The Kalamazoo Public Library’s mobile library will be visiting campus on Friday, October 29th from 11am-1pm. All students, staff, and faculty are invited to sign up for public library cards! Bring your K ID and know your Hicks Center mailing address or office address. The mobile library will be parked on Campus Drive, in front of Hoben Hall.

Your Kalamazoo Public Library card can be used to check out materials from any of the five KPL locations, as well as from their digital collection of ebooks and audiobooks. Your KPL card will also give you access to their online services, including LinkedIn Learning.

Check out Kalamazoo College Library’s newest database, Open Society Justice Initiative. This is the fourth  database added to the HeinOnline Social Justice Suite, which also includes Slavery in America and the World and Civil Rights and Social Justice.

Learn more about the Open Society Justice Initiative Database here!

About Open Society Justice Initiative

The Open Society Justice Initiative, part of the Open Society Foundations, was established in 2003 to provide expert legal support for Open Society’s broader mission and values through strategic human rights litigation and other legal work. The Justice Initiative publishes reports, handbooks, briefing papers, legal and policy submissions, and fact sheets exploring and advocating on issues of human rights and justice. Beyond its publications, the Justice Initiative represents individuals before domestic and international human rights tribunals. Its advocacy work targets national and regional policymakers and governments to advance human rights and the rule of law, and it supports local, national, and international efforts to expand access to justice.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Library has (virtually) gathered titles to help people who want to learn more about domestic violence survivorship. Check out our Virtual Book Display on Domestic Violence Survivors for some of our library’s resources and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence for more on Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Need more information? Reference Librarians are here to help you! Email reference@kzoo.edu or make an appointment.

Librarians can help your with your research — both in person and online!

Research Librarians (also known as Reference Librarians) are available for individual consultations in person or via Microsoft Teams. Make a Research Rescue Appointment, Ask a Librarian using this online form, or email us at reference@kzoo.edu!

Find out more about our Research Help.

Do you know about MeLCat?

MeLCat is a system that allows you to request books from other Michigan libraries. When you request a book through MeLCat, it arrives for you at the Kalamazoo College Library, and you get an email that it’s here. Then just come to the Library circulation desk to pick it up. It’s that easy!

To use MeLCat, just search the MeLCat catalog for your book. When you find what you want, click “Get this from MeLCat,” choose Kalamazoo College Library from the drop down list, enter your name and barcode number (the 14 digit number on your ID that starts with 25017…), and that’s it! You will receive an email when it arrives.

You can check out a MeLCat book for three weeks, and renew through MeLCat for another three. The system includes academic and public libraries, so it’s great for fun reading as well!

Celebrate the United States Constitution!

To mark this year’s Constitution Day (Friday, September 17th), the Library has compiled a guide of resources, including primary source documents, to provide the College community with information about one of America’s most important documents.

Established by Congress in 2004, Constitution Day recognizes the ratification of the U.S. constitution on September 17, 1787.  The law, introduced by Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, requires all educational institutions receiving federal funds provide information and instruction about the Constitution on September 17th each year.

Ask us for help

Do you need help finding a book, film, or other resources for your class? Having trouble accessing library databases, articles, or ebooks? Any questions about library services?  Email us at library@kzoo.edu.  

Course Materials

Librarians are happy to talk with you about materials for your courses! The library may have relevant books, ebooks, articles, and videos in our collections.  We can suggest open access alternatives that may fit your course needs. We’ll help with off-campus links to articles and ebooks to make it easier for students to access materials that you assign. 

Course Reserves

Questions about placing materials on Reserve in the Library?  We can help! Contact us at circulation@kzoo.edu. Personal copies or Kalamazoo College Library copies of books and DVDs can be put on Reserve (please submit our Printable Course Reserve Form). To provide electronic materials (such articles in PDF format) to your students, contact Josh Moon to learn how to use Moodle for electronic readings. 

Customized Library Course Guides

We are more than happy to work with you to create a Library Guide tailored to your specific assignments. A librarian can visit your class and give an overview of course guide resources. Examples of Course Guides include BUSN/ECON 380 and HIST 242. Additional library guides include discipline specific research guides and the general Library Research Toolkit. 

Research Instruction

Librarians are happy to visit your class and teach your students about research and library resources! These sessions can cover hands-on activities on navigating databases, finding primary sources, understanding information systems, evaluating sources, and creating citations. Research Instruction can be for 20 minutes on up to a full class session 

Just ask!

Your librarians are available and willing to help make your classes a success!
See more information on library faculty support.
Email us at reference@kzoo.edu or schedule an appointment to talk about your class needs.