What do I need to borrow materials from the Amherst College Library?
Amherst College students, staff and faculty use their college ID as their library card. Area residents must present a valid Massachusetts drivers license/state picture ID along with their Amherst library card. Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith and UMass Amherst students and faculty use their college ID as their library card.
How do I borrow items from one of the other libraries in the Five College consortium?
The Five Colleges have reciprocal borrowing agreements that allow members of the Amherst College community to borrow materials using their Amherst College Library ID card. To request materials online, use the Place Request option in the main Library search, Discover.
How long can I borrow materials for?
This depends on whether you are a student, faculty, staff, or area resident. See our loan periods for more information.
How do I renew my books?
You can renew materials you have borrowed in two ways:
Please note that:
Can I borrow a book the library does not own?
Yes, through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). You can use the Request Service to submit an ILL request online, or ask us at the Circulation Desk at Frost Library.
Can I get books from Five College institutions on Amherst College thesis loan?
Amherst College seniors writing a college approved thesis are eligible to borrow Amherst College books on thesis loan, but are not eligible to borrow Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College or University of Massachusetts books or Interlibrary Loans on thesis loan.
Can I return an Amherst College book at another Five College library?
With the exception of Reserve materials, all Five College library books may be returned at any of the Five College Libraries. A delivery services runs between the libraries five days a week. However, you are responsible for the safe and timely return of all materials you charge out.
How do I check my library account to see what I have checked out?
In Discover, select Sign In in the upper right (on campus), or click on the Guest banner at the top (off campus). Once you have signed in, select My Loans in the upper right to see your loans.
Please note: this will not show your Interlibrary Loans. To view your Interlibrary Loans and requests, use the My Interlibrary Loans account.
Who can borrow CDs or DVDs?
Please see loan periods to see who can check out different material types from our libraries.
How do I ask the library to buy an item?
Students, faculty, and staff can use the Request Service to submit a purchase request. For more details, visit Request a Book or Film.
Where are the journals shelved?
How do I see if Amherst owns a specific volume of a journal?
1. On the library homepage, click on the Journals & Newspapers tab in the search box
2. Type the title of the journal (not the article) into the search box
3. Access options will show under each title result. Please note the date ranges for each access option, which tells you which years of the publication you can access.
Contact us if you have any questions!
Where do I find government documents?
The Robert Frost Library has been a Federal Depository Library since 1884. Government documents are not shelved in a separate location, but are located throughout the collection, according to subject. See our research guides for U.S. Government Information and U.S. Census Information.
Where are lockers in Frost Library & who may use them?
Lockers are located on Level 3 and B Level of Frost. Lockers are available to Amherst College students on a first-come, first-served basis. You can request a locker by asking at the Circulation Desk. All library materials stored in lockers must be checked out. Get more locker information.
May I examine Emily Dickinson or Robert Frost manuscripts?
Because of the fragile nature of these unique materials, access to the original artifacts is extremely limited. Digital images of all Emily Dickinson manuscripts at Amherst College can be found in Amherst College Digital Collections. Manuscripts from our collections are occasionally exhibited in Archives & Special Collections, but are generally not available on demand.
For more information about Robert Frost, see Robert Frost at Amherst: a timeline.
What physical accommodations are available for visitors requiring them?
We are committed to making the libraries as accessible as possible. Our Accessibility Services page has information about physical accessibility, staff assistance, and accomodations.
How can I find out something about my family member who went to Amherst College?
Archives and Special Collections maintains a biographical file on every alumnus of the College. Brief information, in a "Who's Who"-type format, can be found in various editions of the Biographical Record, published at intervals. The 1973 edition is the most complete and useful for older alumni (before 1950). It is available at the Library's Reference Desk and in the general stacks of Frost Library (call number: LD152.4 .A5 1973). A copy is also available in the Higgins College History Room of the Archives and Special Collections. If you have a specific question, you may speak with, phone or e-mail the staff of Archives and Special Collections.
Where can I find some information about an Amherst College building?
