Main Collection

Main Collection

  • Theology Collection - mostly shelved in the BL-BX section on the first floor of the Library

Circulation Desk

Course Reserves

  • Located at the Library Services Desk
  • May be checked out for a limited number of hours or days as specified by the course instructor
  • May be limited to in-library use only

Image of DVDs

Audiovisual Collection

  • Audiobooks - near the One-Stop Desk (LRC-4)
  • DVDs - near the One-Stop Desk (LRC-4)

Periodicals Collection

Periodicals Collection

  • Scholarly journals - are located in our databases. Additional bound and loose issues are available. See a librarian for any print journals.

Reference

Reference Collection

  • Mostly dictionaries, encyclopedias, Bible commentaries, maps and atlases, handbooks, and directories
  • Located on the first floor beginning near the printers
  • May not be checked out

Holy Spirit Research Center

Special Theological Collections

  • Holy Spirit Resource Center (3rd floor): Materials may be transferred to the Reference desk for easier access
  • Brad Young Collection - housed in the HSRC
  • Howard Ervin Collection - housed in the HSRC
  • William Sanford LaSor Collection - housed in the Annex
  • Elmar Camillo Dos Santos Collection - housed in the HSRC
  • Jewish Theological Seminary Collection - housed in the HSRC

Image of HLSS Reading Room

Other Special Collections

  • Curriculum Media Center - LRC-5
    • Primarily for use by Education majors
    • Mostly children's books and other media
  • HLSS (Heath, Leisure, and Sport Science) Research Library
    • Located in the Aerobics Center
    • Primarily paper periodicals
  • Music Listening Room - Timko-Barton Hall

More on the Library Collections

  • Books: Books are shelved on the 4th and 5th floors of the LRC (Learning Resources Center). They are classified, for the most part, according to the Library of Congress Classification System (LCCS).
  • DVDs: DVDs are shelved on LRC-4 in the AV area close to the audiobooks. They are available for 3-day check-out. You may browse an alphabetical list of the 340+ DVDs online.
  • Audiobooks: Audiobooks (LRC-AV) are shelved on LRC-4in the AV area. They are available for two-week check-out. You may browse this alphabetical list of over 325 audiobooks. (See also a small EBSCOhost collection of downloadable audiobooks available online.)
  • The leisure reading (LRC-L) area, which is located on LRC-5 next to the west elevator.
  • The new books area, which is located on LRC-4 next to the west elevator. New books may also be browsed online here.
  • The Theology Collection is shelved in Main (LRC-4), primarily within the BL-BX classification range.
  • The Holy Spirit Research Center and the other special theology collections (listed below) are located on LRC-5 (LRC 515).
    • The William Sanford LaSor Collection
    • The Elmar Camillo Dos Santos Collection
    • The Jewish Theological seminary Collection
    • The Howard Ervin Collection
  • For more on the Holy Spirit Research Center, see the separate tab.
  • The Reference Collection (LRC-R) is shelved in on the first floor beginning near the printers and ending near the Library Services Desk.
  • To search the Reference Collection, start at the Advanced Search page of the library catalog, and limit the search to "Reference Collection." Select one or two words that refer to the subject area of interest plus one of the reference types listed below. See, for example, this search for French language dictionaries. For e-reference works, search the catalog and limit to ebooks, or go to the Database list and limit the database type to dictionaries and encyclopedias . Gale eBooks (GVRL) is the ORU Library's largest collection of e-reference works.
  • Types of Reference Works
  • Almanacs, Directories & Yearbooks
  • Atlases, Gazetteers, Maps & Guidebooks
  • Bibliography
  • Biography
  • Dictionaries, Glossaries & Thesauri (synonyms & antonyms)
  • Encyclopedias (general and subject specific)
  • Handbooks
  • Indexes
  • Quotations
  • Sacred Texts and associated Concordances, Commentaries, Introductions, Harmonies, & Criticism, interpretation, etc.
  • Statistics
  • Style Manuals
  • Librarians are available to help select appropriate Reference works. To Ask-a-Librarian, visit the Library Services Desk in person, phone, email, text, or chat. See the chat icon at the right.
  • Reference books may be identified by the LRC-R at the end of the call number and by the yellow sticker that covers the spine label.

Label

  • The Periodical and Microfilm collections are located, for the most part, in the Library Information Commons (LINC) just inside the doors to the fourth floor of the Graduate Center.
  • Unbound issues of current academic journals are shelved by call number alongside the bound volumes of the same title.
  • Current popular magazines are located in a casual reading area beside Circulation.
  • Pre-1979 bound periodicals are shelved onLRC-5after the Main collection.
  • Microform, whether fiche or film, is stored by call number in yellow cabinets along a wall in Periodicals. A microform reader/scanner/printer is close at hand.
  • A workstation is stationed in the same area to allow access to a small set of journals available on CD-ROM.
  • Current issues of newspapers are housed in what is affectionately called the Ark, a large wooden piece of furniture in the center of the Periodicals area.
  • Periodical indexes are shelved by call number in the Main collection, many of which are located in the Zs onLRC-5.
  • The Curriculum Media Center (CMC) is located on the 5th floor of the LRC. It contains the audiovisual collection of slides, tapes and cassettes, as well as children's literature, media for grades K-12, and other materials teachers use to develop curriculum. In addition, there is a computer lab for education majors.
  • The HLSS Research library is a special, non-circulating collection housed by the HLSS Department in the Aerobics Center.
  • Consists primarily of health, leisure, and sport science print journals, many of which are not available full text online.
  • Equipped with a computer to allow users to search for articles in the print journals.
  • ​The Music Listening Room (TBM) is a listening lab (TB-2) located in the Timko Barton Music Building. It contains a circulating collection of scores and a non-circulating collection of records, tapes, and compact discs. Music majors are given priority for use of these materials.
  • The University Archives are located on the 1st floor of the GC. They are the repository for the records of Oral Roberts University. The area also houses collections of transcripts, video, manuscripts, and personal effects of Oral Roberts, the personal papers of former University Regent Lee Braxton, the lifework of historian Dr. Harold Paul, and materials of significance to the Pentecostal and Charismatic revival.

Purpose of This Guide

The purpose of this guide is orient distance learner students, particularly those who are enrolled in the College of Theology & Ministry, to what the Library has to offer in support of their coursework and research.