Welcome to the
Humanities, Social Science & Education Library

“HSSE,” as most Boilermakers refer to it, supports the research, teaching, and information needs of the Purdue Community and, through digital technologies, the information needs of scholars worldwide. While the HSSE Library resembles a beehive of activity, local collections and services have been richly complemented by online resources, thus redefining the library as a multifaceted gateway rather than a single-location repository.

The Library also contains the most extensive collections on the Purdue campus, featuring approximately 805,000 books and bound periodicals, 473,000 publications of the United States government, and 1,770 microforms. A staff of highly-trained subject specialists helps guide students in locating materials and offers lectures on library information access in a number of classes taught in various schools.

The entrance to the facility is under the mural in the west foyer of Stewart Center. Opened to the public in January 2003, the new HSSE creates a vastly enriched technological environment, one that supports and enhances academic work at all levels. Conceived as the Libraries Electronic Academy, the Library offers great potential for locating, interpreting, and integrating academic information in multiple formats, and for creating new opportunities for collaborative teaching and research. Special features include the Center for Scholarly Communication, the Walter and Saraellen Veon Electronic Reference Center, thirteen new student study rooms, and new photocopy and periodicals reading facilities.

Reference and collection-related services are provided on-site for about one hundred hours per week during the academic year. Our webpage, of course, directs users to resources and contacts at all times of the day or night.

Once again, welcome. Feel free to browse online or visit in person, to consult our staff, to make yourself at home.

• To find out about how to borrow materials, contact the Circulation Desk at (765) 494-2824 (e-mail: rboes@purdue.edu).
• For suggestions about materials you would like the library to acquire, contact Stewart Saunders at (765) 494-2829 or Request a book.
• For comments about our website, contact Robert Freeman at (765) 494-2833 (e-mail: rsfree@purdue.edu).
• For information about library and information resources, contact our Reference & Information Department at (765) 494-2831 (e-mail: rsfree@purdue.edu).