieval resources, first compiled in the early days of such "digital humanities" projects. It has not been maintained or updated, save to remove dead links. Resources include:
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- ARTFL Project (University of Chicago).
- ARTFL Project Textes de Français Ancien: The “Textes de Français Ancien” (TFA) database was established by the Laboratoire de Français Ancien (LFA, University of Ottawa), in collaboration with the ARTFL Project (University of Chicago). The original collection was composed of texts from the 12th and 13th centuries, digitized for the preparation of a lemmatized database of Old French (project in collaboration with the Institut National de la Langue Française).
- The Medieval Feminist Index: A searchable index of feminist articles on medieval studies in a variety of geographic and subject areas.
- The Digital Scriptorium.
- Digital Index of Middle English Verse.
- The Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
- Georgetown University Labyrinth.
Spaces for Study and Collaboration
Beyond its vast collections and expert assistance, Cornell University Library offers a variety of spaces designed to support different learning styles and research needs. These spaces range from quiet, individual study carrels to high-tech, flexible spaces for group work. The library strives to provide a welcoming and conducive environment for all members of the Cornell community.
Recent Initiatives
Generative AI Critical Literacy Pilot
Launched this spring, this initiative addresses the impact of Generative AI on research, teaching, learning, and work in higher education.
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