Primary Collections

Circulating Collection

The circulating collection focuses on the field of education, especially books on the topic published since 1965, as well as related fields such as law, public policy, economics, urban affairs, sociology, history, philosophy, and library and information science.

Reference Collection

The reference collection includes major indexing and abstracting services such as Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE) and Resources in Education (RIE) published by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), a program of the NLE; Education Abstracts (formerly Education Index); and Proquest’s Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc and Newspaper Abstracts Ondisc. Other reference resources available are directories, dictionaries, handbooks, and specialized encyclopedias, with most focusing on education or the social sciences; and general encyclopedias. Information sources are available in print and/or CD-ROM format; some are available through the Internet.

Periodicals Collection

Current periodical holdings number more than 800 English-language journals and newsletters, with most in education and related fields. An effort has been made to collect those journals indexed by CIJE and Education Abstracts as these are the most widely used access points for education literature. The Library subscribes to eight major national newspapers and maintains back issues of four national newspapers on microform.

Microforms Collection

The microform collection consists of more than 450,000 items, including ERIC’s complete RIE microfiche database, 97 percent of which is represented by research and technical reports; conference papers; project and program descriptions; and curriculum and teaching guides. Back issues of the Federal Register and Congressional Record also are available on microfiche. Other microform collections include the William S. Gray Collection on Reading and the Kraus Curriculum Collection.

Special Collections

Department of Education Publications Collection

This collection includes one copy of all official documents published by the U.S. Department of Education. It does not circulate. (Please use the current material at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/.)

ERIC Microfiche Collection

All microfiche produced by the Educational Resources Information Center is included in the microfiche collection. More current ERIC documents also are available in digital formats. This collection does not circulate.

FedLink Video Collection

Current videotapes and accompanying materials submitted by FedLink from sponsored training programs comprise this collection, and it circulates only to government libraries.

Government Documents Depository Collection

This is a selection of documents produced by various federal government agencies.

Historical Collection

Consisting of monographs from the general collection that are 20 or more years old and have historical significance,  this collection does not circulate.

Legislative Reference Collection

Providing histories and documentation of education legislation passed by the Congress, this collection does not circulate.

Rare Books Collection

Works published before 1800 comprise this collection that does not circulate.

Textbooks Collection

Mostly 19th and early 20th century American textbooks are included in this collection that does not circulate.