Introduction

Located on the shore of the Lower School Pond, Ohrstrom Library, designed by Robert A.M. Stern, opened in January 1991 and provides the community with a dynamic and hospitable environment for study, research, and reflection. At 32,000 square feet, the spacious Library can comfortably seat more than 250 students at a time.

The Library and its staff actively support the academic interests of the SPS community by providing print and non-print materials, research support, and access to a wide array of online resources.

Click HERE to view Ohrstrom Library: A Slideshow.

Library Hours

The general hours for the Library are as follows (for daily variations see the calendar of Library hours HERE):

• Monday – Friday 7:30am – 10:00pm
• Saturday 8:00am – 7:00pm
• Sunday 10:00am – 10:00pm

Services and Collections

• A comprehensive website http://library.sps.edu providing access to the Online Catalog, the Ohrstrom Blog, subscription databases and a wide range of other library offerings and programs
• A user services desk, conveniently located near the front entrance, for borrowing materials, obtaining research assistance, accessing course reserves and placing interlibrary loan requests
• A collection of approximately 75,000 print volumes in open stacks as well as DVDs, CDs, Videotapes and over 15,000 eBooks. Approximately 22,000 items circulate each year
• A fast-expanding e-Reference collection, accessible from Ohrstrom’s homepage, facilitating access to a wide range of high-quality reference works produced by more than 50 publishers that include handbooks, manuals, guides and thousands of other reference works.
• More than 100 newspaper and journal subscriptions, as well as access to thousands of online periodicals via full-text databases, including JSTOR, Proquest Ebsco. Historical Newspaper Collection, Times of London and Newsbank. Remote access from both dorm and home
• Equipment for in-library use including laptops, headphones, graphing calculators, CD players, and eBook readers
• Online Reference databases including: AccessScience, American History in Video, Britannica, Oxford Art & Music, ARTstor, Oxford Islamic Studies, CQ Researcher, Biography Resource Center, the Oxford English Dictionary and more. Specialized databases providing access to art works, newsreels, and citation management software
• An archive of school publications and records such as SPS yearbooks; thousands of still photographs; the papers and correspondence of many former SPS Faculty and Rectors; old record books, letters, diaries and journals; school histories; and the non-current files and records of various administrative offices which have permanent historical value
• Individual study carrels, an electronic classroom, and quiet evening study hall
• Librarians available for classroom research instruction and individualized assistance to students with research papers, special projects, and classroom assignments
• Interlibrary Loan (ILL) allows for borrowing books and other materials not available from Ohrstrom Library from other libraries and organizations around the country