Other Academic Resources

University Library

Princeton undergraduates have access to a world-class academic research library with millions of books, journals, manuscripts, and microforms; tens of thousands of electronic journals, digital texts, sound recordings, musical scores, DVDs, and videos; and over a thousand online databases covering all fields of human knowledge. The Library’s website—library.princeton.edu—is a 24/7 gateway to information resources and services. More importantly, librarians are always available in person, or by phone, e-mail, or instant messaging to help students find relevant information and reliable print or online sources among this wealth of materials.

The Princeton University Library includes a central building, the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, the new Lewis Science Library, and 10 other branch libraries, plus two off-campus storage facilities. Most of the humanities and social science collections are in Firestone, one of the largest open-stack libraries in the world. The Lewis Science Library consolidates research collections and expert staff for the physical and life sciences. Except for materials that need special protection due to rarity or fragility, books and journals in all Princeton libraries are housed on open shelves, allowing users to browse and discover sources on their own.

Staff throughout the library are available to guide students through all phases of the library research process. There are subject specialists in art and archaeology; architecture; astrophysics; biology; chemistry; East Asian studies; engineering; geosciences; mathematics and physics; music; plasma physics; population research; psychology; and public and international affairs, all of whom offer personalized research assistance. Within Firestone, staff at the reference desks (general and humanities or social science reference) provide on-the-spot help or research consultation by appointment. These major service points are the best place to start any library project. The Social Science Reference Center also houses the Data and Statistical Services unit and depository collections for New Jersey, the United States, United Nations, and European Union official documents.

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, whose holdings are available to undergraduates for their research, is within Firestone. Among its special strengths are early printed and rare books; children’s illustrated books (plus games, puzzles, and educational toys); a graphic arts collection; historic maps; prints and photographs; and the correspondence and literary manuscripts of a wide array of 19th- and 20th-century English, American, and Latin American authors. The Public Policy Papers and University Archives, located in the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, include the collections of major figures and organizations devoted to 20th-century American domestic and foreign policy, as well as memorabilia and material related to University history.

Art Museum

Museum holdings range from ancient to contemporary art, with outstanding collections of prints, drawings, and original photographs. There is a fine collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, including early ceramics, small bronzes, and mosaics from the University’s excavations at Antioch. Medieval Europe is represented by sculpture, painting, metalwork, and stained glass.

A large collection of paintings and sculpture represents the art of the Renaissance, with emphasis on the Italian school. The French school predominates in 18th- and 19th-century painting and sculpture. American art is represented with painting, sculpture, and decorative arts. There is a growing collection of 20th-century and contemporary art.

In the Far Eastern field, Princeton has a notable collection of Chinese paintings, sculpture, bronze ceremonial vessels, and examples of the minor arts such as bronze mirrors, clay tomb figures, and a celebrated collection of snuff bottles. Japanese, Korean, and Indian pieces augment the selection. There is a superb collection of art from the Pre-Columbian Americas; African art and an important collection of Northwest Coast Indian art, on loan from the Department of Geosciences, are also on view.

On view throughout the campus is the John B. Putnam Jr., Memorial Collection of contemporary sculpture, including works by Moore, Lipchitz, Calder, Noguchi, and Picasso, and the Princeton Portraits Collection.

Special exhibitions are presented throughout the year and include many coordinated with the curriculum of the Department of Art and Archaeology. The museum encourages faculty from all disciplines to take advantage of self-guided tours and preceptorial exhibitions. Undergraduate and graduate students can become actively involved in the museum through internships, the student guide program, work study, and volunteer opportunities.

Office of Information Technology

Princeton students are given access to a varied and powerful computing environment supported by the Office of Information Technology (OIT). The cornerstone of student computing is Dormnet, a fiber-optic-based network that brings a high-speed data connection into every undergraduate dorm room on campus; wireless networking is also available in dorm rooms. All undergraduates residing on campus are able to take advantage of this connection to Princeton and Internet resources.

The University, working with strategic computer vendors, offers a Student Computer Initiative (SCI), a program that provides students the opportunity to purchase a fully configured laptop computer at competitive prices. SCI computers are configured for the Princeton environment and are fully supported by OIT’s support services, providing the quickest resolution of problems and warranty repair when needed.

All students can take advantage of a full range of OIT support services. The Support and Operations Center offers consulting 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by telephone, online chat, or e-mail. Residential computing consultants provide assistance in campus dorms. The Solutions Center, located in the Frist Campus Center, offers a variety of technology-related services. It includes the Tech Clinic, where students may receive in-person software and hardware support for their computers. The Tech Clinic also arranges for computer repair from the hardware repair center. Across the hall is the Tech Depot where students may purchase specially priced software as well as computer accessories. The Tech Depot also houses Student Telephone Services.

Students have access to more than 250 workstations in the two dozen OIT- supported campus clusters. High-quality printing is also available in the clusters or over the campus network from students’ own computers. Software on cluster computers includes basic productivity tools such as word processors, information access tools used to explore the World Wide Web and the Internet, special software needed for the many classes in which computing is integral to learning, and sophisticated programs for use in research.

Each student receives a netID, an identifier that allows the use of e-mail and access to the campus network for central printing service and specialized resources such as the online library systems. Multiple high-speed connections to the Internet permit students to take full advantage of the wide range of networked resources.

Additional OIT services include support in the use of selected software packages, maintenance of the University Language Resource Center and video library, and support for instructional technologies in classrooms and over the campus network. Clusters around campus provide students with access to high-speed resources, such as streaming video, for use in language and other courses. The New Media Center provides state-of-the-art computing resources and walk-in consulting support for the development of multimedia documents and applications.

A course management system server (Blackboard) provides a Web page for every University course. OIT provides a number of information-access servers, including Web servers, on which students can have their own Web pages. Specialized facilities allow students to write programs that can be accessed and executed over the Web.

Foreign language and educational programming and selected cable TV channels are broadcast over the campus network to dorm rooms on a subscription basis, and to public viewing rooms, classrooms, and the Humanities Resource Center.

OIT also provides state-of-the-art printing services, including binding and xerography, and local telephone service and voice mail service to the campus, including dormitory rooms.

OIT employs more than a hundred students each year as consultants, technicians, and office assistants.

For information about campus and network resources, contact OIT’s Help Desk at (609) 258-4357 (258-HELP) or visit the OIT website at www.princeton.edu/oit.

Survey Research Center

The Survey Research Center (SRC) is a service and consulting facility for all students, faculty, and staff. The SRC provides technical and management assistance in the design, administration, and analysis of survey research. The SRC includes a telephone interviewing facility for data collection; a library of publications, survey reports, and questionnaires; a website resource; and an evaluated list of survey research organizations for contracting data collection for large-scale surveys.

Since its establishment in 1992, the SRC has assisted many undergraduates and graduate students in senior thesis and other research, as well as faculty who have conducted surveys that require substantial data collection. For more information, check the SRC website at www.princeton.edu/~psrc.