The Paul Barret, Jr. Library, Information Services

Barret Library, made possible by a major gift from the Paul Barret, Jr. Trust, opened in August, 2005. Paul Barret, Jr., a graduate of the class of 1946 who died in 1999, was the nephew of Mr. and Mrs. A.K. Burrow, who provided for the construction of the 1953 Burrow Library.

Barret Library is home to Information Services (under Academic Affairs), a union of Library Services, Information Technology Services, and Academic Technology Services.  Together, the division is committed to providing acquisition, organization, and circulation of resources with a wide range of technology resources to support the diverse work of faculty, staff, and students; as well as instruction to classes and individuals in effective information and technology literacy.

Services offered in Barret Library include a 24-hour study space (Middle Ground), group study rooms, and assistance with technology and academic research. Also included in the Barret Library are areas for peer-tutoring, writing assistance, computer labs, the Digital Media Lab, Podcast/Recording room, and the distraction reduced testing room for those students registered with the Office of Student Accessibility Services. Information Services staff support over 150 technology-equipped classrooms and event spaces across campus.

The Library collection includes materials that constitute valuable resources for undergraduate instruction in a liberal arts institution. This collection has been carefully built over a period of years by the teaching faculty with input from students and the library staff. The research catalog is part of WorldCat, which connects and shares thousands of library catalogs across the country. The interface allows you to see holdings within other libraries as well. The collection includes access to a large amount of online content including electronic journals, e-books, databases, and film streaming services that support the college’s curriculum.

In addition to the reference and circulating collections there are four special collections: the Rhodes Archives, the Richard Halliburton Collection, the Walter P. Armstrong, Jr. Book Collection and the Shelby Foote Collection (made possible through the generosity of Riea and Steve Lainoff). The Walter P. Armstrong, Jr. Book Collection includes special items of value added to the library through the years and the collection of first editions of English and American authors, many of them autographed. The Halliburton Collection consists of manuscripts and artifacts relating to the life of this noted travel adventure writer.

The Rhodes Archives consists of publications about Rhodes of an historical nature as well as student honors papers and books written by faculty and alumni. The Archives also retains all available copies of College publications including yearbooks, catalogues, the student newspaper and handbooks. There is an extensive collection of still images which document life at the College.

DLynx, the Archives digital repository, provides access to digital items of historical value and materials created by faculty, staff, and students. These materials include: digital copies of the Sou’wester (the student newspaper), student honor papers, and hundreds of images of student life from past decades. The Sou’wester, the student newspaper, has been digitized from November 1919 to the present date. The Ranking Web of World Repositories” lists DLynx as 113 out of 1646 digital collections in North America which places it in the top 10%.

In order to effect optimum inter-institutional library service to the students, faculty, and staff of the Greater Memphis Consortium, the Barret Library joins the following libraries in making their collections available to each other’s students and faculty: Christian Brothers University Library, Hollis F. Price Library of LeMoyne-Owen College, Ned W. McWherter Library of the University of Memphis, and the Memphis Theological Seminary Library. Students are also entitled to library cards in the Memphis Public Library, which is an especially valuable community resource. The Barret Library operates an active and invaluable interlibrary loan service for its faculty and students with libraries outside the Memphis area.