Elizabeth Nesbitt Room
Guide to Using the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room
The Elizabeth Nesbitt is open from 12:30 - 5:00, Monday through Friday. However, if you make prior arrangements, you are able to use the collection any of the hours that the Information Sciences Library is open.
Monday –Thursday 8:30-10:00
Friday 8:30-5:00
Saturday 9:30-5:00
Sunday 12:00-9:00
Please email information-sciences@library.pitt.edu for a reference appointment, or call 412.624.4710.
You can direct your reference questions to Elizabeth Mahoney at etm@pitt.edu
Index of the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room Collections
Access to items in the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room is controlled because many of the materials are rare, unique, old, fragile or brittle.
For many items, the medium (format, paper, binding, illustrations, etc.) and the artifactual/historical aspects are as valuable as the text content.
Rules and Regulations
* Coats, umbrellas, boots, etc. must be left on the coat rack in the hallway (to the left of the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room doorway).
* All briefcases, purses, and book bags must be checked/left with the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room attendant.
* Please wash your hands for handling materials.
* For some items, we will ask you to use a pair of cotton gloves (supplied by the ENR attendant).
* Only use pencils to take your notes. (A laptop is permissible within certain guidelines).
* DO NOT attempt to open books flat. This will break the spine and damage the book. Ask for book weights and book cradles.
* If a book appears to be in need of preservation, notify the ENR attendant. DO NOT attempt to fix the book yourself.
Finding Materials and Doing Research in the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room
Before beginning your work in the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room, you will want to use the Index to the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room Collections finding aids , our online catalog PITTCat, and the search access file.
N.B. Not all of the items in the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room have been added to our online catalog, PITTCat. Some are searchable through an access file available to Information Sciences Library staff.
When you find children’s literature items in PITTCat it will state the location of the items (Elizabeth Nesbitt Room, Juvenile Collection, Hillman Special Collections, etc.)
The sorts of primary sources in the ENR include original, authoritative materials in different states (first editions, facsimiles, reprints, etc.).
The sorts of secondary sources you will find in the ENR are reference materials written by adults about children’s literature (encyclopedias, bibliographies, etc.).
We have a wide variety of tools to help you get started with your research. We also have reference librarians who will be happy to help you with your project.
Take a virtual tour of the Elizabeth Nesbitt Room.
Note: You will need the free QuickTime 6 Plugin to view the tour. This plugin is already installed on computers in the libraries. After downloading and installing the plugin click on the link above to view the tour. Get help navigating the tour here.