Castleton's Calvin Coolidge Library provides resources and services to our community in support of research, teaching and learning, intellectual curiosity and enrichment, and civic engagement. The library's collection contains items in a variety of formats, including over 170,000 physical volumes, approximately 200 print subscriptions, and online access to the full text of over 40,000 journals, magazines, and newspapers.
Library services include circulation, reference (research support), reserves, interlibrary loan, and information literacy instruction. Castleton is a member of several national and regional consortia, including the Vermont Consortium of Academic Libraries (VCAL). Castleton shares an online catalog, several major subscription databases, and technical support with the other Vermont State Colleges Libraries.
The present library building was constructed in 1965 with a major addition doubling its size in 1979. Approximately 250 people can be accommodated in individual or group seating, and the library offers computers for student and public use and five group rooms for students, faculty, and staff: two group study rooms are first come first served and three conference rooms can be reserved in advance. Due to COVID-19 restrictions some of these services have been suspended.
Calvin Coolidge Library also includes the Student Gallery and Lounge, the Vermont Room, and the University Archives. Castleton's collection of Vermontiana is housed in the Vermont Room. It includes an extensive collection of town reports, gazetteers, histories, and census data. The University Archives contain materials relating directly to the history of the institution.
The Calvin Coolidge Library’s primary mission is to foster information literacy and provide our community with access to collections that support research, teaching and learning, intellectual curiosity and enrichment, and civic engagement. The library offers services to support students and faculty in conducting research and contributing to scholarship in their disciplines and professions. The library provides an inclusive space for exploration, reflection, and collaboration. In advancing information literacy, the library advocates for and supports intellectual and academic freedoms, including the rights of our community members to seek and access information, and to speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. The library actively supports the missions of both the Vermont State Colleges and Castleton University, engages with the broader university community, and collaborates with our academic and professional peers.
Our vision is to be at the heart of Castleton University's community, playing an integral role in the intellectual and academic life of our campus, collaboratively fostering information literacy, and offering valued and effective library services in an inclusive and inviting space.
Our 2018-2020 Strategic Plan was developed as part of a collaborative strategic planning process in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017. With input and feedback from Castleton's students, faculty, and staff, the Calvin Coolidge Library drafted a vision and four strategic priorities that will guide us through 2020.
The Library Advisory Board was established in Fall 2016 by the Castleton Student Government Association and the Calvin Coolidge Library. With goals of strengthening the bond between Castleton students and the library's administration, and offering a pathway for students to provide feedback to the Library, the Advisory Board meets monthly during the Fall and Spring semesters.