The Rupert and Pauline Richardson Library at Hardin-Simmons University serves as a resource center for academic programs at HSU by providing materials that support the curriculum and scholarly activities of faculty and students.
The library holds various collections reference materials, circulating collections, periodicals, government documents, the education library, and staff office, as well as having access to a robust selection of online resources. Special collections include the Kelley and Tandy Bible Collections and 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 Faulkner 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, and the Bradley-Ford Memorial Room.
The Smith Music Library, also housed in the Rupert and Pauline Richardson Library, 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. The library also houses the majority of the taped concerts and recitals of the music department.
As a charter member of Abilene Library Consortium (ALC), HSU has implemented an integrated library automation system. Via this system users may access the holdings of HSU, Abilene Christian University, McMurry University, Howard Payne University and Abilene Public Library. The ALC database holds over 2.4 million accessible by author, title, subject and keyword searches.
The library is open 84.5 hours per week and online resources are available via the internet. Students may access the databases remotely using their Hardin-Simmons login credentials. The library provides research support in-person, by phone, email, and chat. There are three full-time library faculty available for research help and library instruction for classes. Also, there is a specialized page on the library website designed for students doing research in specific subject areas and links on the library webpage to instructional “how-to” videos created by the librarians on various aspects of library research. These resources are all available to HSU students and faculty through the library homepage. The library also offers online chat services that connect users to the reference librarian 24/7. Faculty librarians have developed a subject guide (https://library.hsutx.edu/subject-guides) for the areas of psychology and counseling and related mental health fields to assist students in finding the best resources for their research.
Richardson Library has been a selective depository for federal government publications since 1940. This collection if now primarily electronic though the library does have hard copy holdings of certain materials. Subject matter ranges from congressional investigations and current statistics to recipes and consumer information and almost any subject in between. For many areas of study such as current events, economics, history, government, science, and social work, documents are essential research materials.
Many sources of information regarding both state and federal governments are available electronically. See the library catalog for links to documents available via the internet.. Since few students are familiar with government documents research, the Cataloging and Collection Development librarian, Dr. James Floyd, encourages faculty to arrange tours of the documents collection when research topics are assigned, especially in upper-level courses.
The holdings of Hardin-Simmons University libraries (FY2023) include over 458,369 items in the library’s online catalog, as well as access to 218 databases, and over 70,000 full-text electronic journals. The HSU Library uses the SirsiDynix integrated library system to automate its catalog, circulation, acquisitions, and serials services. The libraries also provide Research Roundup, a subscription discovery (aggregated search) product from EBSCO that brings together a comprehensive collection of content, which includes all databases, full text journals, and the entire library catalog as a “one search” experience.
HSU is also a member of the TexShare Library program to give students access to the collections of 550 participating libraries across the state of Texas. The library also issues TexShare state-wide borrowing cards to students that request them. These cards are available to current faculty, staff, and students at the Circulation Desk.
