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Philosophy

This is a guide for students, faculty, staff and postdocs in the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University.

About the Libraries

The University Libraries has many specialists to help you (see the box below for specific types of help), both digital and physical collections, and several spaces where you can work or take a rest from class.

Specialists

The University Libraries employ people with many different special skills. You can find departmental liaisons, and other research help on our website. You may also be interested in some of our Open Science and Data initiatives or getting help with publishing your work Open Access.

Collections

In addition to our circulating and electronic collection of books, articles, reports and other items, we have several other collections of interest. The University Archives curates many collections related to the history of the university and the CMU community. They have both digital and physical collections. We have several interesting collections and items in our Special Collections including Shakespeare folios, a wide set of materials in the Posner Collection and a set of Enigma Machines used during World War II. Our institutional repository KiltHub holds the products of research conducted at CMU including dissertations and research papers. We encourage you to deposit open access versions of your own work in our repository.

Physical Spaces

The University Libraries have several locations on campus.

  • Hunt Library (main library on the Cut: Humanities, Social Sciences, Visual & Performing Arts, and Business),
  • Sorrells Engineering & Science Library (4400 Wean Hall: Computer Science, Engineering and Math),
  • Mellon Library (4400 Fifth Ave: Biology, Chemistry, Physics).
  • Some of our collections are stored in an Offsite facility in Bakery Square.
  • We also have a library in the Qatar Campus and liaisons for each satellite campus.

 

What can the University Libraries help with?

The University Libraries has many different programs and resources. See the options below for different services we offer. You can also search for specific services in our Services Directory.

Basic Help

Borrowing and Requesting items

CMU community members can borrow items and request items through one of our resource sharing options for free. You can learn about the loan periods and other policies on our borrow and request page or in our FAQs.

Databases and Books

We subscribe to over 700 databases and digital platforms with content. You can access the full listing in our A-Z list or search our ebook platforms, or search for all books or journals/conferences directly in our catalog Primo.

Learning to search our resources

You can schedule a 1:1 meeting to learn about our resources and get a tailored session for your current project. Library Liaisons are also available to give full guest lectures or small segments in your class about using the library, conducting a literature review, using citation tools and many other topics. To learn about how liaisons can help your teaching, you can browse our Teaching Menu.

Specialized Help

Bibliographic analysis

We have several tools that are useful for managing your scholarly profile or conducting bibliographic analysis. Learn more about these services on our guide on Measuring Your Research Impact.

Help with coding and managing your research data

The Libraries have specialists who can provide data and coding support. Finding data, managing data, analyzing data, sharing data, and completing Data Management Plans for your grant. You can also check out our Data 101 guide.

Resources to find grants and other funding opportunities

We have two databases where you can find upcoming funding opportunities, GrantForward and Pivot. We also provide access to a tool called Dimensions* that can show you what grants CMU and other institutions have received in recent years. *You must register to access the grant information.

Conducting literature reviews, evidence synthesis and systematic reviews

This slide deck has some tips for conducting regular Literature Reviews. We have a team of liaisons who are trained to conduct systematic reviews and relevant tools. This is much more in depth than a regular literature review. You can learn more about the team, their projects and available resources on our Systematic Reviews guide.