New Faculty Guide

A new version of this guide is available at https://guides.library.harvard.edu/faculty. Please update your links. Thank you!

Harvard Library collects, creates, and shares knowledge to advance the learning and global scholarship that is at the heart of Harvard. We value partnership with faculty in building a more interesting and just world through support for your research and teaching. Beyond what you will find on this guide, you may Ask a Librarian if you would like more information about the Library's support for faculty and instructors.

At Harvard Library, we aspire to be one of the world’s most comprehensive and thoughtful leaders in intellectual exploration. We embrace opportunities to share knowledge and contribute to global scholarship. Whatever materials you're seeking, gathering, organizing, or publishing, the following tips should help you get started with your research.

Find It

HOLLIS is Harvard Library's catalog and metasearch engine.

• The HOLLIS user guide can help you hone your proficiency with HOLLIS.

HOLLIS for Archival Discovery is your portal to Harvard Library's special collections and archives. Special collections and archives contain primary sources including letters, photographs, film and video, print items, digital materials, and objects.

HOLLIS Databases is a tool for identifying specialized search engines and large collections of digital materials. It is a curated subset of HOLLIS records, selected by Harvard librarians.

HOLLIS Images is the dedicated image catalog. It includes content from archives, museums, libraries, and other collections throughout Harvard University. 

Browse and read scholarly journals on your computer, phone, or tablet with Browzine.

The library offers worldwide Data & Government Information Collections and Expertise.

Get It

Borrow from near and far.

• Use a variety of Access Options in HOLLIS: REQUEST PICK UP, SCAN & DELIVER, BORROW DIRECT, INTERLIBRARY LOAN; or retrieve item(s) from the shelf.

Use Harvard Library's Special Collections and Archives

• With HOLLIS Special Request, you may click "Request to Copy or Visit" under Access Options in HOLLIS.

Get Slides Digitized. Request books, photographs, slides or transparencies from the Fine Arts Library's Digital Images and Slides Collection.

Use Google Scholar with your HarvardKey. This allows you to make the most of provided links, granting access to full text available through Harvard Library subscriptions.

Install the Check Harvard Library Bookmark or Lean Library in your browser to seamlessly access Harvard Library resources from anywhere on the web.

Not in the library's collections? We will purchase materials on your request.

Organize It

Pick a citation tool like Zotero, EndNote, or Overleaf to save references, keep notes, format citations, and more.

• We offer Zotero training and personalized assistance with source documentation. To schedule a class or consultation, submit your request via the Citation Tools Help form.

Perma.cc prevents link rot for online sources.

In HOLLIS, check My Account/Renew (in the top-right after you sign in) to view your loans and requests.

• If you have several items checked out, and forgot to add them to your citation manager, it is possible to export them in bulk from this feature: Go to Loans, select ü your titles, click the three dots ("Push to" actions), and then choose Export.

Learn about our Research Data Management Program and make a Data Management Plan to share and preserve your data while satisfying funding requirements.

Publish It

Create your profile on OpenScholar@Harvard and distinguish yourself with an ORCID, a persistent digital identifier that you own and control, which you may connect with your professional information — affiliations, grants, publications, peer review, and more.

• After you've created your ORCID, connect it to Harvard with Harvard ORCID Connect.

The Office for Scholarly Communication can help you negotiate contracts with publishers and provide funds for publishing in fee-based open-access journals. 

Copyright First Responders can help you decide what’s safe to post or share.

Harvard’s Institutional Repository, DASH, is a safe and reliable way to self-archive your publications.

Partner alongside librarians to build digital collections and exhibits with CURIOSity.

Interested in using a web publishing platform such as Wordpress, Omeka, Scalar, Grav, or Mediawiki in your research or teaching? These tools are available for use by Harvard faculty, researchers, students, and staff via SHARE by HL (Harvard Library Share).

• To learn more, read the Share policy, and contact the digital scholarship program manager, Matt Cook.

and more . . .

Scroll down to learn about the library's Specialized Support, below.

"In planning your courses, please know that our librarians, curators, and archivists are on hand to ensure Harvard’s teaching and learning experience continues to be exceptional. I encourage you to reach out to your librarian to talk about what you need, whether that’s course materials, tutorials or other library services." - Martha Whitehead

Course Librarians

Teach with Harvard Library! Librarians are available in person and on Canvas and ZOOM. We'll gladly tailor library and archival research classes to suit your needs. We can also help locate course materials and consult with you on instructional projects. Send your students to us for guidance and support with their research.

• Want to learn more? Check out Why Talk to a Librarian About Your Course?

Consider designating a Canvas Course Librarian.

Do your students need help identifying scholarly sources? Librarians will create custom Research Guides for your classes. 

We invite you and your students to schedule Research Consultations for personalized guidance from a library specialist online or in-person. No question is too small.

Ask a Librarian! Our staff of librarians, archivists, and subject matter experts are ready to answer questions for you and your students via chat and email.

Find your librarian: Want your students to explore primary sources? Build a literature review? Create a podcast? Visualize data? The librarian for your subject area or program is here to support your course.

• All you have to do is ask.

Course Materials

The library can provide you and your students with access to books, articles, streaming media, and more. 

You can activate the Course Reserves service via Canvas ("Library Reserves" link) or HOLLIS ("Send to > RESERVES LIST" feature). It can handle almost any source, including streaming media, your own PDFs, and standard items.

• Note: Reserves staff provide accessible PDFs of chapters and articles.
• PRO TIP:  Add items directly from HOLLIS.
  • From a specific HOLLIS item, find the "send to" or "..." menu, and choose the Reserves List option.
  • Your reserves list must be activated (do this in Canvas).
  • For an individual book chapter, make sure to select a HOLLIS record for the chapter, not the whole book!

Funds are available to digitize selected materials for teaching; ask your library liaison.

Many films are only a click away. The Streaming Video guide includes information on finding films, requesting films, and copyright.

• In cases where a film is only available as a physical copy and is not available for streaming, the library has staffing and equipment to accommodate student viewings for assignments or assist faculty screening films in the classroom. 
• The Language Resource Center is an additional place to check for foreign language films.
• See Also: Using Published Video in Online Courses

3D scanning and consultation about Teaching and Learning with 3D Content can provide immersive experiences with primary sources that help bring your course material to life. Objects can range from very small to entire buildings!

Copyright First Responders can help you decide what’s safe to post or share.

Special Collections

Teach with Special Collections: Discover, engage, and collaborate with us to help students use primary sources and understand material culture.

• Read more about Teaching with Special Collections.

Partner alongside librarians to build digital collections and exhibits with CURIOsity.

3D scanning and consultation about Teaching and Learning with 3D Content can provide immersive experiences with primary sources that help bring your course material to life. Objects can range from very small to entire buildings!

Links to Share with Your Students

How to get started using the libraries

How to do research in... for discipline-specific research tips

Streaming Video @ Harvard for documentaries, feature films, theater productions, opera, video art, and more

Tech loan for phone chargers, tripods, VR headsets, and more

Large-format printing for student posters and projects

More Library Services & Tools

and more . . .

Scroll down to learn about the library's Specialized Support, below.

Harvard Library is driven by fueling progress while remaining rooted in our deep history of intellectual leadership and expertise. This means we provide specialized services to support faculty endeavors, both on the vanguard of inquiry and along more traditional pathways.

Data

Harvard Library will support you along any step in The Research Lifecycle.

If you're seeking extant data, look no further: The Library offers worldwide Data & Government Information Collections and Expertise.

If you will be generating or eliciting data, learn about our Research Data Management Program and make a Data Management Plan to share and preserve your data while satisfying funding requirements.

• With the DMPTool, you may create and share your data management plan, then store your data in the Dataverse, Harvard's open online repository for research data.

The library provides one-on-one Visualization Support for Harvard faculty who would like to incorporate visualization in course assignments, teaching, or your own research.

• In-class workshops on specific visualization tools—such as Tableau—are available for the Harvard community. 

Digital Scholarship

We offer collaborative, cross-boundary training and support for digital scholarship.

Harvard Library's Digital Scholarship (DS) Program is here to support your work with emerging computational methods, engaging learning spaces, and a campus-wide network of expertise.

• Schedule a consultation with an expert from HL DS.

The Digital Scholarship Support Group (DSSG) helps with text mining, digital exhibits, and more.

• Schedule a digital scholarship consultation.

Not sure where to begin? Your library liaison can put you in touch with the right people.

Maps

The Harvard Map Collection offers Harvard affiliates support for and access to a number of mapping and geographic information systems tools, as well as cartographic design support. 

The Harvard Map Collection provides assistance finding the spatial within your subject, and from there, developing ways to incorporate spatial reasoning into teaching or course assignments. We provide demonstrations to inspire and custom workshops to teach. We can highlight the potential of spatial tools especially when coupled with traditional paper materials.

• Learn about the Library's robust Digital Mapping and GIS support.
• Help can be found at maps@harvard.edu.

Media and Visualization

Our specialists in learning technologies and multimedia can help you develop engaging and interactive media and help you hone your digital storytelling skills.

We loan computers, peripherals, video cameras, microphones, and other specialized technology through our Tech Loan service.

Cabot Media Studios and the Lamont Multimedia Lab are available to help instructors and students produce high-quality audio and video recordings, create data visualizations, and tell stories with a wide range of media.

The Virtual Media Lab provides tutorials and custom workshops to support you and your students with podcasting, video editing, Photoshop, Illustrator, multimedia assignments, and more. You and your students can join the Lab and be kept up to date on their programming.

• Schedule a course/assignment-support consultation.
• Partner with the Media Lab to develop new instructional material.
• See the Virtual Media Lab handout and office hours for more details. 
• Contact: MediaAnd@fas.harvard.edu 

Consult the Multimedia Production Resources guide to find and learn how to use audiovisual production tools at Cabot Science Library and Lamont Library, including:

• cameras
• microphones
• studio spaces
• and more

The library provides one-on-one Visualization Support for Harvard faculty who would like to incorporate visualization in course assignments, teaching, or your own research.

• In-class workshops on specific visualization tools—such as Tableau—are available for the Harvard community. 

Large-Format Printing is available for is available for student posters and projects.

3D scanning and consultation about Teaching and Learning with 3D Content can provide immersive experiences with primary sources that help bring your course material to life. Objects can range from very small to entire buildings!

Copyright First Responders can help you decide what’s safe to post or share.

Qualitative Research

We provide Qualitative Research Support, as well as training in the use of NVivo, qualitative data analysis software available to FAS affiliates.

• Our guide Library Support for Qualitative Research provides basic resources on methodologies, fieldwork, interviewing, data management, data analysis, and more.
• We will develop customized workshops for your classes.
• Schedule a qualitative research consultation (available for you and/or your students).

Faculty of Arts & Sciences

Contact your Library Liaison, or Ask a Librarian for a referral.

Harvard Business School

Baker Library Services for Faculty & Staff

Harvard Divinity School

Library Help and Services for Faculty

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Gutman Library Services and Faculty Liaison Program; Ask Us @ Gutman Library

Harvard Kennedy School

Ask a Librarian at Harvard Kennedy School Library

Harvard Law School

HLS Library Services for Faculty

Harvard Medical School

Ask Countway Library

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Contact your Francis Loeb Library library liaison.