About the Library
Mission
In keeping with the University's nature as a church-related, liberal arts institution,
Riley-Hickingbotham Library's mission is to be an integral part of the academic program
by providing excellent service through bibliographical, physical, and intellectual
access to recorded knowledge and information and, insofar as possible, sharing resources
with individuals and institutions in the larger scholarly community.
Facilities
Riley-Hickingbotham Library serves Ouachita and the community as a learning center,
supporting the educational process with a wide range of resources in a facility equipped
with copier/printer/scanner machines, PCs, Wi-Fi, a Technology Enhanced Collaborative
(TEC) study room, group study rooms, and individual study space.
Collections
The main book collection has over 170,000 volumes and thousands of ebook titles among
its holdings.
The periodicals collection provides access to numerous journals, magazines, and newspapers.
Many titles are accessible in the EbscoHost, ProQuest, and JSTOR databases. The library
also subscribes to general and subject-specific reference databases. Current Ouachita
students and employees may access the library’s e-resources on campus and remotely.
Among the library's microform collections are the Educational Resource Information
Center (ERIC) File, the American Culture Series (pre-1874 American publications),
the Black History Collection, the Literature of Theology and Church History in North
America, the University Music Editions reprint series, and the Eastman School of Music’s
collection of early music writings.
The library's Archives and Special Collections include those of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, Clark County Historical Association,
University Archives, and Rare Books section of the main library. A distinctive collection
of political papers - including those of the late Senator John L. McClellan, the District’s
two most recent Congressmen, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee - is likewise
part of Special Collections.
Ouachita's Music Library provides access to musical scores, recordings, books, periodicals, reference works, and videos that support the scholarly and performance research needs of the university's School of Performing Arts.
The library’s discovery catalog facilitates searching all of the library’s holdings simultaneously and expanding
searches to include neighboring libraries and libraries worldwide.
Current Ouachita students and employees may access materials beyond the library's
holdings via interlibrary loan service with libraries nationwide and reciprocal borrowing
agreements with Henderson State University's Huie Library and the ArkLink Library Consortium.
