General Information (Life Sciences Library)

The primary mission of the Life Sciences Library is to support the research and teaching of the IUB Department of Biology, the Medical Sciences Program, and the Nursing Program. We provide information resources and services to the faculty, students and staff in these departments as well as the entire Indiana University community. The library is also open to the public and loan privileges are granted to residents of Indiana.

Before August 2008 the library occupied approximately 12,000 square feet in Jordan Hall and housed  over 110,000 print volumes. Now the public space of the library is found in A304.  There are study tables and carrels for over 50 readers and 12 public-use computers in the Reading Area.  The current book collection consists of approximatley 3,000 volumes of reference, current imprints, high use, or important classics.  The library subscribes to about 700 journals, annual reviews and monographic series.   Most of these are available in electronic-only format.  The book and journal collection that was formerly housed in the Life Sciences Library stacks was moved either to ALF, the Wells Library, or another brach library. 

Although the library's collection covers the life sciences broadly at a basic level, its strengths are in biochemistry, biotechnology, cellular biology, developmental biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, human anatomy, human physiology, microbiology, molecular biology, pharmacology, plant sciences, and zoology. You will also find relevant information sources and services in other IUB Libraries, particularly the Chemistry, Geology, Business/SPEA, Optometry and HPER Libraries and Reference, Media and Government Publications Departments in the Wells Library. Additional resources supporting the health sciences are located at the IU Medical and Dental Libraries in Indianapolis. Holdings for all of these collections are included in the Libraries' online catalog, IUCAT.