The Library's circulating collection is located here and on the two floors below. Bookshelves fill the southwest and east wings, and tables, chairs, and individual study carrels line the perimeter of these floors. The Class of 1985 Seminar Room, a multipurpose room that seats 35, is in the northwest corner of this floor. It is used for classes given by Library staff and for classes, meetings, and group gatherings by staff, faculty, and cadets. Four additional smaller seminar rooms are located on the fifth floor, all with multimedia capability. Two of these rooms include the Class of 1995 Reading Room and the Class of 1974 Collaborative Room.
The open central area overlooking the Plain and Doubleday Field is the Class of 1995 Reading Room. They are furnished with work tables equipped with task lighting, electrical receptacles, and data ports. While collaboration and quiet conversation are welcomed throughout the Library, this floor offers a dedicated quiet area for when students need to concentrate.
The 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors house the majority of our print collection. However, the volumes that fill the shelves only account for 1/3 of our total collection. Cadets and faculty have access to almost 2 million e-books and well over 100,000 journals digitally. These resources are recent publications with the most up-to-date information available and can be accessed on any computer and most devices, such as iPads and tablets.
In addition to external resources, we also have a wealth of information produced here at USMA through work performed by the research centers and academic departments. The Library has introduced USMA Digital Commons, an online institutional repository system, to manage the intellectual output of cadets, faculty, and staff. This repository enhances local publishing workflows, inspires creation and participation, raises quality, shares locally produced publications with a broader audience, and assists with administrative and managerial oversight of research output. Moreover, it curates locally produced research publications and creates institutionally unique collections made openly accessible to the world via web technologies to support West Point research, teaching, and learning. Sharing West Point's unique and valuable intellectual products with the world supports the Academy's efforts to train warrior scholars, manage local talent, and attract future high-caliber cadets, faculty, and staff.
Our support for academic excellence is not limited to collecting and disseminating the research produced at USMA. We strive to create library instruction aimed at cadets, faculty, and staff that will improve our graduates' research skills and critical thinking through teaching information literacy.
"Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning."
- Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, American Library Association, 2015.
Using these concepts, the library partners with faculty and staff to equip cadets with the information fluency skills to conduct meaningful scholarship while becoming lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and effective leaders. Examples of this collaboration include librarians teaching information literacy skills in the classroom, offering evening clinics, and "train the trainer" professional development sessions for faculty.
To learn more about the library's program, click here.
General Omar N. Bradley's Office Furniture
The desk, chair, and grandfather clock located in the central part of the 5th floor were part of General Omar N. Bradley's own office set. GEN Bradley graduated from USMA in 1915 and became the General of the Army on September 22, 1950. His class ring is also featured in the Class Ring Display on the 2nd floor of Jefferson Hall.
Next, head down the stairs or take the elevator to the 4th floor and go to the 4th Floor tab of this guide.
