Using the Library: Library Collections

COD is lucky to have an extensive print and online collection of resources available for our community.  These collections include books (print, ebooks and audiobooks), streaming videos, magazines, journals, newspapers, and special collections. Our Research Guides pull together in one place many different types of resources on a subject or topic.

Use our catalog or databases for finding information on a topic, specific titles like the name of a book, or sources written by an author.

Want to know where specific collections are located?  Check out the maps of the Library's upper and lower floors.  

Research Guides provide information and links to the most useful resources on a topic, subject, or academic discipline. Use research guides to find print and electronic reference sources, articles, journals, databases, books, newspapers, streaming videos, web sites (and so much more) related to your subject area, program or class project. The guides help you to find, evaluate and cite resources. In a world of abundant information resources, COD's discipline librarians created our research guides to save you time and energy!

Go to our Research Guide Index to select your subject from the A-Z list or search for a guide by discipline.

Use our catalog to find books, videos, and other resources in our collections.

Advanced Search

The Library has an extensive collection of anatomical and biological models for our students.  Models can be checked out at the lower floor circulation desk for use within the Library for up to two hours at a time.

You can search our models collection online

The Library's Career and College Information Collection provides information on educational opportunities, occupational choices and job-seeking skills. This multimedia collection can assist you in planning for your educational, career and employment goals.

You can find this collection on the Library's upper floor.  

The Library's Course Reserves contain a mixture of books, textbooks, and other items put aside for specific classes.  Browse for items on reserves by searching a course prefix, or look up individual items in the catalog.

Check out course reserve items at the lower level circulation desk.

The Library's English Language Learning Collection contains books, videos, and other physical items, as well as online resources.  Our materials emphasize pronunciation, writing and grammar, and reading resources, among others.

Our physical English Language Learning Collection is located on the upper floor of the Library.

Our Juvenile Collection contains fiction, and non-fiction books and graphic novels intended for readers from Pre-K through Grade 8. It includes titles that have won such literary awards as the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, and Coretta Scott King Award.

The Juvenile Collection is located on the Library's upper floor.

The Library's Philanthropy Collection supports the information needs of nonprofit organizations located in DuPage County. We provide our patrons with free public access to grant-maker directories, books on fundraising and nonprofit management and several philanthropic databases.

The Philanthropy Collection is located on the upper floor of the Library.

The Library's Reference Collection contains overview materials, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, timelines, and drug references. These books are not available for check-out and may be used only within the Library. If you wish to copy a portion of a reference material, scanning and copying are available in Computing Support & Printing Services (lower level of the Library).

The reference collection is located on the lower level behind the main staircase.

The Library also has multiple popular collections available to our users:

• Music
• Paperbacks
• Graphic Novels 
• Popular Videos
• New Books

All of these collections are located on the upper floor of the Library.