Stanley King's book, The Consecrated Eminence, is available at the Library's Reference Desk and in the general stacks of Frost Library (call number: LD153.K5). A copy is also available in the Higgins College History Room of Archives and Special Collections. Archives and Special Collections maintains extensive historical files (many of which were used by Stanley King), including plans and photographs, on College buildings. If you have a specific question, you may speak with, phone or e-mail the staff of Archives and Special Collections.
How can I find out more about the history of Amherst College?
A brief college history is available on the Amherst College web site.
The Higgins College History Room in Archives and Special Collections has a wide selection of materials by and about the College available for browsing, including complete runs of the Amherst Student (the student newspaper), the Olio (the yearbook), course catalogues, and various historical writings about the College and its alumni. Some of these College publications are also in the general stacks of the Frost Library. There are also many online Amherst College historical resources.
In addition, the Archives and Special Collections has extensive archival and manuscript records covering all aspects of the history of Amherst College. If you have specific questions, please consult with staff of Archives & Special Collections.
Where can I find the portraits of Joseph Hardy Neesima and Kanzo Uchimura?
Neesima was the first Japanese graduate of Amherst (Class of 1870), and the founder of Doshisha University in Kyoto. His portrait hangs in Johnson Chapel.
Uchimura was the second Japanese graduate of Amherst (Class of 1887), and a prominent missionary and Christian scholar in Japan. His portrait hangs on the north wall of Level 1 of the Robert Frost Library, outside the Research & Instruction offices.
I've got things related to Amherst that belonged to a family member and that I'd like to give to the College. How can I do that?
Please review our gift policy. If you have questions, contact Archives & Special Collections.
Where is the best place to study in Frost, either by myself or with a group?
Frost has a large variety of study spaces.
Where can I find a photocopier?
The Amherst College main library and all of its branches have photocopying machines. Please check library floor plans or speak with the library staff for locations.
Where can I get change or a copy card to use with a photocopier?
None of the College Libraries is prepared to make change. Some photocopiers will accept $1.00 or $5.00 bills, but only if the machine has enough change. In other words, a machine will only accept a $5.00 bill if it already possesses enough coins to return $4.90 to you. This may not always be the case.
Amherst College faculty, students and staff may use their OneCard (i.e., their College ID card). For students, the cost of photocopying will be deducted from your AC Dollar$ account (as long as the account has a positive balance). Employees of the College will have the cost of photocopying deducted from their next paycheck.
How do I find out about areas in Frost Library that are named for specific people?
There were many generous supporters of the Frost Library when it was constructed in 1965. For a list of all the named rooms organized by location, see Commemorative Spaces in the Robert Frost Library.
How can I find out if any group studies are available?
Ask at the Frost Circulation Desk or check availability online.
How do I find out the full title of a journal if I only have the abbreviation (e.g., Am J Anat or J Psychol Jud)?
If you found the abbreviation in a footnote in a book or article, the easiest way to find the full title is to check the bibliography; often the full title will be included in a bibliographic citation.
If this doesn't work or if the abbreviation came from another source, search for the abbreviation in Publication Finder. In some cases, it will tell you the full title. If that doesn't work, go to Abbreviations.com or ask about additional resources at the Reference Desk.
How do I get access to the Library databases from home or other places off campus?
All Amherst College students, faculty, and staff can connect to most electronic Library resources from off campus following IT's off-campus access instructions. You do not need to use a VPN.
How do I correctly cite the books, articles, and websites I quote in my paper?
A variety of style manuals, resources providing information about citing sources, are available on Citing Sources & Styles. You can also stop by the Reference Desk to consult printed versions of the MLA Handbook, the Chicago Manual of Style, and others.
How do I find an article in a journal once I have a citation?
A citation to a journal article includes the author, title, year of publication, and journal title, volume, and page numbers. To use this information to find the item you're looking for, check the Citation Linker. You can enter as much or as little data about the article as you like. The Citation Linker will provide you with options for finding the article online, in print from the online catalog, or via request through InterLibrary Loan.
