The Reference Collection is located on the first floor of the Library. Items in this non-circulating collection provide basic information on most topics, or help identify sources for locating more detailed information.
Electronic resources are available via the Library homepage. These include periodical indexes and full text databases for finding newspaper, magazine and journal articles, plus a variety of additional online reference resources/databases.
Most resources on the Library homepage can be accessed from outside the Library. Due to contractual agreements, offsite use of most electronic resources is limited to UNK students, faculty and staff.
Librarians are available to help with the resources in the Reference Collection, or any other information source in the library. Please stop by the Reference Desk or call 308.865.8586 or 866.454.4865 with your questions.
The Book Collection is located on the second floor. Over 210,000 volumes are shelved by subject according to the Library of Congress classification system.
The Periodical Collection, on the lower floor, includes approximately 3,000 titles. It is divided into two sections: current issues and back issues. Each section is arranged alphabetically by the title of the periodical. Periodicals issued by the federal and state governments are located in the Government Documents collection. Periodical titles, along with holdings and circulation status information, can be found in the catalog.
The Government Documents Collection is located on the north side of the library's top floor. There are three collections: federal government documents, Nebraska state government documents, and the government documents reference collection. Approximately 273,700 federal government documents and over 16,300 state documents are in the collections. Additional information, bibliographies, guides and Internet links are available on the Government Documents website. Contact: Rochelle Krueger, Government Documents Librarian, kruegerr@unk.edu or 308.865.8542.
The Curriculum Collection is located on the lower level of the library. The collections are designed to provide pre-service and practicing educators with access to resources used in the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of lesson plans, units, and other instructional materials for the preschool - 12th grade classroom. Collections include juvenile literature, textbooks, non-print instructional resources, curriculum guides, lesson plans and activities. The ERIC document collection and other microforms are also held in this collection, as are non-print resources supporting the curriculum of the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Contact: Jennifer Harvey, Curriculum Librarian, harveyjs@unk.edu or 308.865.8276.
The UNK Archive Collection, consisting of approximately 110,000 items, is located in the Alice Paine Room on the second floor of the library. It contains records, publications and general information about the University of Nebraska at Kearney, its staff, graduates, history and enrollees. UNK catalogs, student newspapers and yearbooks are among the more frequently consulted items. Materials in the UNK Archive do not circulate and must be used within the library building. Contact: Greg Anderson, Archives Librarian, andersong@unk.edu or 308.865.8593.
The Special Collection is a collection of about 2,400 cataloged items, mostly books, concerning the history of Nebraska, the Plains, and the West. Some of the items are rare and many of them are irreplaceable. The nature of these materials means that we must take some extra precautions for their protection, and to ensure that they remain available to future generations. The Special Collection is housed in the Alice Paine Room on the second floor of the library. Materials in the Special Collection do not circulate and must be used within the library building. Contact: Susan Mueller, Coordinator of Collections Services, muellersm or 308.865.8853.