University of South Carolina Libraries
The library resources of the University of South Carolina are housed primarily in the Thomas Cooper
Library, the Coleman Karesh Law Library of the School of Law, and the School of Medicine Library. The
University of South Carolina holds membership in the Association of Research Libraries.
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 2,200 people; contains over 4 million volumes, 1 million manuscripts,
and access to millions of electronic resources. The
Library contains a Student Technology Lounge, an audio/video recording studio, and a data visualization lab.
There are over 300 individual study carrels, 45 group study rooms, and a card swipe access graduate study room. The staff of the Thomas Cooper Library and its affiliated libraries is composed of 141 full-time employees and supplemented by approximately 100 student assistants. Sixty-four 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 a library services platform (ExLibris) which provides an online discovery service, circulation system, and acquisitions modules. The library provides online reference service via a variety of vendors. The online catalog and discovery service 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.
School of Law Library
The School of Law Library is an academic research library with the primary goal of supporting the work of the faculty and students of the School of Law and the University. The Law Library serves as an instructional unit within the law school, responsible for teaching its students effective legal research techniques. As the largest public law library in the state, the Law Library is also utilized by government agencies, the judiciary, the practicing bar, local academic institutions, and the general public. The Law Library houses a collection of over 500,000 print and electronic volumes, encompassing American law, South Carolina legal history, international, and comparative law. In addition to developing its own collections, the Law Library actively participates in campus, regional, and national programs for collection sharing and development. The Law Library provides seating, including carrels, study rooms, and open table seating, for over 485 researchers. The Law Library occupies three floors and the basement in the School of Law building. The Law Library employs 11 professional librarians, seven of whom have both J.D. and M.L.S. degrees, and five paraprofessional and numerous student workers. The librarians, except for the Associate Dean for the Law Library, are members of the Law Library faculty. The Associate Dean is a member of the
Law School faculty.
School of Medicine Library
The School of Medicine Library serves as the School of Medicine’s information gateway to over 12,000 biomedical electronic journals, over 1,300 electronic textbooks, over 86 biomedical databases, a diagnostic decision support system (DxPLAIN), online tutorials, LibGuides, consumer health information, a shared library system discovery tool, and PASCAL, South Carolina’s state-wide academic electronic library. The Library’s print collection consists of more than 70,000 volumes. The Library provides information resources to meet the needs of the School’s faculty, staff, and students and the larger University of South Carolina community, and consumers. In its role as a Resource Library in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Southeastern/Atlantic Region, the Library also provides biomedical information services to health care professionals in South Carolina. A complete range of services is available, including reference, library liaison and instruction, interlibrary loan, and tours and orientations. The Library staff is composed of 14 full time employees, eight of whom are professional librarians who hold faculty appointments. The School of Medicine Library is located approximately four miles from the main campus and is adjacent to the Dorn Veterans Administration Hospital on Garners Ferry Road.
Combined holdings for the University Libraries, the School of Law
Library, and the School of Medicine Library:
| Holdings |
FY 14 |
FY 15 |
FY 16 |
FY 17 |
FY 18 |
|
Volumes |
5,679,527 |
6,092,298 |
6,092,298 |
6,092,298 |
4,532,146 |
|
Microforms |
5,537,847 |
243,831 |
243,831 |
243,831 |
198,340 |
|
Periodical Titles |
78,061 |
10,298 |
10,298 |
10,298 |
14,459 |
|
US Documents |
961,200 |
550,616 |
550,616 |
550,616 |
477,438 |
|
Maps |
329,268 |
131,788 |
131,788 |
120,314 |
86,049 |
|
Graphic Units |
250,821 |
15,596 |
17,926 |
19,571 |
17,506 |
|
Audio/Video Units |
66,105 |
76,450 |
78,543 |
337,823 |
91,754 |
|
Cartographic Units |
329,268 |
329,268 |
- |
- |
- |
| E-books |
619,459 |
619,459 |
619,459 |
547,173 |
886,592 |
| |
|
Circulation |
133,342 |
133,342 |
133,342 |
148,598 |
139,200 |
| |
|
Inter-Library Loan |
|
Borrowed |
18,936 |
18,936 |
18,936 |
11,072 |
12,137 |
|
Loaned |
16,549 |
16,549 |
17,439 |
12,724 |
13,362 |
|
Total |
35,485 |
35,485 |
36,375 |
23,796 |
25,499 |
| |
|
Reference Questions |
63,169 |
63,169 |
68,100 |
50,779 |
46,460 |