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Dale P. Latimer Library

The Saint Vincent College library is known as the Dale P. Latimer Library in honor of Dale P. and Darlene M. Latimer who made a generous gift for the renovation, enhancement and endowment of the library. The Latimer’s gift was designed to recognize the treasured role the Library has in Saint Vincent College’s Benedictine educational tradition. 

The original Saint Vincent Library collection began with 100 books which founder Boniface Wimmer brought with him from Germany in 1846. Through the leadership of the late Father Fintan Shoniker, O.S.B., and of Father Chrysostom Schlimm, O.S.B., the Library has grown into a collection that includes nearly 210,000 print volumes, audio CDs and DVDs and approximately 16,000 microforms. The Library currently receives 69 print periodicals, 41 e-journals and has subscriptions to 27 databases. 

For more information on Dale P. Latimer Library services and online resources, including ebooks, library databases, reciprocal libraries and more, visit the library's site.

Academics

LIBRARY SCHEDULE

The schedule of the Library Building and Library Services vary depending on the time of the year.

Circulation Desk: 724-805-2966; latimerlibrary@stvincent.edu 

Building Hours: 
These are hours when the library building is open and available for study. The most current building hours can be found here.

Library Services Hours: 
These are when the circulation desk and library stacks are open and library staff is in the office and available for assistance. The most current services hours can be found on the library website. 

All schedules are subject to change and any announcements of changes will be posted to the library website.

Library Services and Highlights

  • The Library uses a fully automated public access catalog (OPAC) through EBSCO Discovery Service and FOLIO Platform.
  • Online access to an extensive list of bibliographic and full-text information through such resources as EBSCOhost, EBSCO Discovery Service, Lexis-Nexis Nexis-Uni, and JSTOR.
  • The Library provides full Wi-Fi connectivity to the Local-area network and the internet for use with laptop computers and other portable devices. 
  • Materials not available here may be requested from other libraries through the Interlibrary Loan Service (ILL) available through the Interlibrary Loan Coordinator or at the Circulation Desk. Interlibrary Loans are available or Saint Vincent College students only. 
  • Participate in the Westmoreland County Libraries Reciprocal Borrowing Program that affords members of the SVC community borrowing privileges at participating libraries. 
  • The Library also houses two WEPA printers available for printing needs.

About the Library

Benedictine Institutions have traditionally granted a place of honor to the library. The Dale P. Latimer Library at Saint Vincent College continues this tradition by providing a repository of the institution’s bibliographic holdings and a continually growing resource in support of the College’s teaching mission.

Borrowing privileges are available to enrolled students, faculty and staff members of the College; the Saint Vincent identification card serves as the Library card. Library resources are also available to the public and to the local religious, educational, business and social community. Library services are available 35-40 hours each week when school is in session. Special hours are in effect during vacation periods and on holidays; schedule changes are posted in the Library, distributed to the offices of the College, and posted on the webpage.

The Library houses unique resources in religion and theology and special collection of Pennsylvania and Benedictina. The Library also has a collection of rare books housed in a climate-controlled vault; access to this collection is available by special request.

Saint Vincent Archives

The Saint Vincent College Archives contains historically valuable material documenting the first Benedictine Archabbey and College in America. Founded by Boniface Wimmer in 1846, the Archabbey, College, Seminary, and Parish continues to evolve and remains a vibrant active institution embracing the challenges, responsibilities and demands encountered since its founding. The goal of the Archives is to collect, preserve, and make accessible the primary and secondary resources associated with the growth and development of this community. The Saint Vincent College Archives maintains records, papers, photographs, printed materials, and audio-visual recordings of people and events that have helped shape this institution of higher learning. In many ways, such materials are shadows of our past, pathways to our present, and foundations for our future. The availability of these historic scholarly resources at Saint Vincent is an important contribution to the academic mission of the College.

  • College Records

    The Archives collection includes records from academic and administrative offices at the College. Many of the records include correspondence from sources outside the college as well as internal communications.

  • Printed Materials

    The Archives printed collections consist of a wide variety of materials including yearbooks, journals, news and press releases, college magazines, departmental publications, fliers, and brochures publicizing on-campus events and performances, and articles written for and by students. Course catalogs; sports programs and media guides; newspaper articles; and student, faculty, and alumni directories can also be found within the Archives.

  • Photographs

    Historic images are contained within the Saint Vincent College Archives including rare and fragile glass plate negatives dating from the late 19th Century. Other photographic formats include black and white prints, color prints, slides, negatives, film, and digital images. The topics depicted in the photographic records cover a wide spectrum and have been amassed over many years from personal albums, news reports, campus marketing and communication sources, and also by monks who sought to record the daily life of the community as well as the extraordinary events which have transpired here since the late 19th century.

  • Digital

    The Saint Vincent College Archives digital collection continues to develop every day as more materials are being transferred into the digital medium. In association with other campus departments, the digital collection includes periodicals, sports history, and other Saint Vincent College publications.

  • Research Requests

    When possible, material requests will be provided in digital format.

    The Archives are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. and require an appointment to view the collections. Please email the archivist, Mr. Guy Davis, at guy.davis@stvincent.edu to set up an appointment regarding the collections. Please allow a few days of lead time to prepare materials for your appointment when scheduling a visit.

  • Contact Information

    Guy J. Davis
    Archabbey and College Archivist, Collection Curator
    guy.davis@stvincent.edu 
    (o) 724-805-2967 (c) 724-787-9392

    Saint Vincent College Archives
    Dale P. Latimer Library
    Saint Vincent Archabbey, College, and Seminary
    300 Fraser Purchase Road
    Latrobe, Pennsylvania 15650-2960

Academics
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