Institute for the Study of Earth and Man Reading Room

About the ISEM Reading Room

The Library of the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man has been a part of SMU since the Institute was founded in the late 1960s. It is based on the personal library of William B. Heroy, Sr., founder and first Director and President of ISEM and reflects his interest in the relationship between the earth and humankind. Over the years, others have provided the library with gift journals and books, especially William B. Heroy, Jr., Second Director and President of ISEM. The primary goal of the library is to provide academic support to the Departments of Geology and Anthropology, the professional scientists associated with ISEM, and the SMU community. The 10,000+ library items focus on the areas of Anthropology, Geology and related fields. The ISEM Library collection is found on the SMU on-line catalog. The main collection is supplemented by the reprint files of William B. Heroy, Sr., the Kathryn Clisby collection in paleo-ethnobotany and the Hollis D. Hedberg collection in history of geology and travel and exploration. ISEM Library has a sound collection of the major Anthropology Journals and strong holdings in African prehistory.

Contact Information

John F.S. Phinney, Head ISEM Library

Phone: 214-768-2430

Fax: 214-768-4289

E-mail: jphinney@mail.smu.edu

Mail: ISEM LIBRARY

N.L. Heroy Science Hall, Room 129

3225 Daniels Avenue

Dallas, TX 75275-0274

Hours

During the Fall and Spring terms, the usual ISEM Library hours are:

Monday: 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday: 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday: Closed

Sunday: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For detailed hours of ISEM and other libraries on all available dates, see the library hours site.

Location

ISEM Library is located on the North end of the SMU campus in the N.L. Heroy Science Hall on the first floor, Room 129.

Policies

ISEM Library follows the CUL circulation policies on most items. However, unbound journals circulate, except for the most recent issues, for a 3 day period.

Items on reserve are usually circulated for 2 hours and may be taken out of the library for over night use at 15 minutes before the close of the library. They are due at 9:00 a.m. the next week day morning and at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Some items at the requst of the Faculty member or items from special collections may not be circulated out of the library.

ISEM Library has a small print reference collection and also has access to on-line databases. ISEM Library items are circulated on ILL which is through the Fondren Library Center department.

Collections

The William B. Heroy, Sr. Collections involves a number of reprints collected by Dr. Heroy in his scientific work in Geology and Archaeology. There is a card catalogue of this material.

The Kathryn Clisby Collection in paleo-ethnobotany is a collection of reprints and small monographys filling two 4 drawer file cabinets and has an extensive, cross-referenced, 3 X 5 card author index with cross references by MS Clisby.

The Hollis D. Hedberg Library came to ISEM in the mid-1990s This library reflects two of Hollis Hedberg's major academic interests: history of Geology and early travel and exploration, especially in South America. Items in this collection date from 1743 to the 1970s. The library is a gift of Mrs. Frances Hedberg and the Hedberg family. The library is housed adjacent to the ISEM Library and under the supervision of John F.S. Phinney, Head ISEM Library. Items may only be used in the Hedberg Library and the collection is available by appointment only.