Last October, Hollins’ Wyndham Robertson Library was accepted into the Oberlin Group of Libraries, a selective nonprofit consortium dedicated to enhancing the quality of library services, fostering collaboration, and promoting the values of liberal arts education. Hollins joins 88 leading U.S. colleges, including all top 25 private liberal arts schools in the country (as rated by U.S. News & World Report), in the Oberlin Group. In 2009, Hollins received the Excellence in Academic Libraries award in the college category, given annually by the Association of College & Research Libraries. Of note, 16 of the 22 recipients of this prestigious award are members of the Oberlin Group.

“The group’s dedication to the principles of the liberal arts is particularly appealing to us. We know that liberal arts education is transformative, and we look forward to learning from other libraries that are strengthening the foundation of their liberal arts institutions,” says Luke Vilelle, university librarian at Hollins.

The Oberlin Group is currently focused on three strategic directions: diversity, equity, and inclusion; strengthening community; and universal access to scholarship. The Wyndham Robertson Library, which underwent a significant renovation in 2023 to expand its role as a resource and learning hub, provides open and accessible scholarship through various initiatives and the dissemination of faculty and student work through the Hollins Digital Commons. Recently, the library cocreated an undergraduate certificate program for students interested in libraries, museums, and archives. Further embracing the Oberlin Group’s vision for open access to scholarship are the library’s unique Special Collections, such as the Margaret Wise Brown papers and medieval manuscripts that attract scholars from across the globe.