May 10, 2021
Accessing the Libraries after K-State
K-State Libraries' faculty and staff are proud to be part of your education at K-State. Once you graduate, we're sad to say goodbye, but that doesn't mean that your relationship with the K-State Libraries ends! We offer alumni several resources after graduation to support their future research endeavors. We also encourage you to seek out your local public and state libraries, plus governmental, professional and cultural organizations that provide access to data and collections.
As part of the university's land-grant mission, libraries at K-State are open to the public. Anyone is welcome to use our libraries.
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We offer library accounts to alumni and community members, permitting you to check out books and other materials from our collection. We are unable to offer interlibrary loan services to those who are not currently students, staff or faculty.
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Many of our databases, e-books and e-journals can be accessed from public computers in our library spaces with the help of library staff. Off-campus access to most online resources is not available due to licensing agreements, but there are many free or open research databases you can access through our research guide.
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You can always use our Ask a Librarian service for your research questions.
If you are moving out of Kansas, you can explore public and land-grant university libraries in your new state by visiting the APLU website.
Public Libraries
Now is a great time to get to know your local public library. We're big fans of Manhattan Public Library, and not just because they feed our reading, movie watching and video gaming habits. Manhattan Public Library also offers online resources like LinkedIn Learning and Mango Languages. Most public libraries will set you up with a library card with an ID and proof of address. Each public library is unique in what it can offer based on community needs and taxes. Some public libraries serve multiple counties or towns so look for information on their website to learn who is eligible for a library card.
State Libraries
Kansas provides statewide access to online resources like e-books and educational or academic databases. The exact databases change from year to year based on contracts and the needs of Kansans. To find out if your state offers something similar, ask at your local public library or Google <your state> state library databases.
Open access
Beyond libraries, a growing number of professional, government, cultural and academic organizations are digitizing materials or publishing research on open access platforms. Sites like Data.gov provide access to more than 250,000 datasets. arXiv hosts more than 900,000 e-prints in disciplines like physics, mathematics and quantitative biology. JSTOR and Project Muse both publish open and free content. You can find these and others by visiting our research guide or searching the Internet for terms like:
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Open datasets.
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Digital library.
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Digital archive.
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Open access repository.
You'll often find that libraries at universities, like K-State, have research guides that will help you identify more open research resources.
For more information about using libraries after graduation, visit our guide for alumni.