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The Georgia State University Library is an
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
research library A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of to ...
affiliated with
Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...
. The Georgia State University Library has two primary locations, Library North and Library South. In addition to hundreds of thousands of pieces of
print media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informatio ...
, the
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
also has online databases for
electronic article An article or piece is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating news, research results, academic analysis, or debate. News articles A news article discusses current or recent news of eit ...
s, as well as an electronic catalog for looking up media within the library’s many floors. The media found in the library includes novels, journals,
newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
,
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
documents,
archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
,
DVDs The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
,
CDs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...
,
video tapes Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...
, audio cassette tapes, and
periodicals A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...
. The University Library is located in the middle of Georgia State's main campus near Gilmer St. and Courtland St.


Collections

The library features over 1.5 million volumes which consist of 28,000 electronic journals, 2,800 periodicals over 820,000 government documents along with general texts. The Georgia State University Library includes 400 computer stations, 55 group study rooms, a quiet study room, and
Saxbys Coffee Saxbys is a certified benefit corporation fast casual restaurant on the East Coast of the United States, eastern United States. Its headquarters are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It sells coffee, other drinks, and bakery items. Saxbys was founde ...
Shop. The library is free and open to all Georgia State University Students, and costs $50 a year for the general public. The library also allows access to the GALILEO network which connects students to a much larger
network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...
of journals, periodicals, magazines, etc. through a system of online sources.


History

The Georgia State University Library, was established in 1948 as a branch of the
University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...
Library. In 1951, the library purchased over 2,000 volumes from James Walter Mason. The original library staff only had three trained employees. After seven years of expansion, the library found a home in the second floor of Sparks Hall in 1955. The Sparks Hall facility contained a reading area and over 150,000 books. In comparison, the modern facility has its own building and is made up of multiple floors, and has more than ten times as much media as the Sparks Hall location had. The present Assembly Hall (registration) area on the second floor of Sparks Hall became the library's home in 1955. The library traces its origins to a number of books that Dr. George Sparks donated from his personal collection to the Georgia Tech Evening School of Commerce in downtown Atlanta. Additional donations followed and included the commerce library of Professor Wayne S. Kell and a collection of city reports owned by former mayor James S. Key. The library soon required a building of its own to house its burgeoning collections. The first phase of construction resulted in a two-story building, which was completed in 1966. Three additional floors were added to the new library building during the second phase of construction in 1968. The building was completed in 1969, and the surrounding plaza was eventually landscaped.


Special Collections and Archives

The Georgia State University Library also contains the Special Collections and Archives Department which collects and preserves rare historical materials in designated special subject areas. These are open to view by students and the public, but cannot be checked out. Unique records and artifacts in the trust of the Special Collections Department & Archives, Georgia State University Library, may be loaned for the purpose of exhibits to educational and cultural institutions.


Carl and Gretchen Patton Children's Collection

Carl Patton, once the president of Georgia State, and his wife Gretchen donated a large collection of children's books to the Library's existing children's section on the fourth floor of library north in 2003. The collection consists of about 13,000 titles. "The Pattons’ gift represented an initial step toward raising $20 million to transform the main library into a 21st-century learning command central — a place where students routinely gather to conduct research, work on group projects, receive tutoring, study and socialize."


References


External links

* {{Authority control Georgia State University