Fall Semester
Monday-Thursday: 7:30am-10pm
Friday: 7:30pm-5pm
Saturday: 10am-5pm
Sunday: CLOSED
Winter Break
Monday-Friday: 8am-5pm
Saturday: CLOSED
Sunday: CLOSED
December 24-January 1: CLOSED
(See also full Library Hours Calendar.)
Circulation & Research:
(513) 244-4216
Email: library@msj.edu
Location:
Archbishop Alter Library
Mount St. Joseph University
5701 Delhi Road
Cincinnati, OH 45233
Website URL: https://library.msj.edu
Social Media: 
Greetings from the Archbishop Alter Library! We want to welcome you and encourage you to become acquainted with all that our library has to offer. The library is here to serve you by providing access to resources and services to support your educational and research needs.
If you need any assistance—whether you need to find books and articles, search databases, start an assignment, or learn how to cite sources correctly—the library staff is ready and willing to help you. More information about all the resources and services the library offers is available on this web site. If you don’t find the information you’re looking for on these pages, please contact the library by email (library@msj.edu) or phone (513-244-4216) for assistance.
This tour highlights the library's physical campus location. This photo shows the exterior of the Archbishop Alter Library (aka MSJ Library) from the Quad.
The Archbishop Alter Library is on Delhi Road and located between the Administrative Building and Mater Dei Chapel. Find the library building circled in yellow on the map.
Need to return an item? You can return your borrowed materials anytime to the Library's exterior book drop 24/7!
You’ll find our operating hours posted outside of the main interior entrance—please come in!
In the lobby area you can print for your classes, visit the Circulation Desk, and meet with other students on our comfortable lounge-style seating.
Located within the library, the WPS ("we proudly serve") Starbucks offers a variety of coffee and tea drinks along with selective breakfast and lunch items.The cafe is run by AVI Foodsystems. For questions about the cafe and its hours, contact the food services office in the Dining Hall at 513-244-4633.
At the Circulation Desk, you can borrow materials and find helpful staff who will answer your library-related questions and assist you with course reserves. Your Mount ID card serves as your library card and allows you to print and to borrow materials. Learn more about Borrowing Guidelines.
The Reading Room is the first floor seating area of the Library. It houses our reference and exceptionalities collections, and it is one of our largest Quiet Study Zone spaces. Here you'll also find our plant collection which aims to offers students a calm, low-stress study environment.
If you forgot your device's charger, there is a charging station for your Apple and Android devices when you enter the Reading Room.
Located within the Reading Room, the Exceptionalities Collection offers fiction and nonfiction curricular resources specially curated by Education Department faculty for our special education majors.
Also located within the Reading Room is the print reference collection. Use it to consult specialized dictionaries, subject-specific encyclopedias, statistical reports, almanacs, atlases, and more!
Students can reserve and use any of the library's six group study spaces. All of these are located on the first floor just off the main Reading Room. The maximum capacity for the rooms ranges from groups of 2, 4, 6, and up to 20 people.
Students may print to any of the two printers available on the first floor of the library. The printer pictured here is located just outside our suite of groups study rooms. The other main printer is located in our Library Lobby and allows for printing paper copies as well as scanning and emailing PDF copies.
Directly off the main Reading Room is a "Considerate Noise Zone" for students to study and seek research support from librarians. The staircase and elevator to the 2nd and 3rd floors can also be found here.
Directly adjacent to the Research Consultation Area/"Considerate Noise Zone" are librarian offices. Students may stop by with questions and can meet with a librarian for research support during walk-in hours or by appointment. We hope you’ll stop by with your questions or just to chat! Learn more about all ways to get research support.
On the 2nd floor of the library you'll find the "stacks" area of our print collection (Dewey number ranges 000s-600s). The 2nd floor offers study carrels and comfortable seating areas with views of the Reading Room and exterior landscape of campus.
In addition to the stacks area on the 2nd floor, our Children's Literature Collection can also be found here. The collection includes juvenile fiction, non-fiction, and easy readers.
On the library's 3rd floor you'll find quiet study spaces and more stacks areas of our print collection (Dewey number ranges 700s-900s).
In addition to housing our stack area of Dewey ranges 700s-900s, our 3rd floor also offers special collections of CDs and DVDs which are available to patrons for borrowing.
On the 2nd and 3rd floors of the library, there are many study carrels available. Both the 2nd & 3rd floors areas are both Quiet Zone study environments.
To search our collections, use our online library catalog. You can search by title, author, subject, and other advanced ways.
For more information about the MSJ Library, our print & digital resources, services, hours, and more, stop by in-person or visit our website.
The Archbishop Alter Library is located on the north side of campus, near the circle driveway accessible from Delhi Road. Upon entering the Library, patrons will find the circulation desk where they can ask questions, check out materials, and request assistance from Library staff. Printing is also available.
Adjacent to the Lobby is the WPS Starbucks Café, where patrons can order coffee and other hot and cold drinks. Salads and sandwiches are also available for purchase, as well as a variety of snack items.
From the Lobby, patrons can access the Reading Room, a large, quiet, comfortable study area with a variety of seating options (all with power outlets) and wireless internet access. The Reading Room also houses the Library’s print reference collection. Inside the Reading Room patrons can also access six different group study rooms, which can be booked on the library website. When not reserved, they are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Library’s circulating book collection is housed on the second and third floors of the library. Quiet study areas with study carrels are also available. Elevator access to the upper floors is available from the first-floor Reading Room near the first staircase.
The Mount St. Joseph Library is an active partner in the education process, providing access to resources to serve the educational and information needs of students, faculty, and staff of the University. The Library supports this partnership by collecting, organizing, and housing information with the widest diversity and balance of views in a variety of formats, by offering access to and delivery of information through technological networks, and by teaching its patrons to locate and evaluate appropriate information no matter where it is found.