The purpose of this guide is to provide an introduction to how to locate and access the resources at the Illinois Fire Service Institute Library. The library provides fire/emergency information assistance and services to the Institute's instructional staff, students, Illinois fire departments and firefighters, and other fire/emergency-related users to help with the success and effective performance of their jobs. We maintain the most up to date research, literature, and study materials for our state and nation`s first responders. We also collaborate with IFSI courses in order to ensure that students receive instruction on how to access materials.

Diving into library resources can be overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. This guide will demonstrate how to access the Library`s resources as well as provide suggestions on where to start your research.

The librarians would happy to assist with any of your research needs and provide more information in person at the Library or via email or phone.

The Illinois Fire Service Institute Library contains books, codes and standards, DVDs, CDs, periodicals, manuals, e-resources, audiobooks, and other fire emergency resources, totaling over 65,000 items. We serve all first responders in the state of Illinois. Materials can be requested in person, by phone or email, or online through our catalog. You can search our catalog by title, author, keyword, subject, or publisher, and choose the formats you want to see. Enter as few or as many search terms as you would like; the more search terms you use the fewer results you'll get, but the results will be more specific. If you live in Illinois and have a public library card, we can send materials to your public library via interlibrary loan. Anyone is also welcome to visit us in person!