The purpose of the TSTC Learning Resource Center is to provide the Library and Learning resources needed to support the college’s technical and academic educational mission, to supplement classroom instruction, and to meet the broad reading and informational needs of a multi-cultural student body. The library must provide students with opportunities to learn how to access up-to-date information in a variety of formats consistent with our technical orientation so they can succeed in their programs of study and continue with lifelong learning. The necessary resources to fulfill research goals and to continue professional growth must be available to the faculty and staff.
This document addresses the Library’s policies and activities as they specifically relate to its users and does not address internal operations per se. All internal operations are conducted in accordance to the college and state, administrative and management policies as well as guidelines governing management of materials and services.
Access
The Library provides resources for faculty, staff and students. It ensures that adequate resources are available to support the institution’s primary mission and that services are provided in a reasonable fashion, consistent with the Library’s state and public service responsibilities.
To promote optimal access to materials, the Library seeks to acquire and license electronic materials such as online databases, books and journals and magazines that will provide fuller access to the entire college. Collaborative acquisitions that promote greater online availability are sought with other libraries
Physical access to Library facilities and collections is provided 68 ½ hours per week. Twelve study rooms are available for students. Students may use these on a first come, first serve basis.
The Library provides services to all patrons, regardless of physical disability. The Library makes all reasonable efforts to accommodate the access needs of disabled users. It provides adapted workstations for wheelchair patrons. Any patron needing assistance locating and retrieving materials, scanning images or having photocopies made may request assistance from the circulation staff.
The Library ensures the timely reshelving of materials through service standards for shelving backlogs. Library staff routinely perform “shelf reading” activities to ensure that materials are shelved correctly. There are procedures to handle lost or missing materials that include staff searches, interlibrary loan, editing the database to note the status and referral for collection services for resolution.
All online access to electronic materials is governed by license agreements negotiated between the college and the vendor. While the Library seeks to license all materials for the entire college, the Library does reserve the right to limit access if system demands conflict with the library’s responsibility to ensure reasonable system responsiveness for its primary user clientele.
Electronic Standards
The Library seeks to utilize accepted industry standards for computer systems to ensure ongoing functionality, support and interaction with other systems.
The Library will work collaboratively with ITC and HSCS to ensure that the Library systems are integrated into other networks and systems as deemed appropriate. This includes the hospital information system.
As noted above, the Library systems and electronic resources will have internet access in order to ensure the maximum accessibility.
