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University Library

LibGuides

ESL Graduate Student Guide

A guide to the University Library for English as a Second Language graduate students.

Popular Language Collections

The library has many collections that focus on a specific region or area. Many items within these collections are written in languages other than English. Listed are the various area studies collections that may be of interest to international graduate students. 

Finding Dictionaries

Searching for dictionaries in the online library catalog is best done using the advanced search.  

For example, to search for a dictionary in Urdu, use Urdu or Urdu Language as a subject and dictionary as another subject. If looking for a dictionary that uses a language other than English, be sure to include that language as a subject term as well. 

Be sure to check the location carefully. Some dictionaries are kept in the Reference collections of libraries and only allowed to be used within the library.  

The Graduate College

The Graduate College at the University of Illinois offers many different resources to its graduate students, including:

The Writers Workshop also offers ​​​​​writing workshops and additional writing resources.

Public Libraries

The Champaign-Urbana area has great resources at two public libraries that you may find useful during your time here at the University of Illinois. The two major public libraries are the Urbana Free Library and the Champaign Public Library. In order to check out books, music, and DVDs from these libraries, you will need to apply for a library card at either public library.