Libraries buy books and other materials to support their audiences, so public libraries tend to buy general resources for a wide community while academic libraries buy to support what is taught in their university.

• Books: Subject specialist librarians work with instructors to buy books for things taught at the university
• Articles: Academic libraries buy access to more expensive databases that cover research journals. Public libraries tend to buy access to more general databases.
• Services: Reference Librarians (the ones who help with research) at both public and academic libraries can usually help people do research in a wide range of topics. Academic librarians are also subject specialists with much more in-depth knowledge of thier areas.

We encourage you to use and support your local public library and the UI library. Savvy students know the strengths of each type of library and use academic libraries for academic research and public libraries for pleasure, general knowledge, and local info.