LibraryBranches & Affiliates

Robert Frost Library

Frost Library, located on the first-year quad, houses most collections and departments.

Today's Hours

8am - 11pm

See the detailed hours page for break and holiday hours.

What's Here

Frost houses collections in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, as well as general interest science materials, including books in computer science. Books and bound periodicals are intermingled, and shelved on the top and lower two floors of the library. Each floor also has  special materials. Current periodicals and reference materials are on the 1st floor. Microfilm and microfiche are on the 2nd floor. DVDs and videos are on A-level. Government documents and the Dewey book collection are on C-level. Check the floor plans or ask a staff member for more details.

Archives & Special Collections, on A-level, hold rare books, collections of special interest, and materials about the history of the college.

Online resources, such as databases, e-books, and e-journals, are also  available. Amherst College faculty, staff, and students can get off-campus access to these resources or use them in the library. In most cases, the general public can use these materials in the library on a walk-in basis.

Frost has a variety of commemorative spaces.  

Loan Periods

Loan periods vary by material type.

What's Not Here

Specialized collections such as music materials and science reserves are held in branch libraries.

Services

The Circulation Desk, just inside the front door, is where you can borrow or return library materials, including reserves, whenever the building is open. 

The Reference Desk answers questions and provides research assistance. Reference is open Sunday-Friday during the semester and Monday-Friday during breaks.

Computers

The A Level computer lab is open whenever Frost is open.   Other computers, printers, and scanners are also available.

Study Spaces

Frost offers both quiet and social study areas. Floor plans of Frost are also available.

Staff

Contact Info

By mail:
Robert Frost Library, Amherst College
61 Quadrangle Drive
P.O. Box 5000
Amherst, MA 01002

By phone:
(413) 542-2373

By fax:
(413) 542-2662

Morgan Music Library

The Vincent Morgan Music Library, located on the second floor of the Music Building, contains books, journals, recordings, and scores. The Music Building does not have an elevator. Library staff members are always willing to page material to be used in the accessible Frost Library.

Today's Hours

9am - 5pm

See the detailed hours page for break and holiday hours.

Location

The Vincent Morgan Music Library is located on the second floor of the Music Building, just north of the Morris Pratt Dormitory and east of Converse Hall (campus map).

Morgan Music Library floorplan

Loan Periods

Loan periods vary by material type.

Staff

Contact Info

By phone:
(413) 542-2387

Keefe Science Library

Located in the Science Center, Keefe Science Library provides access to core information resources for students, faculty and scholars in Astronomy, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Studies, Geology, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Psychology, and Statistics. The Keefe Science Library provides electronic resources in support of the above disciplines, as well as a reference collection and course reserve books.

You can search Discover to find materials located in the Keefe Science Library using the Library Location filter. Additional resources may be found in the Frost Library and older materials in the Depository.

Today's Hours

Closed

See the detailed hours page for break and holiday hours. These hours show when the front desk is open, and the rest of the Science Library space is open 24 hours for study.

Location

The Keefe Science Library is located in the new Science Center on the Amherst College campus.  (campus map).  The Science Library shares space with the Moss Quantitative Center on the first floor of the D wing.

Keefe Science Library floorplan

Services

All students, faculty, and staff of the Five Colleges may borrow circulating course reserve books from the Keefe Science Library.  A valid ID is needed to check out books.  Reserve books are checked out for four hours.

Materials placed on reserve by science faculty might be found at the Reserve Desk of the Frost Library or Keefe Science Library.  Check the online catalog for the location.

Loan Periods

Loan periods vary by material type.

Staff

Contact Info

By mail:
Keefe Science Library, Amherst College
P.O. Box 5000, Amherst, MA 01002

By phone:
(413) 542-2076

By fax:
(413) 542-2662

Amherst College Depository and Five Colleges Depository

Located in an old military bunker five miles south of campus, the Amherst College Depository is a remote storage facility for Amherst College owned materials. The Library also participates in the Five College Library Depository which houses lesser-used materials from the libraries of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Library material stored at the Depositories tend to be older monographs and journals less frequently consulted. All of these items appear in the online Five Colleges Libraries catalog and are identified as being in the AC Depository or the FC Depository).

All books are available for loan to all registered Amherst College Library, Five Colleges, and Area Resident borrowers. Requested books are retrieved from the Depository and delivered to the borrower's home library via the Five College Delivery (FCD) service, generally within three business days. The AC Depository's bound journals circulate only to Amherst College faculty and staff, also via FCD.

AC Depository journal articles are available to Amherst, Five Colleges, and area resident patrons, and are requested online. Scans can be sent to a Five College email address; photocopies will be sent via campus mail.

How to Request Depository Materials

Books Use the "Request Item" feature in the Five College Library Catalog to request books from either depository.

Articles
Use the AC Depository Request Form to request articles from the Amherst Depository.
Use the Five College Depository Article Request Form to request articles from the Five College Library Depository.

Center for Russian Culture

Located on the second floor of Webster Hall, the Center for Russian Culture is a non-circulating collection of rare Russian books, manuscripts, newspapers, and periodicals.

Folger Shakespeare Library

Henry Clay Folger graduated from Amherst College in 1879 and left the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC in the care of the Trustees of Amherst College when he died in 1930. Amherst College students are encouraged to apply for Folger Shakespeare Library Fellowships.  See a list of Folger Fellows and learn more about the Folger.