Services for Students

Get started with your research by searching for books (including e-books), articles, Archives & Special Collections material, digitized images, and more. Not sure where to start? Take a look at our research guides, stop by the reference desk with any questions, or make an appointment to meet with a librarian. Staying to do research this summer? Check out our workshops and activities just for you.

  • Students with current @amherst.edu email accounts may access all Amherst online resources from off-campus at any time.
  • Five College students with 5Cxxxxx@amherst.edu email accounts may access all course-related materials and research resources from off-campus during the semester of their Amherst enrollment.

A variety of study spaces are available, including group studies for two or more people.

    Check out our Thesis Support topic guide, then make an appointment image with a subject librarian to kick off your research. Thesis writers are also eligible for extended loan periods through mid-May.

    • Zotero is a freely available tool that helps you collect, manage, and cite your sources. It's installed on all campus computer lab machines and is freely available to download on your own computer. Look for library workshops on Zotero in fall and during Interterm.
    • Check our How to cite sources guide for help with all the major style manuals, including MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian.
    • Check out our Personal Digital Archiving resources for more information about how to preserve and organize your digital stuff.
    • The Writing Center is available to help at any stage of the process.
    • The Q Center (Moss Quantitative Center) offers statistical consulting for thesis writers provided by the Mathematics and Statistics Department.

    A variety of study spaces are available, including group studies for two or more people.

      • Students can borrow books for 90 days, and 5 DVDs for 5 days; see more on loan periods, including for Five College students.
      • Some materials, such as those in Archives & Special Collections and in the print reference collection, need to be used in the library.  
      • Materials from another library, whether Five College Delivery (FCD) or interlibrary loan, are subject to the loan rules of the owning library. Check the paperwork delivered with materials borrowed from other libaries for details. 
      • Renew your Amherst College and Five College Delivery loans online; you can also request extensions for interlibrary loans.

        If you don't find what you need for your research (or you think it's something Amherst should have) in the Five Colleges library catalog, a  reference librarian can help you decide if a purchase request is a better option than interlibrary loan.

          • Overdue recalled items:  $2 per day, to a maximum of $30.
          • Overdue reserve items:  $5 first hour, $1 for each additional hour up to a maximum of $30.
          • Overdue fines are only charged for material needed by others. Students will be billed for items that are not returned. The replacement charge for most regular, circulating items is $85.00 and includes a $25.00 processing fee.
          • All notices (recall, overdue, etc.) are sent by email to your official @amherst.edu address (or home campus email for Five Colleges students).

          Contact Circulation at (413) 542-2373 with questions about lost or billed items.