Libraries
Lehigh University has two major library facilities, Linderman Library and Fairchild-Martindale Library, plus a Library Materials Center (LMC) on Mountaintop Campus.
The historic Linderman Library is a showcase for Lehigh’s history and heritage and includes much of our Humanities and Art collections. Its world-renowned 1878 high Victorian rotunda and 1929 grand reading room have long conveyed magnificence. A major renovation in 2005 and more recent updates in 2022 provide additional seminar rooms, research spaces, group study rooms, high-speed wireless throughout the building, and the popular Lucy’s Cafe.
Linderman Library houses Lehigh Libraries’ Special Collections with an impressive collection of rare books, including Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and John James Audubon’s double elephant folio edition of Birds of America as well as deep heritage collections which represent the intellectual and administrative life of the Lehigh campus from its foundation. Researchers can have hands-on experience with these materials by appointment. Lehigh Libraries has an extensive digitization program and supports an open access repository, readily available for faculty, student, and community-based research.
The modern and dynamic Fairchild-Martindale Library offers immersive and collaborative learning spaces, experimental classrooms, areas for individual or group work or study, and The Grind@FML cafe as well as a recently renovated art exhibition gallery. In 2023 the library opened the LTS CIRCLE (Community & Inclusion Resource Center: A Library for Everyone), a space to support inclusivity and diversity across the campus and as a bridge to connect people and ideas with resources in a shared, inclusive space. The Fairchild-Martindale Library holds print books and journals in all branches of science, engineering, mathematics, and the social sciences, including business and education, as well as a leisure reading collection.
Fairchild-Martindale Library is also home to the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL). CITL spaces in the library include two technology classrooms outfitted for flexible and collaborative learning, the DIY video production studio, the Data Visualization Lab, a TRAC Writing Fellows consultation area, and the Digital Media Studio classroom.
The Lehigh Libraries offer students, faculty, and staff an extensive range of electronic journals, electronic books, and full text and image databases easily accessible from on and off campus. The Libraries optimize network-level collaborations between research libraries in Pennsylvania and neighboring states to maximize access and availability of resources to Lehigh users.
Organizationally, the Libraries are part of Library and Technology Services. The LTS Help Desk staff, technology specialists, and subject librarians provide personalized service, partner with faculty on teaching and research projects, and offer research seminars, workshops, and classes to the Lehigh community.
