University of Rochester librarians helped design many elements of the new system, plus a network of Web pages to tell users about library hours, maps, locations, procedures, recommended Internet sites, and interactive links for requesting an interlibrary loan or asking a reference question online. At library workstations or their own dorm or office computers, students can move quickly and easily from the University catalog to citation databases, full-text electronic publications, reference sources like the Encyclopedia Britannica, and Internet resources. Users can store their search results in their own computers for future use. Besides the online citation databases, many CD-ROM databases are available at library workstations, along with the rich collections of print materials. Undergraduates may borrow library materials for four weeks.
Hours vary among the libraries, but late-night study hours are available at several locations.
Together River Campus libraries provide over 2,400 seating spaces, with remote single carrels for quiet concentration, large tables for group projects, and comfortable upholstered settings for rest and leisure reading. The Martin E. Messinger Periodical Reading Room, newly remodeled in 1998, offers handsome long tables and comfortable seating in a 1930s setting. New flooring, refinished walls, and new lighting fixtures enhance the atmosphere of traditional comfort, while new wiring with data lines offers connections for laptop computers. Abundant photocopiers, microcomputers, and software are available in convenient locations. In addition, more than four million microform materials offer titles which are scarce, unique, or virtually unavailable in the original.