Library Services

Library Homepage
Library Location and Hours
Library’s Mission
Library’s Philosophy of Service
Library Resources
Library Services

Library Resources
The P.I.T. Library, located on the Media campus, provides resources and services to support the educational and life-long learning goals of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni while providing a gateway to the world of knowledge and information. The Library’s collection of resources includes:

  • Print books
  • E-books
  • DVDs
  • Full-text databases for e-resources and journals
  • select Special Collections, featuring:
    • Founder’s Collection (encompassing a variety of subjects)
    • Hinderliter Collection (encompassing archaeology, architecture, and related subjects)
    • Professional Development Collection for faculty and staff

These resources provide information on a variety subjects, focusing primarily on P.I.T.’s programs and curricula. By using the Library’s online catalog, users can locate where resources are located within the Library or access them directly through the links provided.

Library Services
Library services are provided by professional librarians and include:

  • Research instruction
  • Reference assistance
  • Information Literacy workshops for classes and individuals
  • Material loans
  • Interlibrary loan service
  • Computer use assistance
  • Monthly newsletter, available on this website, features research techniques, explanations of new or expanded services, and listings of new materials

The Library also provides a television to view DVDs and videos, an open computer lab with the Microsoft Office suite of software, internet access, and a photocopier.

All students, faculty, staff, and alumni are encouraged to borrow circulating materials and to make use of the additional resources available. Alumni have lifetime privileges to many Library resources and services. Guest users from outside the immediate P.I.T. community may use the resources of the Library on-site.

REMINDER: You MUST present your ID/Library card to check out Library materials.

Library Location and Hours
The P.I.T. Library is located on the first floor of the Media Campus adjacent to the Admissions Office. The Library’s hours of operation are:

Monday: 8AM – 4PM
Tuesday: 8AM – 4PM
Wednesday: 8AM – 4PM
Thursday: 8AM – 4PM
Friday: 8AM – 12PM
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Library Mission
The Pennsylvania Institute of Technology Library’s purpose is to support the College’s Mission by serving as a gateway to the world of knowledge and information. The Library is an enduring resource for all who seek learning and inspiration. The Mission of the Library is to create a library service that supports the educational goals and purposes of the college and that everyone in the College community can and does use. The Library is dedicated to providing onsite and remote access to resources, instruction, and services that support the academic program and the general information needs, diverse cultural interests, intellectual development, and professional growth of the entire college community. The Library is central to the College`s identity as part of an intellectual enterprise. By providing access to information resources, the library contributes uniquely to the definition and implementation of the College`s academic priorities and goals of ensuring student success.

The Library’s Philosophy of Service
A primary function of education is the development in individuals of the ability to think, to understand their own and other cultures, and to be critical in the search for values and knowledge. The freedom of access to a broad spectrum of materials is critical to the development of these capabilities which are essential to our democratic way of life. Clearly, the freedom of choice in materials selection is a basic prerequisite to effective academic library service. In addition, the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology Library recognizes that it shares with the teaching faculty and the administration responsibility in the instructional design of the College.

The Pennsylvania Institute of Technology Library serves a diverse community of users. The library`s administration and staff respect and celebrate that diversity. We broadly define our customer as any individual seeking information or knowledge. We assert that all library users are individuals who should be treated with courtesy and respect. Through our core services, we strive to support our users in their quest for knowledge. Those core services include:

  • The maintenance of a collection of materials chosen for their quality, diversity, currency and relevance to the academic curriculum and the needs of the community;
  • The promotion of comprehensive and dynamic information services which support and enhance lifelong learning;
  • The provision of a comprehensive program of user instruction, which promotes library research skills in conjunction with critical thinking skills.

We believe that all library users are entitled to:

  • Access to timely and accurate sources of information regardless of format or location.
  • Appropriate and knowledgeable assistance from the librarians and library staff whether this is in the form of reference assistance, referral, user instruction or basic library orientation.
  • Clean, safe, attractive and reasonably quiet library surroundings that foster an environment conducive to quiet study and academic scholarship.
  • Availability of fully functional equipment, which allows them to complete their work (i.e., computers, printers, photocopiers, etc.).

The Pennsylvania Institute of Technology Library endorses the Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Readstatement, the Freedom to View statement, the Intellectual Freedom Statement and the Professional Code of Ethics for Librarians adopted by the American Library Association as well as the Right to Readstatement of the National Council of Teachers of English and the People`s Library Bill of Rights adopted by the White House Conference on Library and Information Services.