Mission
In keeping with the University’s nature as a church-related, liberal arts institution, Riley-Hickingbotham Library’s mission is to be an integral part of the academic program by providing excellent service through bibliographical, physical, and intellectual access to recorded knowledge and information and, insofar as possible, sharing resources with individuals and institutions in the larger scholarly community.
Facilities
Riley-Hickingbotham Library serves Ouachita and the community as a learning center, supporting the educational process with varied types of media. It accomplishes that task through the main library – which offers a Technology Enhanced Collaborative (TEC) study room, group study rooms, individual study space, Internet facilities, and ease of access to materials – and through the music library in Mabee Fine Arts Center, the science library in Jones Science Center, and the library resource room at New Life Church in Conway.
Collections and Services
The main library houses a number of different collections. The main book collection, in easily accessible open stacks, holds nearly 200,000 volumes. As a selective depository of government resources, the library has a wide range of federal and state publications.
The periodicals collection provides online and print access to numerous journals, magazines, and newspapers. Many titles are accessible in the EbscoHost, ProQuest, and JSTOR databases. Among the microform collections are the complete ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center) File, the American Culture Series (pre-1874 American publications), the Black History Collection, the Literature of Theology and Church History in North America, the University Music Editions reprint series, and the Eastman School of Music’s collection of early music writings.
Instructional Media Services, located on the ground floor of the library, supports campus digital signage and classroom technology; provides access to portable projection equipment and the library’s video collection; and offers media laminating, recording, and scanning services.
Special Collections include those of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, Clark County Historical Association, University Archives, and Rare Books section of the main library. A growing collection of political papers–including those of the late Senator John L. McClellan, the District’s two most recent Congressmen, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee–is likewise part of Special Collections.
Patrons may access materials beyond the library’s holdings via interlibrary loan and reciprocal borrowing agreements with Henderson State University’s Huie Library and the ArkLink Library Consortium.
