Welcome from the Director

And Our Mission Statement

Kathy Parker, Director of Libraries and Media
Phone 320.363.2121
Fax 320.363.2126
Email mailto:kparker@csbsju.edu

Welcome to the World Wide Web pages of the libraries of the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. The staff has designed these pages to assist you in your research and study. Your comments are welcome. My email address is at the top of this page.

The libraries of Saint Benedict's and Saint John's serve the combined student body of both institutions with a joint staff and coordinated programs and services. Holdings of the joint libraries are 716,202 volumes; 1,476 active print periodical subscriptions; over 13,600 periodical titles available electronically; 261,381 government documents; and 120,432 microforms. These are housed in three separate spaces (Alcuin Library on the St. John's Campus, Clemens Library on the St. Benedict's campus, and the Music Library in the Benedicta Art Center at St. Benedict's). Our online catalog, MnPALS, allows students to search the collections of all the facilities from one location as well as 50 other libraries in Minnesota and many libraries in both North and South Dakota. The library has a full suite of electronic encyclopedias, dictionaries, indexes, abstracts, and full text databases. Twelve librarians and a support staff of 20 provide a full range of services for students, including reference and library use instruction. An Interlibrary Exchange program (MINITEX) provides physical access to the collections of the University of Minnesota and other Minnesota libraries as well as to libraries throughout the world. Both libraries feature Media Centers with extensive audio and video resources.

In addition the St. John's library has a number of special collections that are part of The Treasures of Saint John's. This site showcases the special collections housed at St John's University, with links to each collection's website. Please visit these websites.

Mission of the Libraries of the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University

The Libraries and Media Department of the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University support the mission, values and vision of our academic and Benedictine communities by:

• Supporting the curriculum and participating in the development of new programs
• Collecting and providing access to information resources in all formats
• Helping users find, use and evaluate the information they need
• Promoting information literacy through instruction and appropriate uses of technology
• Forging partnerships with faculty, administrators and staff to achieve an active role in the educational process
• Collaborating with other libraries to broaden and improve access to information
• Serving as a locus for the discovery of diverse expressions of human culture in all areas of intellectual endeavor

Comments to Kathy Parker.
Last updated: July 3, 2006. Links checked: July 3, 2006.