How do I find an essay or chapter in a book once I have a citation?
A citation to a book article includes the author, title, editor, publisher, year of publication, and book title. To use this information to find the item you're looking for, check the Five College Library Catalog by searching for the book's author (or editor) or title. NOTE: Book article and chapter titles and authors are not included in the catalog; you must search for the book's title or author/editor.
How do I know if the book I found is by a reputable scholar?
The best way to learn about a book and its author is to consult book reviews. To find book reviews, use the resources linked to the Library's Book Reviews page.
How do I know if the Library has an electronic version of the journal I'm interested in?
The best way to find out if the Library has an electronic version of a journal is to search the Journal Locator.
I want to find journal articles on my topic.
Guidelines for finding journal articles is available on the Library's Articles page. Information about published articles can be found in general or subject specific printed and electronic Indexes & Databases and bibliographies. To find printed indexes and bibliographies on your topic, search the Five College Library Catalog or Ask Us.
I want to find background information on my topic.
Basic background information--including general summaries of events, short biographies, and facts such as dates--about many topics is available in an encyclopedia, such as Britannica Online.
The Library also owns subject specific encyclopedias in many subject areas. If you can't find a subject-specific encyclopedia relating to your topic, stop by the Reference Desk or Ask us or check the Library's Encyclopedias page.
I want to find full-text articles in the Library's databases.
Most of the Library databases include only citations (author, article title, journal title, date of publication, volume, page number) and/or abstracts (brief summary of an article). Some Library databases do include full-text access to journals and newspaper articles. Be aware that few databases are entirely full-text, and often only a limited number of articles are available from a particular periodical.
The Library has electronic access to many journals directly from the Library Catalog. If you have a citation or know the name of a journal in your subject area, do a Journal Title search with the title in quotes (e.g. "art bulletin") to see if the Library has fulltext access. Also search the Journal Locator or check our E-book collections.
I want to find an article from a "scholarly" journal, but I'm not sure what journals are considered "scholarly"?
Scholarly journals, as opposed to news sources or popular magazines, include academic articles written by individuals with considerable expertise in the subject area. They generally report on research and almost all have bibliographic citations indicating resources quoted in the article. Some scholarly journals are called "refereed" journals, meaning that the included articles that have been reviewed, or "refereed" by scholars or experts in the covered field of study.
I want to find videos or recordings having to do with my topic.
To search for films and videos in the Five College Library Catalog, click on the "More" tab and select "DVDs/Videos/Films".
Once you've created a search in the Library Catalog using keywords, author, etc. you can limit your results to a particular "Material Type" (such as videos, recordings, maps, musical scores) by clicking on the "Limit Search" key at the top of the results screen, and selecting a particular material type.
I want to find a good online dictionary.
There are many dictionaries online created for specific languages or uses. Try the Oxford English Dictionary or visit the Library's Dictionaries & thesauri page.
I want to find books in the Five College Library Catalog when I have only a topic in mind and not a specific book or author.
The Library Catalog is a flexible search tool that can be used in a number of ways to find books, journals, films, and other resources on your topic. One easy way to search is by Keywords anywhere. Search for one term or combine or exclude terms from your search: "Death Penalty," "Modern Art AND Germany," and "AIDS AND NOT hearing" are just a few basic examples of keyword searches.
You can also search the Catalog by subject. In the Library Catalog, the term "Subject" refers to the Library of Congress Subject Headings, a special vocabulary used to describe topics. To do successful Subject searches, you must use the vocabulary's particular terms-for instance, "Capitol Punishment" and not "Death Penalty." A reference librarian can help you locate the correct subject heading for your topic.
Once you find a book or journal about your topic, click on the Subject Headings on the bottom of the record to see other books with the same subject heading. You can also click on the call number to see the titles of books with nearby call numbers in all the Five College Libraries.
I want to organize the sources I used for my research.
We recommend Zotero, a freely available bibliographic-management tool. Learn more about Zotero, or attend one of the workshops that are held throughout the year. Amherst also has a site license to EndNote, and it is available to the AC community through the K:drive. Contact Susan Kimball for assistance with EndNote.
