Department website: https://www.kysu.edu/academics/library/

Learning to organize and carry out independent research is an integral part of a university liberal studies education. Paul G. Blazer Library, located at the northeast end of the campus, provides comprehensive and current research materials and facilities for students and faculty. The university community is also encouraged to use Blazer Library for personal enrichment and leisure reading.

Blazer Library’s collection of more than 600,000 volumes includes such materials as books, journals, eBooks, DVDs, and other resources to aid students in their course work and research. As a member of the Kentucky Virtual Library (http://www.kyvl.org), Blazer Library has access to more than sixty databases including: Academic Search Complete, AGRICOLA, Business Source Premier, CINAHL Full text, eBook Academic Collection, Health Source: Nursing Academic Edition, Literary Reference Center Plus, Newspaper Source, and PsycINFO to name a few. Other electronic resources such as our JSTOR Collections are available online for research and information. Blazer Library uses OCLC Worldshare Management Services as its library management system. KSU users have access to the library’s full-text resources as well as access to billions of electronic, digital and physical resources from other institutions worldwide, via the OCLC WorldCat Discovery system.

KSU distance learners have remote off-campus access to all of the Library’s electronic resources—databases, e-journals, and e-books which are available to all students, faculty, and staff from off-campus locations through a hosted EZproxy server, and through the Library catalog, using WorldCat Discovery at https://kysu.on.worldcat.org/advancedsearch or on the Library’s webpage using the “Library Catalog” link. These resources are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To sign in to WorldCat Discovery, students, faculty, and staff will use their KSU e-mail account sign on, and password. 

The Library provides a variety of services including wireless access, laptop checkout, group study rooms, a 24-hour study room, and computer labs. From the Library’s homepage, users can access web resources, electronic databases, catalogs from other libraries, as well as order materials via interlibrary loan. Blazer Library is a member of the State Assisted Academic Library Council of Kentucky (SAALCK) and the Federation of Kentucky Academic Libraries (FoKAL); and has reciprocal borrowing agreements with member libraries, providing access to the collections of other academic libraries across the Commonwealth. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service provided by Blazer Library to the faculty, staff, and students engaged in research at Kentucky State University. Conditions of this service are set by the Interlibrary Loan Code of the American Library Association and by regulations of the individual lending libraries. Every effort will be made to obtain items free of charge. Frequently, however, materials can be obtained only from institutions that charge an interlibrary loan fee. When submitting an ILL request, patrons should state the maximum charges they are willing to accept. Printed interlibrary loan request forms are located at the Circulation Desk. An electronic form may be found on the library’s homepage, and it is also embedded in the search interface of the WorldCat Discovery system.

Blazer Library is a selective depository for United States Government Document Publications. The library has a variety of materials including paper and electronic governmental resources to support the University curriculum, research and special interests. Many publications are available electronically, check for links on the library’s homepage.

The Education Curriculum Lab, located on the ground floor, supports the mission of Paul G. Blazer Library and the Teacher Education Program at Kentucky State University. The Lab’s collection provides diverse resources for use in P-12 classrooms as well as professional resources for P-12 educators. The Lab is designed to assist and support college level students and Faculty in their teacher education needs.

The second floor of the library houses both a part of the circulating collection and the Special Collections including the University Archives, which contain historical records and documents related to university history.

Through the Library’s webpages, students, faculty and staff have access to helpful links, tutorials, and subject guides to assist in access to the information resources the library provides. Professional librarians and support personnel are available to assist students in using the library's resources and facilities. Special library tours or individualized library instruction may be scheduled by contacting the Public Services Desk. For assistance, please visit us at Blazer Library or chat with us virtually at Ask Us on the Library’s webpage at: kysu.edu/academics/library/ask-a-librarian.php