Print collections

Circulating Collection (Upper and Main Levels)

Hewes Library has over 130,000 circulating volumes, covering all subjects. Faculty and Library staff are constantly evaluating and developing our collection with the newest and best research in all fields. Click here to see a few of our most recent acquisitions.

All books can be found in the Hewes Library Catalog. These items circulate for four weeks to all patrons except faculty, who enjoy a four-month checkout period. For renewal information, visit our services page.

The Circulating Collection is divided into three sub-collections:

• Books make up the vast majority of circulating items. You can find them on the Upper Level, with white spine labels, organized according to the Library of Congress classification system.
• Children's Literature is a rapidly expanding collection, located on the easternmost shelving of the Upper Level (at the end of the Books). These items bear purple spine labels, and are organized according to the Dewey Decimal classification system, divided into fiction and nonfiction.
• Oversized items have their own shelving area, on the Main Level near the Reference Workstations. Also organized by the Library of Congress system, Oversized items are denoted by their orange spine labels (and by the fact that they are, well, oversized).

Reference Collection (Main Level)

The Reference Collection provides a solid foundation for research of all kinds. It features general and subject-specific encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks and bibliographies. Reference resources are a powerful tool for early stages of research, narrowing topics and providing factual data.

All reference items are included in the Hewes Library Catalog. The collection is housed on the Main Level near the Reference Workstations, and its items bear yellow spine labels. This collection does not circulate except under special circumstances and at a librarian's discretion, but patrons are welcome to make photocopies.

Periodicals (Main and Lower Levels)

"Periodicals" generally refers to newspapers, magazines and journals. For a complete list of all Hewes Library's periodicals in print and electronic full-text, see our online holdings list. Periodicals do not circulate, but they may be photocopied for ten cents per page.

Print periodical items can be found in two locations, depending upon currency:

• Current Periodicals is where recent issues can be found, although "recent" depends upon a title's frequency of publication, and how often its issues are bound. Check this collection, on the wooden casework on the Main Level, if you are looking for a print issue less than one year old.
• Bound Periodicals is the final resting place for all periodical issues once they have been bound and migrated from the Current Periodicals shelving. If you are looking for print issues older than one year, you can find this collection on the Lower Level, on the shelving with the green endpanels.

Government Documents (Lower and Main Levels)

Monmouth College enjoys the distinction of being the oldest Federal Depository Library in the state of Illinois, going back to 1860. As a depository, the Library receives selected government publications in both paper and microfiche formats. The public at large are entitled access to these documents.

Any depository item acquired since 1994 is represented in the Hewes Library Catalog. Earlier items may be located via our print shelf-list) located near the collection on the Lower Level). Some older items do not circulate due to fragility, but items that do circulate are treated as regular print items, with a four-week loan period to all except faculty, who enjoy a four-month circulation period.

All print government documents are found on the Lower Level, on the shelving with tan end panels. Microfiche items are in the Microforms Area on the Main Level.

Curriculum Collection (Lower Level)

The Curriculum Lab is a recent addition to our collections, with over 4,500 items designed to benefit students majoring in elementary and secondary education. Included in the lab are items such as textbooks, professional and special education literature, videos, software, audio, tests, and physical items such as globes, posters and manipulatives.

Lab materials are arranged in Dewey Decimal Classification, can be accessed via the Hewes Library Catalog, and can be checked out as regular circulating materials.

Print Indexes (Main Level)

Although the lion's share of new periodical literature is indexed in electronic databases, print indexes still serve an important role by offering access to older journal articles. They also provide a more human indexing system, as opposed to computerized databases in which specific information is easily lost in the background. Hewes Library has over 30 print indices, including PAIS International, the New York Times Index, and Book Review Digest.

Microforms

Hewes Library has both microfiche and microform collections, providing access to both periodical issues and government documents. Materials on microform are listed in the Hewes Library Catalog, and may be viewed with two reader/printers in the Microforms Area on the Main Level, near the Library offices. Printing is ten cents per page.