The Mission of Binghamton University Libraries

Great libraries today must be places of discovery and innovative agents of change, strengthening traditional content while establishing themselves as leaders in digital information services.

Binghamton University Libraries take pride in providing such places. Students, faculty and community members requiring traditional print resources appreciate that we are carefully preserving our collections and expanding them to include hard-to-find materials in areas that are vital to student and faculty research. One independent survey compared our collection with 18 other U.S. academic libraries and found that 65 percent of our materials were contained in fewer than five other libraries in the study and 15 percent of our books were not held in any of them.

On the digital side, it’s easier than ever to find information, but only in a general sense. Finding precise studies and obscure publications can be maddeningly difficult. That is why patrons value our expertise in helping them access numerous onsite bibliographic and full-text databases while avoiding the unreliable Internet sources.

There is a general sense among the public that libraries are unpopular and quickly becoming a relic of the past, but at Binghamton University Libraries, we are finding just the opposite. Since the opening of our Information Commons in the Bartle Library, library usage hit an all-time high, serving nearly 200,000 people per month!

These are exciting times for Binghamton University Libraries as we expand (there’s now a branch in the University Downtown Center) and embrace technological change while maintaining traditional services.

Looking forward, our libraries are poised to help Binghamton attain increased national stature as a research university. Achieving this goal will require that we keep pace with technology and continue to endow and staff a number of collections and services.

Your support enables Binghamton University Libraries to continue its quest to spread knowledge and understanding throughout the campus community and beyond.