Libraries and Collections

Brown’s network of libraries and collections fuels discovery and high-impact scholarship, serving as a dynamic physical, digital and intellectual hub for teaching, research and learning.

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Libraries and Collections

Brown’s network of libraries and collections fuels discovery and high-impact scholarship, serving as a dynamic physical, digital and intellectual hub for teaching, research and learning.

More than stacks and study spaces, the network of libraries and resources comprising the Brown Library creates a laboratory for advancing scholarship. Students and faculty come to the library for expert guidance in navigating a world awash in information, experimenting with emerging digital tools and discovering ways to collaborate and innovate as they change the world.

The library ensures access to hundreds of online databases and tens of thousands of journals, newspapers and e-books, available to members of the Brown community from anywhere in the world at any time.

University Library Locations

John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library

The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, known as "the Rock," is the primary teaching and research library for the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Sciences Library

The Sciences Library houses medical and science materials and is home to the Friedman Study Center, the Science Center, the Map Collection and more.

Orwig Music Library

Orwig Music Library houses music books, scores, periodicals, sound recordings, video recordings and microforms.

John Hay Library

John Hay Library houses special collections, rare books, manuscripts and archives.

Champlin Memorial Library

Champlin Memorial Library, located in the Warren Alpert Medical School building, provides digital access to an extensive collection of electronic journals, textbooks and databases.

Annmary Brown Memorial

The Annmary Brown Memorial houses exhibits of European and American paintings from the 17th through 20th centuries and other holdings.

The John Carter Brown Library

The John Carter Brown Library is an independent center for advanced research in history and the humanities. It was founded in 1846 and has been located at Brown — on the College Green — since 1901. Housed within the JCB is a globally renowned, constantly growing collection of primary historical sources pertaining to the Americas. The library serves scholars from across the United States and around the world.
John Carter Brown Library

Special Collections

The Brown Library holds more than 250 special collections, each home to rare, primary-source materials that enable rich, high-impact research. Major collections include: