Bethlehem University Library

http://library.bethlehem.edu

Mission Statement

The Mission of the Bethlehem University Library is to serve the academic community of students, administration, faculty and staff by providing materials, resources, services, and facilities to meet curriculum related needs. The library pursues this mission through acquiring, organizing, and maintaining the requisite information, resources, equipment, and materials in various format, by providing production of audiovisual materials, and by creating an environment conducive to learning. The library makes its resources and services available to visiting researchers and Bethlehem University graduates. The library serves as a vital component of the educational mission of the University.

History

The present four-floor library building was completed in 1978 with a capacity of 100,000 volumes. Since then the collection has been growing steadily and has reached 65,000 volumes, primarily in English, Arabic and some other foreign languages such as French and Spanish. The periodical collection is composed of about 500 titles that cater to the specialties offered at the University.

OPERATING HOURS

Monday - Friday  8.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.

CLASSIFICATION

Bethlehem University Library follows the Library of Congress Classification scheme and features an open stack system.

FLOOR DIRECTORY

AUDIO VISUAL CENTER

This Center, located in the lower level of the Library, is a special facility for the students, faculty and staff.

It offers a wide range of audio-visual production and support services to the academic community. The collection consists primarily of non-book materials and equipment to support the instructional programs.

TURATHUNA CENTER FOR PALESTINIAN HERITAGE

The aim of Turathuna is provide a venue for increased understanding about Palestinian national heritage. The center is a combination of a library and a museum. Accordingly, Turathuna is a useful resource tool for a number of Bethlehem University academic courses such as history, tourism, cultural studies, social science and geology, as well as the newly required course in Conflict Resolution, Civil Society and Democracy. Moreover, Turathuna promotes tourist entertainment based on traditional music, dance and folktales.

The center does not emphasize the access of information from books or the collection of precious artifacts, but rather on an independent and interactive access, thus combining the past with the future in a manner that allows visitors to discover Palestinian heritage through new technology.

The Palestiniana Division is located in the Turathuna Center.   It was established in 1990 to house various print and non-print materials that are characterized by certain criteria. Materials on Palestine and Palestinian affairs comprise the center-piece of the collection.

ARCHIVES

The Archives collects and preserves items of permanent value to the University: books, photos, programs, documents, correspondence, projects, articles, souvenirs. These items reflect the history and growth of the University.

• Bethlehem University Library
  
  
• Institute For Community Partnership
  
  
• The Abdel Rahman Zu'rub Education Development Center (AZ-EDC)
  
  
• The Water and Soil Environmental Research Unit
  
  
• The UNESCO Biotechnology, Educational and Training Center for Palestine and Arab Countries
  
  
• Hereditary Research Laboratory - Life science Department