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The CUC community has access to an evolving library collection, in addition to academic, public, and special library resources throughout the country.
The Klinck Memorial Library collaborates with the Concordia-Chicago community to provide exceptional service and meaningful research through access to an evolving library collection, in addition to academic, public and special library resources throughout the country. The Library exemplifies the University’s vision and aspires to be the destination library for all who seek to develop their full potential through a distinctive, innovative and dynamic environment of exploration, creativity and discovery. The Library is a growing organism where students have access to millions of digital resources including eBooks, databases and streaming videos anywhere on and off campus.
The library has three floors of quiet research spaces for individual and group work, in addition to a collection containing thousands of books, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records and hard copy journals. The upper level of the library includes: a group study lounge area, private study carrels, the Center for Church Music and CougarNet. The main floor includes the circulation desk, reference support, the Trailblazer Library Center with curated materials for first-generation students, study table check-in station for athletes, and the Lib Café. The lower level of the library includes early childhood literature and curriculum items, the University Archives, private study carrels, two group study rooms and the Cougar Cavern, a space for student clubs to meet anytime the library is open. There are dozens of computer stations throughout the library with wi-fi and printing availability.
In addition to providing graduate research workshops each semester and personalized one-on-one research appointments for all students, the Library team is proactive in supporting the curriculum with live instruction sessions for research-based online and in-person classes. Furthermore, the Library updates the eTextbook Initiative every semester, facilitating the purchase of as many unlimited user ebooks as fiscally possible for required textbooks. This helps to decrease student college costs and increase student retention and satisfaction scores for the undergraduate and graduate students alike.
I-Share
In addition to the Klinck Memorial Library, Concordia-Chicago students, faculty, and staff have access to other libraries in the state of Illinois. I-Share is a consortium of numerous Illinois colleges and universities that provides library members with an online catalog of their own collection and allows CUC users to borrow materials from other I-Share libraries. The Library is also a member of other powerful Illinois-based consortiums: RAILS, LIBRAS, and CARLI.
Your Cougar Card also functions as a library card, which entitles you to check out materials from any I-Share member library. During this time, some libraries have modified their patron access policies.
Interlibrary Loan
Requesting articles, books and other materials through interlibrary loan is a service provided free of charge (except in unusual circumstances) to all CUC users. Interlibrary loan request forms are embedded in the library catalog and in the EBSCOhost interface. An additional request form is available on the homepage: Interlibrary Loan Request Form. Digital copies of articles and book chapters are usually received in three or four business days. Physical items, such as books, may take longer. Books requested from other I-Share libraries can be picked up on campus or mailed to students who reside in the United States. The Cougar Card is required to borrow materials from the library in-person.
The Klinck Memorial Library is proud to be a member of the RAILS, LIBRAS, and CARLI organizations.
RAILS serves approximately 1,300 academic, public, school, and special libraries in northern and west-central Illinois. Its services include interlibrary delivery, continuing education, shared e-book collections, cooperative purchasing, and more.
LIBRAS membership consists of 20 private college and university libraries located in the Chicago metropolitan area, focused on promoting cooperation, continuing education, and networking among its members.
CARLI consists of 129 academic and research library members who benefit from access to the I-Share online catalog. This organization also offers e-resources brokering, with almost 2,800 database subscriptions managed in 2019; the Illinois Library Delivery Service (ILDS), offering 24-hour delivery among 142 CARLI libraries and the state regional library systems; and the CARLI Digital Collections providing access to myriad special collections, containing over 2.6 Terabytes of items including images, printed and manuscript materials, sound recordings, and the Saskia Art Image and Sanborn Maps of Illinois collections.
Library of Congress Subject Classification
| A | General Works | Main Level |
| B | Philosophy, Psychology, & Religion | Main Level |
| C | Auxiliary Sciences of History | Second Level |
| D | General & Old World History | Second Level |
| E | History of America | Second Level |
| F | History of the United States & British, Dutch, French & Latin America | Second Level |
| G | Geography, Anthropology, & Recreation | Second Level |
| H | Social Sciences | Second Level |
| J | Political Science | Second Level |
| K | Law | Second Level |
| L | Education | Second Level |
| M | Music | Second Level |
| N | Fine Arts | Second Level |
| P | Language & Literature | Lower Level |
| Q | Science | Lower Level |
| R | Medicine | Lower Level |
| S | Agriculture | Lower Level |
| T | Technology | Lower Level |
| U | Military Science | Lower Level |
| V | Naval Science | Lower Level |
| Z | Bibliography, Library Science, & General Information Resources | Main Level |
The Cougar Card, issued by ID Card Services, functions as a library card for students, faculty, and staff. It does not display the library borrower ID. It is used to renew materials in the Library Catalog and to place and track interlibrary loan requests through I-Share, which provides information about the collections of 90 academic and research libraries in Illinois.
The library borrower ID is in the following format:
24211 followed by your nine-character "H number"
Example: 24211H88888888
Contact Access Services, 708-209-3057, toll free 866-733-8287 if your Cougar Card does not work as the borrower ID.
