Sims Memorial Library

The University Library, named in memory of the institution’s first president, is a modular four-story building of approximately 138,000 square feet. The building, occupied in 1986, is located near the center of campus.

The Library contains a collection of more than 1,000,000 print and electronic volumes and streaming videos, and provides access to over 400,000 print and electronic journals and newspapers. Sims Memorial is a partial depository for federal government publications. The Library participates in a state-wide network, LOUIS, providing access to the online catalogs of 47 academic libraries within Louisiana and to other electronic databases and catalogs. Sims participates in the LOUIS reciprocal borrowing program, which extends borrowing privileges to Southeastern faculty and students at participating universities throughout the state, and in the LOUIS Distance Education agreement which ensures library services to students enrolled in distance education classes.

Both traditional library services and state-of-the-art information technology, including electronic resources which may be searched remotely, are provided by Sims Library. Service to off-campus students is provided through the Library’s Reference Department. Formal and informal instruction in library research skills is provided by professional librarians. The Library, open 76 hours a week, seeks to provide a safe environment conducive to research and study while also providing a culturally-rich environment to enhance the Southeastern experience. Group and private study areas are available throughout the Library. Exhibits, lectures, readings, and presentations are regularly scheduled in open areas of the Library. The Library houses a computer lab, the Archives and Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies, a mathematics lab, the iHub, and a coffee shop.

Sims Library also provides an on-site collection to support the research needs of the Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station.