What are primary sources? Secondary sources?
A primary source is firsthand evidence created within the immediate context of a historical event, crisis, or time period; a secondary source is an interpretation or recollection of an event from some considerable distance removed. Historians draw on numerous primary sources when creating secondary sources. If you were researching a topic on World War II, for example, a letter, photograph, diary, or magazine article created during the war would be considered a primary source, while an article or book about the war written by a historian much later would be considered a secondary source. (Retrospective works, such as an oral history interview or memoir by someone who had lived through the war, would not be considered as valid a primary source as something that was created at the time the events took place.) The library has a Primary Sources research guide and a list of Archival & primary sources.
The catalog says the book I need is in Archives & Special Collections. How do I get access to it?
Copies of books held in Archives & Special Collections (designated as "AC/Arch-SpecColl" in the online catalog) may be read in the Archives & Special Collections reading room, located on Level A of Frost Library, open weekdays from 9-12 and 1-4.
Can I get a thesis binder at the Library?
Used thesis binders in good condition are available for $5 apiece in Archives & Special Collections, located on Level A of Frost Library.
Can I get thesis guidelines, including format requirements, in the Library?
See Requirements for Format and Deposit of Theses for Honors, set by the Registrar's Office.
What does Check for Full Text do?
Check for Full Text can link you directly from a reference in a databases to a menu of choices for finding the item you want. Check for Full Text might offer to let you:
I did a search in a database and didn't see Check for Full Text as an option. Why not?
Many, but not all, library databases support Check for Full Text. We work with the database systems to set up direct links to full text options wherever possible, which means that you may see different links depending on the database you're searching.
I clicked on Check for Full Text and was connected to the journal’s homepage, not the article. Why?
Check for Full Text will take you as close to the full article as it can, given the structure and quality of data supplied by the online publisher. Sometimes you'll have to navigate the publisher's site to get to the full text. If you need help with this, ask us!
How do I get help with Check for Full Text?
Ask Us for email help. If you need help more quickly, use the Library Chat during Reference Desk hours or meet with a research librarian.
What is the Depository and where is it?
The Amherst College Library Depository is a remote storage facility located inside Bare Mountain in South Amherst. It is owned and operated by Amherst College. Materials housed there are available for loan.
What is the Center for Russian Culture (CRC)?
The Center for Russian Culture is a collection of books, manuscripts and other materials donated to the College by Thomas P. Whitney, Amherst College class of 1937. The collection is housed on the second floor of Webster Hall, at the south end of the Freshman Quad and much of it is cataloged in the Five College Library Catalog. For more information on the collection, contact Professor Stanley Rabinowitz (sjrabinowitz@).
Why is the main Amherst College library named for Robert Frost?
Robert Frost was associated with Amherst College from the time he gave his first reading on campus in 1916 until his death in 1963. For more details, see Robert Frost and Amherst College. For a chronology of the library, see The Amherst College Library, 1821-1999.
How do I print from public computers in the libraries?
Follow these printing instructions. If you have any questions, ask at the Circulation Desk.
How do I find out about the portraits and other artwork displayed in the College libraries?
All the large framed photographs located throughout the libraries are reproductions of original historic images in the Archives and Special Collections. Labels for each photograph provide details. Information about these photos, as well as many other images, is available in the Exhibitions page of the Archives and Special Collections. For graphical art and sculpture in Robert Frost Library, see this list.
Where can I see a floorplan of the College libraries?
Floorplans for Frost, Keefe, and Morgan Libraries are available at Our Spaces.
What is Amherst's relationship to the Folger Shakespeare Library?
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. was established under the will of Henry Clay Folger, Amherst class of 1879, and is administered by the Trustees of Amherst College.
Each year, two fellowships for two weeks of intensive research are awarded to Amherst College seniors and juniors with Humanities and Social Sciences majors whose work can be supported by the Folger's resources. The fellowships are held in January. For more information, contact us.