Guide to UC Berkeley Libraries

UC Berkeley's research libraries have excellent resources in many subject areas. Most of their libraries are open to the public, and most of their materials are available for in-library use without a library card.

Visitor Access

Generally speaking the UCB Libraries are open to California residents, and library materials are available to visitors for library-use only. For borrowing privileges, library cards are available to CCA students for $100/year. Go to the Borrowing Privileges Desk in Doe Library to apply. CCA faculty have borrowing privileges from most UCB Libraries, but need to obtain a library card by presenting a valid faculty ID at the Borrowing Privileges Desk in Doe Library.

Some UCB libraries do not extend check-out privileges to visitors with library cards. Check with individual libraries for more information.

Open Access UCB Libraries

The following UCB Libraries offer open access to visitors. Borrowing privileges from most of the libraries below are available to CCA students who purchase a library card, and to CCA faculty who apply for a card at the Privileges Desk.

Go here for a full-list of UCB Libraries.

Libraries & Collections with Special Access Policies

» Gardner Main Stacks

Gardner (MAIN) Stacks contains Doe Library’s research collections and is reserved as a primary study area for UC Berkeley students and faculty. CCA students can apply online for a one-day pass to the Gardner Stacks (without borrowing privileges). To check items out from Gardner Main Stacks, CCA students and faculty need a library card.

» Art History - Classics Library

While most exhibition catalogues and studies of individual artists are in Gardner (MAIN) Stacks, the AH-C Library supports UCB's Art History graduate program, and features "current and comprehensive runs of many journals critical to advanced research in... art history" as well as major museum catalogues, and a substantial microfiche and CD-ROM collection. Read more about the collection here. To access the AH-C Library on the 3rd floor of Doe Library, visitors need to bring a citation to a particular volume from the AH-C Library (not available elsewhere in UCB Libraries) and show it at the Access Desk.

» Moffitt Library

Moffitt is reserved for current UC Berkeley students. No visitor access is available in this library.

» Pacific Film Archive Library

The PFA Library contains more than 10,000 films and videos and a wide range of film-related materials available to the public for research purposes. There is a $3-per-day usage fee for visitors, and additional fees for screening films and videos.

UC Berkeley library databases

You can access UC Berkeley's article and image databases online from any computer on the UCB campus. The majority of UCB Libraries are open to visitors, and their computers offer access to their library catalogs and article databases to the public. You cannot access dot com websites from their computers (including Google, gmail, and other email servers). You will also not be able to use their wireless network. In order to save articles you access, you may either purchase a print card (13 cents per page) or save article files to your own flash drive or other storage device. Go here for a complete list of UCB databases.

UCB Image Databases

UC Image Service

The UC Image Service maintains an excellent list of digital image collections accessible from the UCB campus. Worth checking out from home as well since many sites are free to the general public, or at least provide access to thumbnail images.

Select UCB Periodical Databases

Expanded Academic ASAP (access from UCB campus only)

A great one-stop database if your research does not fit neatly into a particular discipline. Indexes over 9 million articles from popular magazines, general interest journals, scholarly journals and newspapers in the humanities, social sciences, and general sciences.

JSTOR (access from UCB campus only)

An index of scholarly sources. JSTOR searches will not retrieve popular magazine articles or news items, but only authoritative academic works.

LexisNexis Academic (access from UCB campus only)

Another great database for searching across disciplines. Especially good for finding radio and television transcripts, news wire services, and other national and international news sources.

Periodicals Archive Online(access from UCB campus only)

For historical research the Periodicals Archive database contains digitized articles from journals and periodicals dating back to 1800.

AltPress Watch (access from UCB campus only)

A collection of alternative, radical, and independent American magazines, newspapers, and journals which report on politics and government, culture, education, and the environment.

Browse UCB Databases by Subject

If your research problem fits a particular academic niche or discipline, you may want to consult one of UCB's many specialty databases to refine your search. You can browse UCB databases by subject from the above link.

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