Schools & Study Abroad Programs

Use the Library

Especially For

Schools and abroad programs

When students use a wide array of information resources that they seek out on their own, they can enrich their learning through exploration of topics of interest. The American Library in Paris is an important resource for assignments that encourage students to go beyond the course syllabus.

What the Library Offers...

Institutional Memberships

By becoming an Institutional Member of the Library, you not only provide access to our collection for your students and faculty, you enable the Library to continue supporting students, researchers and the community.

Learn more about Institutional Memberships and how the Library can support your efforts.

Library Visits for Students

Familiarize your students with our library! In response to community interest, special programs are presented for classes from diverse schools, both bilingual schools and French neighborhood public schools. Tours can also be arranged for classes from Preschool (maternelle) through Middle School (collège) with our Children's Librarian, as well as High School (lycée), and College (université) students with our Reference Librarian. These tours can be tailored to your needs, with topics ranging from a short discussion about library etiquette and book care for younger children to research methodology including bibliographic instruction.

Contact our reference librarian for details and to schedule your class visit.

Research and Reference Materials

Our collection of more than 120,000 resources features a strong non-fiction collection, as well as a reference collection covering all areas of knowledge. The Library has significant holdings by American and other English-language authors in American history, literary criticism, and poetry.

The Library's Research Center houses a number of research tools, including CD-ROM indexes and a periodicals collection (some of which date back to the 19th century). Over 200 current periodicals are available, ranging from weekly and monthly magazines on entertainment, the arts, and lifestyle issues, to specialty publications focusing on specific areas of business, politics, and education.

An extensive collection of reference books may be consulted in the Library, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, basic reference works in all fields, bibliographies, and periodical indexes. The Modern Language Association International Bibliography, the World Atlas, the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Encarta are available on CD-ROM. The International Herald Tribune is available on microfilm from 1888 to present.

We are also pleased to offer our members and users two leading digital content databases, JSTOR’s Arts & Sciences Collection and EBSCO’s MasterFile Premier, containing full-text articles from more than 2,500 periodicals - multiplying our current paper holdings by a factor of ten.

Find out more, explore the collection.

Reference Help Desk

The Reference Help Desk is staffed with librarians to help you with your questions. If you have a question about the Library or a question regarding the research you're doing, please ask us. We can help you to use our catalog and research center, refine your search so that you find more items on your topic, help you locate items in the building -- and more. No question is too big or too small. Ask a librarian!

For in-depth research assistance, please contact the reference librarian.