According
to the mission statement of the Library, “The
purpose of the Library is to provide a multimedia center
designed to support and implement the total instructional
program of the college. The Library’s chief aim
is to contribute to the realization of the institution’s
objectives by acquiring, organizing, and circulating
the books, periodicals, audiovisuals, online resources,
and materials needed to support the instructional programs
of the college; to provide a variety of learning and
study options; to provide instruction in the use of
resources; and to promote the cultural development of
library users.”
The
2005 Student Climate Survey shows a 3.21 overall satisfaction
rating for Library services, where 4 points indicates
“Strongly Agree” (1).
The 2005 Faculty and Staff Survey rated library facilities
at 3.36, Library resources at 3.26, and Library staff
services at 3.52, respectively (2).
Additional evidence of appropriateness includes a comparison
of data gathered by the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES) as part of the 2000 and 2002 Academic
Library Survey (ALS), in which the college shows similar
data among a group of five peer institutions (3).
Facilities
The
SCC Library is open 66 hours per week. It is a pleasant,
single-story 11,000-square-foot facility that includes
shelving capacity for 40,000 volumes and seating space
for 120 people. The building houses not only the book
collection, periodicals, audiovisuals, and 24 computer
workstations with a laser printer, but also tables for
individual or group work, as well as a multipurpose
conference room and other College offices. A coin-operated
photocopier, two scanners, and equipment to support
the media collection are available. Library computers
and related equipment are updated or replaced systematically.
Staff offices and work spaces are arranged for efficiency.
Recent renovations to the building include additional
parking space, improved signage, lighting, and automatic
doors. The facility is available to community residents
as well as the staff, faculty, and students at SCC (4).
The library had 11,195 visits by patrons during the
Fall 2005 Semester.
Services
At
least one Library professional is available to assist
users at all times. Librarians regularly communicate
with faculty and college staff to share information,
solicit requests, and reply promptly to concerns. Regular
library services include individual and group orientation
tours, reference assistance, bibliographic instruction
classes, Interlibrary Loan services, and a research-oriented
website. The Library homepage also includes librarians’
e-mail addresses and office phone extensions for the
convenience of off-campus users and distance learners
(4).
Librarians
participate in teaching and working closely with faculty
in planning student orientation to the Library. Bibliographic
Instruction classes as requested by faculty can be scheduled
either in the Library conference room or in any classroom
or lab with a computer projector. Research assistance
for the individual student or faculty member is always
available. Other services for faculty include reserves,
exhibit spaces, and specially prepared bibliographies
upon request (5).
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service that allows users
to borrow materials from another library’s collection.
Any registered SCC Library users with no overdue checkouts
on their account can request books or articles by Interlibrary
Loan. Requests for books can be made from community
college libraries all across the state as well as lending
libraries out-of-state. Renewals are possible as the
lender permits. Usually there is no charge for an ILL
request. However, if books are lost or damaged, the
user is billed for the replacement cost (6).
Learning/Information
Resources
The
Library currently has a collection of approximately
30,000 volumes that relates directly to academic offerings.
The reference collection contains specialized resources
including many legal references. A varied collection
of fiction and books of general interest is also provided.
Easy access to materials is provided with an open-shelf
concept, as well as through the use of an online catalog
and circulation system. The online catalog, WebCat,
can be accessed from the Library’s home page,
and it indexes the holdings of an online consortium
of community college libraries across North Carolina
(CCLINC). Faculty, staff and students may borrow materials
from those libraries and receive them in approximately
one week. Other Interlibrary Loan services are also
available with staff assistance.
The
Library subscribes to about 200 magazines and newspapers.
Included in the Library collection are bound volumes
of magazines and microfilm of 170 periodical titles.
Many types of audiovisual materials are available. The
audiovisual media collection includes audiotapes, slides,
transparencies, videotapes, DVDs and CD-ROMs. These
materials may be used in the Library conference room,
in a classroom, or checked out by instructors.
Internet
access as well as access to the Microsoft Office suite
are available on the 24 lab computers in the Library.
Electronic research sources are available through NC
LIVE, a collection of over 100 databases indexing magazine
articles, national and local newspapers, professional
and business journals, research articles, publications
and reference sources. It is accessible through the
Library’s website on campus and also by password
for off-campus registered library users. NC LIVE offers
indexing for more than 20,000 journals and reference
materials, plus full-text articles from over 10,000
periodical titles.
Learning
Assistance Center
The
Learning Assistance Center (LAC) is a support service
for Southwestern Community College students and faculty.
The mission of the Learning Assistance Center is to
foster the development of the critical skills in all
academic studies and to help create attitudes that will
promote lifelong success (7).
Centrally
located in Oaks Hall (8),
this professionally staffed facility comprises 80 learning
spaces, including two 24-station computer classrooms,
a 16-station computer lab, six enclosed carrels (four
with computers) for individual study and tutoring, a
resource area, and a commons area. Printers are also
available for student use.
Compliance
Partial
Compliance