Horn Library Content Strategy

Horn Library's information resources reflect Babson College's integrated business curriculum, the college's focus on entrepreneurial thought and action, and faculty research.

• Resources in the areas of entrepreneurship, marketing, finance and accounting, economics, organizational behavior and management, information technology, operations management, and sustainability support the college's integrated programs.  In-depth coverage is given to entrepreneurship, industry content, company histories, and global studies.
• The arts, cultural topics, history, humanities, language studies, literature, law, math, and the sciences are represented at a level consistent with the college's fundamental liberal arts and sciences curriculum.

Horn Library supports the college's strategic initiatives and critical objectives relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion and lifelong learning.

• For many years Horn Library has acquired and continues to acquire print books that reflect diverse identities and viewpoints. 
• Horn Library subscribes to ebook, audiobook, and database collections that are DEI-themed, and  our streaming video platforms also include DEI content.  
• Lifelong learning is supported in partnership with the Alumni Office by making a select suite of databases available remotely to all alumni, with additional content available on-campus. 

Horn Library provides a dynamic, real-world learning environment that equips students with state-of-the-art resources and promotes career-readiness.

• Horn Library partners with the Finance Division and the Graduate School to provide resources for the Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance.
• The library supports the curriculum of all academic divisions with key professional and industry resources, familiarizing students with information sources they will likely encounter in their careers. 

Horn Library aims to provide authoritative news sources to keep the community up-to-date on world affairs and strives for an online and print collection that reflects current and emerging topics of interest as well as newest scholarship.

• The library provides access to reputable news publications through college-wide site licenses and print subscriptions.
• The library continually acquires new print books in topics of current interest as well as "best of" titles across all disciplines. 
• The library subscribes to ebook collections that are updated with newest scholarship and current interest titles.

 Horn Library makes its content broadly accessible to the Babson community on- and off-campus.

• Horn Library favor web-based resources that can be accessed remotely 24/7, whether for distance learning programs, abroad programs, global alumni, or current residential and non-residential students, faculty, and staff.  
• Online resources include academic and business journal databases and e-book collections across all disciplines; demographic and statistical databases; databases with in-depth company information; industry and market research sources; streaming video platforms; online reference sources; global/country information resources; and more.

Horn Library encourages and promotes reading.

• The library provides an extensive magazine browsing collection; showcases faculty-authored books; displays newly acquired books; maintains a graphic novels collection; is growing a wellness collection; creates book displays relevant to heritage celebratory months and campus events; and publicizes selected new books through a library guide and social media.    
• Horn Library promotes reading through themed outreach programs such as "blind date with a book," contests where prizes are books from our collection, supporting college events and initiatives through our book collection, and more. 
• To provide leisure-reading options, the library subscribes to an online platform that offers popular ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. 

Horn Library information and research resources are imparted to students in a multi-pronged instructional approach.

• Library Website: Includes many database, subject/topical, and course research guides as well as online tutorials for the most widely used as well as more complex research databases.
• Classroom instruction: Library instruction is integrated throughout the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Sometimes group workshops are provided to assist students with using library resources for specific assignments.
• Research Consultations: Librarians provide in-depth one-on-one and group research consultations in person or via web conferencing and also respond to email and phone inquiries.

Horn Library is a community space for information discovery, dynamic learning, and social connections. 

• Although most students have their own laptops, Horn Library also enables access to the library's e-resources through several computer workstations, used primarily by graduate students and visitors, including alumni.
• The library maintains a print course reserves collection based on faculty requests to make their course materials broadly available to students.
• The library provides space for individual and group study and comfortable seating areas for browsing/reading and socializing.

Intellectual Freedom

In fulfilling the curricular needs of the college, the library buys material reflecting a variety of viewpoints on religious, political, sexual, social, economic, scientific, and moral issues. No censorship is exercised on materials of a controversial nature or because of the unpopularity of an author's point of view or mode of expression.

Academic Use of Library Resources

Library resources are for academic (educational) use only.  This includes curricular use, faculty research use, and personal, non-commercial use. 

Our licenses for use of online resources usually provide details about acceptable use. Some key provisions typically involve proper citation or attribution when quoting or extracting from a resource, linking to articles and reports, not posting those items in Canvas, and not sharing content from these resources beyond the Babson community. 

Most resources are open to all students, faculty, and staff.  A smaller subset of these resources are also available to visitors and alumni.  Database links on our A-Z list of databases include symbols indicating access levels. 

BCE, MCFE, and Internship Usage:  When consulting to companies or organizations as part of a Babson course, library resources may be used for the personal education of the student but may not be shared with the client company.  Students may use short excerpts, with proper attribution to the source, in presentations and may paraphrase and synthesize library content in their own words, but may not pass along to the client any articles or reports that come directly from library-subscribed resources. The same applies to students who are doing internships.

Please also see the Acceptable Use Statement for Library Online Resources farther down this page.

Babson College Copyright Policy

Horn Library promotes the ethical use of intellectual property.  For more information, please consult the Copyright at Babson guide which provides detailed information about the right way to reuse others' works.

The Horn Library is a creative partner in the development and dissemination of knowledge that serves to connect ideas, people, and information across the Babson community. We provide a dynamic learning and research environment that facilitates access to world class resources and expertise in the effective and ethical use of information. Our goal is to foster information discovery, business innovation, and independent lifelong learning in support of entrepreneurial values and scholarship.