Dear graduate students,

The University of South Carolina Libraries welcome you (back) to campus!  The faculty librarians and staff at University Libraries look forward to collaborating with you on your scholarly information needs.  A few highlights for those new to USC (or in need of a refresher) about our services for graduate students:

• University Libraries owns or licenses millions of items, from print and electronic books to databases, journals, sound recordings, online newspapers, streaming video, and more.  We also provide quick access to many more items via our PASCAL Delivers partnership, which allows you to find lendable materials from any college or university library in South Carolina.
• Our Instruction and Outreach Librarians are happy to assist with finding resources online or in print, microform, or other physical media.  They can also help get resources into your Blackboard course page, help you understand the ins and outs of Open Access, or help with course or dissertation research.  They are always willing to meet individually with you (or your students if you are teaching) on the effective use of library resources. 
• SHARPGrads is a program offering free training in digital scholarship, computing, and library research concepts for any graduate student on the Columbia campus.  Students completing the program will receive a certificate and digital credential.
• Thomas Cooper Library (TCL) is our main campus library.  Its comprehensive collections serve most Columbia campus faculty and students (Law and Medicine have their own libraries.)  Thomas Cooper has significant print collections onsite (we store many other items offsite and can quickly retrieve them for you) as well as government documents, newspapers, microforms, sound and video recordings, and other physical resources.  TCL has seven levels (five underground) which house collections, offices, classrooms, tech facilities, and spaces for our partners (Student Success Center, Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Center for Civil Rights History and Research).  Be sure to bring your CarolinaCard for access!
• Our graduate study space is located on Level 5 of TCL.  Access is restricted to graduate students only (by CarolinaCard). 
• The Music Library serves students and faculty in the School of Music and is located in the School’s building.  Print books, scores, sound recordings, videos, and more are available, along with distinctive music collections and expert staff to assist you and your students.
• USC Special Collections, consisting of the Irvin Department of Rare Books, the South Carolina Political Collections, the Moving Image Research Collection, Oral History, and the South Caroliniana Library, contain an extensive array of one-of-a-kind manuscripts, personal papers, interviews and oral histories, rare books, photographs, sound recordings, films, maps, and many other physical and digital objects documenting natural history, the history of books and printing, literary collections, and the history of South Carolina.  In both physical and digital forms, these collections enrich student learning and can expand research in exciting ways.  The curatorial experts who steward these collections can help you discover and use these unique items for your teaching and research. 
• Our Digital Collections contain digitized materials from our distinctive collections, historic newspapers, and the South Carolina Digital Library. 
• Scholar Commons is our institutional repository, which collects, disseminates, and preserves the research and scholarship of the University of South Carolina.  You may add your own work to Scholar Commons to make it available to other researchers in accordance with applicable copyright provisions.  More information about how to use Scholar Commons is available here.
• Our Digital Research Services group is here to assist you with research data management issues, data management requirements, data visualization, and scholarly communications issues. 
• Throughout the year, we offer workshops, exhibits, lectures, film showings, readings, and more.  Check out our calendar for the latest offerings.
• Working remotely?  Whether from your campus office, off-campus residence, or wherever else, our many electronic resources are available 24/7.  See this page for information on using our collections wherever you or your students may be.  

I hope this gives you some sense of our offerings.  Check out our Graduate Student Guide for full details, and follow us on social media for updates on workshops, resources, and other services.  Our YouTube channel also has tutorials, collection highlights, and more.  We look forward to seeing you!

With best regards,

David Banush
Dean of Libraries