Your librarian is available to visit your class to provide information about research workflows, critical appraisal and evaluation, APA style refresher, and more! Your librarian is also able to offer guidance on faculty scholarship, impact, and citation and screening software.
Don't forget to check out our Spring Workshops! Our Research University series is open to students, faculty, and staff!
We are closed on university holidays and during spring break. We offer extended hours during final exams.
The second and third loors, as well as the lobbies on every floor, are available 24/7. To access 24/7 spaces after hours, swipe in with your OneCard using the rightmost entrance door.
We have added several new database subscriptions in recent years. Here are a few highlights:
You can find a full list of nearly 400 databases on our A-Z Databases page.
We are excited to be switching to a new Integrated Library System (ILS). Starting in May 2024, we will be using Alma and Primo from Ex Libris, part of Clarivate, as our library services platform. An integrated library system is used for managing library operations, resource sharing with other libraries, and providing access to print and electronic resources. The new system will feature an enhanced user interface enabling Towson University students, faculty, staff, and other library users to find essential information critical to their studies, teaching, and research.
What does this mean for you? The main library search interface, Cook OneSearch, will be changing. We hope that the new system will provide a better user experience overall, but we do recognize that there may be a learning curve as we all adapt from one platform to another. We plan to provide training materials and one-on-one assistance as needed to help you manage this transition. Please also note that if you are currently linking to content from Cook OneSearch in your syllabi, on Blackboard, or elsewhere, you will need to update those links prior to the start of the Fall 2024 semester.
Please stay tuned for updates as we get closer to the go-live date.
Cook Library is committed to supporting open access publishing. To that end, we have signed read and publish agreements with several publishers. These agreements allow members of the TU community to access content and publish open access articles in their journals without paying any APCs. As of 2024, we have agreements with SpringerNature, Cambridge Journals, MIT Press, Company of Biologists, and ACM Journals. We are also beginning to offer support for faculty who wish to start their own open access journals using Open Journal Systems.
For more information, contact our Publishing and Open Scholarship Librarian, Miranda Phair, at mphair@towson.edu.
Cook Library has access to more than 400 print and electronic course texts. View our Course Books in the Libraries page to see if we have a copy of your courses' textbooks.
You can request that we purchase a textbook using our Suggest a Purchase form. If you have a personal copy that you would like to donate, you can note that on the form as well. Please note that making a request does not guarantee that we will be able to purchase the book. We will add it to our list of titles to consider as funds become available.
Want to support our textbook initiative? Please consider donating to the Library Textbook Fund to help us purchase additional books. Thank you!
Both print reserves and electronic reserves are available to you. If you would like to put something on reserve, please use our Course Reserves Form.
Plan ahead and make your reserves requests as early as possible. It may take up to two weeks for your request to be completed. Questions about course reserves? Contact reserves@towson.edu.
Check out the Cook Library YouTube Channel for information on navigating library resources and services.
You can also view videos on my YouTube Channel for instruction relevant to disciplines within the health professions.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4345-3547