The library resources of the University of South Carolina are housed primarily in the University Libraries, the Coleman Karesh Law Library of the School of Law, and the School of Medicine Library.
University Libraries
The components of the University Libraries which are located on the Columbia campus are Thomas Cooper Library, Hollings Special Collections Library, Music Library, Moving Image Research Collections, the Library Annex, and South Caroliniana Library.The Thomas Cooper Library is a seven story structure near the geographic center of campus. The Library seats 2,000 people, contains over 6,000,000 volumes, 100,000 maps, and 500,000 government documents. The Library contains a Student Technology Lounge and other computing areas with over 500 PC and Macintosh computers, 900 locked faculty and graduate student study carrels, and 40 group study rooms.
The staff of the Thomas Cooper Library and its affiliated libraries is composed of 135 full-time employees and supplemented by approximately 100 student assistants. Fifty-seven of the full-time staff are librarians holding faculty positions with appropriate degrees in library science from accredited library schools.
University Libraries hold membership in the OCLC and Lyrasis Library Networks, which provide online automated cataloging services and Interlibrary lending. Other automated services include an online catalog (Innovative Interfaces), online circulation system (Innovative Interfaces), online acquisitions system (Innovative Interfaces), and online reference service from a variety of vendors. The online catalog is available from off-campus locations.
University Libraries hold memberships in the Association of Research Libraries, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, the Council on Library and Information Resources, and the Center for Research Libraries.
Combined holdings for the University Libraries, the School of Law Library, and the School of Medicine Library:
Holdings | FY 13 |
FY 14 |
FY 15 |
FY 16 |
FY 17 |
Volumes | 5,248,033 |
5,679,527 |
6,092,298 |
6,092,298 |
6,092,298 |
Microforms | 5,537,847 |
5,537,847 |
243,831 |
243,831 |
243,831 |
Periodical Titles | 78,061 |
78,061 |
10,298 |
10,298 |
10,298 |
US Documents | 961,200 |
961,200 |
550,616 |
550,616 |
550,616 |
Maps | 329,268 |
329,268 |
131,788 |
131,788 |
120,314 |
Graphic Units | 250,821 |
250,821 |
15,596 |
17,926 |
19,571 |
Audio/Video Units | 66,105 |
66,105 |
76,450 |
78,543 |
337,823 |
Cartographic Units | 329,268 |
329,268 |
329,268 |
- |
- |
E-books | 604,670 |
619,459 |
619,459 |
619,459 |
547,173 |
Circulation | 139,810 |
133,342 |
133,342 |
133,342 |
148,598 |
Inter-Library Loan | |||||
Borrowed | 20,934 |
18,936 |
18,936 |
18,936 |
11,072 |
Loaned | 19,872 |
16,549 |
16,549 |
17,439 |
12,724 |
Total | 40,806 |
35,485 |
35,485 |
36,375 |
23,796 |
Reference Questions | 88,265 |
63,169 |
63,169 |
68,100 |
50,779 |