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Basic Library Description

Basic Description

The Walter Schroeder Library was opened in 1980. Its fundamental purpose is to help with the academic research and information requirements of the students, faculty, and staff of the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The library additionally provides help to all support programs and departments on campus.


The library also makes efforts to provide access to non-academic and recreational types of resources and information. For example, this past summer, in response to a web-based survey from the Spring of 2000, the library established a paperback book lounge area. The lounge area features a large variety of paperback books, including novels and New York Times best-sellers.


Click here to see a photograph of the new paperback area and a story about recent library changes which appeared in the last issue of the student newspaper, the Ingenium.


The library is appropriately located in the library building. The library occupies the first and second floors; the General Studies, Mathematics, and Technical Communications departments are on the third floor, together with classrooms.


The entrance to the library is on the second floor of the library building. Located on the second floor in the library are the following:

  • Circulation area and front desk
  • A copier and a DART machine
  • The AudioVisual Department
    • A 24-hour advanced reservation is required to check our equipment!
  • The Reference section
  • The lounge area for paperback books and current newspapers
  • Internet research desktop machines
    • You may use these machines for Hotmail
  • Six study rooms
    • Study room 207 may be reserved
  • Section H through Z of the book collection is located on this floor
    • LC classification system (alphanumeric call numbers)
      • Most AE and building construction books are in the TH and TK sections
    • LC subject headings (controlled vocabulary)
      • For example, "integrated circuits," not "computer chips"
    • Approximately, 48,000 book volumes.
      • More than one-half of the book collection is devoted to engineering, mathematics, physics, and chemistry
  • Three dedicated terminals are available for searching the library catalog
Located on the first floor of the library are the following:
  • The periodical and magazine collection
  • Section A through G of the book collection
  • The MAC Lab
    • 12 Macs;
    • Ports for 12 laptop connections;
    • All students should be able to access the lab with their ID cards
  • A copier
  • The microfiche collection
  • Two microfiche reader/copiers

Library Help Resources

Try the following resources to help you with questions about the MSOE Library.

  • The MSOE Library Homepage
    • Available at http://www.msoe.edu/library
    • Check out the blue navigation bar on the left -- links to major resources are located here
    • Check out Library Resources for information on holdings (such as magazines) and services (such as Interlibrary Loan)
  • The START Library Tutorial
    • Created by three Technical Communications students
    • START stands for STudent Academic Research Tutorial
    • An excellent introduction to the MSOE Library and library resources that can help you with research papers
  • Walter Schroeder Library User's Guide
  • The Library Staff
    • You can send email messages to the librarians (see their email addresses in the staff listing above). You can also reach the library by clicking on the library webmaster email links on all of the library webpages.