What We Do

We provide funding for special acquisitions to enrich the Libraries’ collections. Additionally, the Friends of the Libraries Preservation Fund supports the care of rare and fragile materials in the collections.

We provide funding for Smith ScholarWorks to continue to build this digital repository of Smith faculty publications, graduate student theses, and special projects.

We have provided new furnishings and equipment that were beyond the scope of the Libraries’ budget. For example, we purchased this large format book and manuscript scanner to allow for the digitization of rare and fragile materials with optimal care.

Funding is provided for two competitive fellowship grants each year -- the Friends of the Smith College Libraries Fellowship and the Margaret Storrs Grierson Fellowship. These provide opportunities to do research in Special Collections. See Research Fellowships for more information.

Providing for the long-term well-being of the Libraries has always been a strategic focus. Currently, we wish to strengthen the Friends of the Libraries Endowed Fund to provide long term general support for the ever-evolving needs of the Libraries.

An annual professional development grant enables one or two staff members each year to pursue advanced training opportunities. For example, research librarians used the grant to attend Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) programs to hone their teaching skills. Other staff received training in curating digital collections.

Learning to take full advantage of library resources and services is essential for every student's academic success. The Friends have long sponsored the Libraries' orientation programming.

As finals approach, students spend long hours in the Libraries. Night-time snacks, games and puzzles provide a respite during reading period. Treats are also provided at Halloween and on Valentine's Day.

We underwrite access to the digital library JSTOR for all Smith alumnae via the Smith Network. See Services for Smith Alumnae for information about JSTOR and other electronic resources that the Libraries make available to alumnae.

We host a number of fun and informative programs each year. See our playlist on YouTube.