Libraries

The libraries at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University serve the combined student body with a joint staff and coordinated programs and services. The libraries support the development of critical thinking, personal inquiry, and lifelong learning in addition to providing resources needed for assignments. Together, Clemens Library at Saint Benedict's and Alcuin Library at Saint John's hold nearly a million items, including over 900,000 volumes, 600 active paper periodical subscriptions, over 29,000 electronic periodical titles, 150,000 electronic books, and 40,000 media materials. The libraries' online catalog, (see http://csbsju.worldcat.org/) allows students to search the collections of both facilities, as well as thousands of libraries around the world.

Twelve librarians, thirteen support staff and 5 media services staff provide a full range of services to students, including personalized reference consultations and classroom instruction in library use and research strategies. Users can borrow from the collections of the University of Minnesota, other Minnesota libraries (MINITEX), as well as libraries in the Upper Midwest through an interlibrary lending service. Both libraries feature Media Centers with extensive audio and video resources.

The joint libraries' website provides access to the online catalog and also to a wide variety of services and information resources, periodical information, many locally developed subject guides to electronic information resources, library catalogs worldwide, and the Internet. The campus computing network enables students and faculty to utilize these resources from virtually any computer connected to the internet. Wireless network access is available at both libraries.

Clemens Library at the College of Saint Benedict provides study spaces for 300 students, as well as a computer lab with 100 computers available plus an 18-workstation computer classroom and 3 collaborative work rooms. In addition to an excellent core collection of resources to support the curriculum of both colleges, Clemens Library features materials in the fields of health sciences, education, fine arts, literature, religion and women's studies. The resources of the Music Library at the Benedicta Arts Center are also available to students at both schools.

Alcuin Library at Saint John's University, designed by architect Marcel Breuer at the same time the Abbey Church was built, features many study alcoves as part of the seating capacity of about 400. The library also includes a rare book room, two auditoriums with seating capacities of 148 and 62, 2 small group study rooms and controlled access to the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library which is adjacent to the library building. In addition to its core collection, Alcuin Library includes many specialized and scholarly works, especially in the areas of theology, life sciences, environment, and history.