USCInfo provides sophisticated search tools and access to Homer, the online catalogue of USC Library holdings, as well as a wide variety of important bibliographic databases and online full-text resources. It also provides gateways to other online information systems, such as LegiSlate, MedInfo and USCgopher. USCgopher offers access to the online USC Catalogue, online campus publications, (e.g., the USC Chronicle), course materials and campus information. To connect to USCgopher, point your gopher client software to cwis.usc.edu. USCWeb provides access to USCgopher and a variety of other USC information sources that take advantage of the special graphic environment of the Web. Notable among them are the many technology and research centers on campus. The Universal Resource Locator (URL) for USCWeb is http://www.usc.edu:80/. Aside from providing valuable campus information, USCWeb, like USCgopher, provides links to the wealth of resources on the worldwide Internet.
The largest of the USC libraries is the Doheny Memorial Library, which contains the research collection of social sciences and humanities materials in the main stacks, supported by the Access Services Department (circulation, interlibrary loan, periodical reading room), Government Documents Department, Microtext Reading Room, Reference Center and Special Collections Department. The Doheny Library also houses the Cinema/TV Library, the Music Library and the Boeckman Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies.
In addition to the Doheny Library, the USC Library includes 14 specialized subject libraries that serve the unique information needs of the campus. Most of these are located near the school or department they serve. Three independent campus libraries are devoted to specialized collections for their respective professions: the Asa V. Call Law Library, the Eileen and Kenneth T. Norris Medical Library and the USC Dental Library.
USC has noteworthy collections in the areas of cinema, international and public affairs, American literature, regional history, marine science, philosophy, Latin American studies, Korean studies and the Lion Feuchtwanger collection. The USC Library also houses an extensive collection of photographs chronicling the history of Southern California.
USC is a member of the Research Libraries Group, an international association of major universities and research institutions. In addition, USC maintains borrowing agreements with Hebrew Union College, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History Library, California State University, Los Angeles, Caltech and UCLA.
To meet the needs of the USC community in the coming century, the university opened Leavey Library in August 1994. One of the most technologically sophisticated libraries in the world, Leavey features a core collection of books and journals; an electronic information commons of 120 computer workstations, 21 collaborative workrooms, two hands-on learning classrooms and an auditorium; and over 1,400 reader seats in a variety of formal and informal arrangements. Designed to support undergraduate learning, Leavey enables faculty and students to accomplish research using both traditional and advanced technology-based regional, national and international resources. Leavey Library is also the new location of the USC Center for Scholarly Technology, which assists faculty in using technology and information resources to develop materials for instruction and scholarly research; the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies; and the Center for Excellence in Teaching.
Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995