Features of
the RIT Libraries
The collects,
organizes, preserves and displays materials from the Institute's
past. Located on the third floor of Wallace Library, it is housed
in an environment that is temperature and humidity controlled for
the preservation of paper and photographs. It forms the primary
source for the study of the history and development of the Institute.
Another unique
collection within Wallace Library, the Cary
Library, contains more than 14,000 volumes of rare books illustrating
fine printing and other materials detailing the history of printing,
book design and illustration, papermaking and other aspects of the
graphic arts.
The Wallace
Library Special Collections housed in the Archives include a
wide variety of published and unpublished materials organized in
distinct, but related collections. The collections include materials
on all aspects of the fine and applied arts and photography, with
greatest strengths in graphic design and applied photography.
During the year
student art and photography is exhibited in Wallace Library's display
gallery
areas. Outstanding student work is purchased and on permanent
display.
The VIA
Lab provides access to PC and Mac workstations, printing, image
scanning and other networked resources. More than 80 personal computers
with Internet access are available from early morning to late at
night and a knowledgable VIA Assistant is on duty at all hours to
help.
Interlibrary
loan services and in-house book requests are also accessed via
Wallace Library's
on-line catalog, Einstein.
The Library's
Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI) houses an Arkenstone Reader
and contains periodicals that are in Braille. Individual carrels
and small group rooms provide study spaces to more than 1,000 students.
The Rochester
Regional Library Council's (RRLC) Access program allows graduate
students and faculty to apply for a library card that offers access
to other area libraries, including those of the University of Rochester
and the SUNY colleges at Geneseo and Brockport.
New to the Library
in 2001, Java Wally's
@ RIT Library is a full-service café, serving a great variety
of hot and cold beverages, pastries, and other treats. Beyond the
serving counter is a lounge filled with comfortable seating, perfect
for relaxing or studying. This "After Hours Room" is open to the
RIT community for extended hours, affording many students access
late into the night. The café, just like the entire Library, is
equipped to accommodate wireless connection to the Internet. More
than 30 wireless laptop computers are available to be checked out
from the Library's Circulation Desk. Everywhere one looks, student
artwork decorates the café, part of a constantly changing display.
Aside from being a popular setting for meetings and studying, the
café schedules performing artists to entertain patrons throughout
the year. The pleasant ambiance and ergonomically sound aspects
of Java Wally's @ RIT Library are a harbinger of the future, relative
to some changes being planned for the Library.
| 
