The University Libraries serve as a resource center for the educational programs by providing the materials necessary to support the curriculum and to provide for the general reading of students and faculty.

The Rupert and Pauline Richardson Library is the main library holding reference materials, circulating collections, periodicals, government documents, the education library, Educational Technology Services and staff offices. Special collections include the HSU memorabilia in the 1891 Legacy Room, the Caldwell-Hertzog Collection of Fine Printing, the Betty Woods Rare Book Collection, including first editions of William Faulknew and Thomas Wolfe.  The Abilene Photograph Collection, the Research Center of the Southwest, the Crane Texana Collection, J.W.Williams Map  Collection, a large part of the personal library of the late historian Walter Prescott Webb, the Bradley-Ford Memorial Room, and the Lee and Lunelle Hemphill Business Reading Room.

The Smith Music Library, housed in the Caldwell Music Building, contains study scores, collected works of various composers, recordings, and certain basic music books and reference materials. Special collections include the Sims Hymnal Collection and the Thurman Lee and Lucialis Jones Morrison Collection of American Hymnody. Listening equipment is provided, and the library houses virtually all the taped concerts and recitals of the School of Music.

The libraries hold current subscriptions to over 35,000 print periodicals and house approximately 275,000 items and 225,000 government publications.  A reciprocal agreement among Abilene libraries makes it possible for patrons at any university to use the resources of the others, making over 1,500,000 volumes available to the Hardin-Simmons community.

The purpose of the Hardin-Simmons University Libraries is to provide services and resources to meet the present and future research and informational needs for the HSU community, and in so far as possible, to share these resources with the broader scholarly community. The Libraries will provide an atmosphere that promotes study, encourages scholarly pursuits, and fosters the intellectual development of students that is the primary mission of the University.

1. To provide a collection of resources which meet most of the curricular, informational, and research needs of the University community.
2. To enable the students and faculty members through professional reference assistance to locate materials and use the services provided by the libraries.
3. To instruct students in the use of the library and its collections, its possibilities for life long learning and teaching, to provide familiarizing experiences with the major bibliographic resources in their fields, and in research methods.
4. To provide assistance and bibliographic aids in identifying, locating, and using informational resources not available in Abilene collections but which are needed to support the instructional and research programs of the University.
5. To organize and maintain the collection for maximum utilization and conserve the materials for future generations of users.
6. To maintain physical facilities that are suitable in space, lighting, ventilation, comfort, furnishings, and safety to assure the best possible conditions for use of materials and equipment.
7. To collect and maintain significant historical records of the University.
8. To maintain adequate staffing through fostering systematic programs of career development, recruitment and remuneration, as well as the effective utilization of individual talents needed to fulfill the library’s purpose and support its goals.
9. To maintain working relationships with administrative and academic departments, academic planning groups and the user communities to assure effective development of library services consistent with objectives and programs of the University.
10. To adopt library policies regarding resource allocation, selection of materials, instructional and reference services, personnel and facilities that comply with the American Library Association Code of Ethics for Librarians, the American Library Association Freedom to Read, the Library Bill of Rights, legal statutes regarding copyright, and the Hardin-Simmons University Personnel Handbook.

DATABASE QUICK LINKS
   ALC On-Line Catalog
   Britannica
   Ebsco
   FirstSearch
   LexisNexis
   News Bank
   ProQuest
   TexShare
   Specialized Databases
       HSU Electronic Journals
       ACS Publication
       BioOne
       Cochrane Library
       CIAO
       CQ Public Affairs
       Grove Music
       Music Index Online
       Morningstar
       Original Sources
       Value Line
       Wiley Interscience