LRC 101

Questions and Answers About the LRC

Mary Largent , Director
Email:  mlargent@crowder.edu
Phone:  (417) 455-5610
Fax: (417) 451- 4280

What is the LRC?

The Learning Resources Center (LRC) contains a collection of over 38,000 books, current subscriptions to over 175 magazines and other periodicals, microforms, and collections of videos, audiocassettes, and art prints. The LRC is also a service center with available staff to help students locate and use information resources. The LRC provides study areas, computer workstations, and office tools such as a photocopier, fax machine, and video monitors.

Where is the LRC?

The LRC is located on the first and second floors of the east end of Newton Hall. The main entrance is on the first floor. Elevator access to the second floor is available at the West End of Newton Hall.

What are the LRC hours?

The hours are posted on the door to the LRC and also on the web @ LRC Hours

What are the rules for using the LRC?

Your student identification card is your library card. You should obtain it through Student Services, usually during the first week of classes of your first semester at Crowder College.

Most books and magazines are available for a 3 week checkout. If a book is not returned on time, then fines will be assessed at the rate of $.05 a day. All materials need to be returned and all fines paid by the end of the semester.

Students who have not returned library books or have outstanding library fees will be prohibited from selling back used textbooks to the bookstore or receiving a copy of their official college transcript.

Some items in the LRC may not be checked out and, other items, particularly those on reserve, have limited checkout times.

The computers in the LRC are intended to help students with their homework and research. Because we sometimes have students waiting to get access to computers, we do not allow students to use chat or games on the computers.

	How many may be checked out?	For how long?	What if they are returned late?
Books	15*	3 Weeks	5¢ a day per book
Reference books	LRC use only	-----------------	-----------------
Reserve items (including videos)	One*	One Hour (unless designated longer)	25¢ a day to maximum of twice it's cost
Pamphlets/Periodicals (loose issues)	5* (back issues only)	1 Week	5¢ a day
Videos (DVD, VHS)	3*	3 days	50¢ a day
Audiocassettes & CDs	3*	3 weeks	5¢ a day
SWAN & MOBIUS books	Ten*	3 weeks	No charge for 21 days & then considered lost & billed $120
Interlibrary loan books	Ten*	Depends on policy of lending Library	Depends on policy of lending Library

*The maximum number of items a student may check out is 15 regardless of type.

 

How do I find the information I need?

Books - Students may search for books by author, title, subject, or keyword searches in the SWAN online catalog. Reference books, oversize books, fiction, audiobooks, and call numbers 001 – 609 are located on the 1st floor. Call numbers 610 – 999, Missouri books, and the juvenile literature collections are located on the 2nd floor.

Periodicals - Abstracts and citations for general magazine and journal articles can be found by searching EBSCOhost databases which are available at all Internet computers on campus. Some of the articles in EBSCOhost have fulltext available over the computer. Other indexes for specialized areas are also available over the web and some of these require a password which you can obtain from the librarian. After you have a citation for a magazine article, you can look for the actual article in the magazines at the south end of the second floor or in the microfiche cabinets.

Newspapers - Several newspapers are available in the LRC and are retained in the library for 2 - 4 weeks depending on whether it is a daily or weekly subscription.

Pamphlets - These are available in the vertical file cabinets in the reference area.

Internet - Several computers are available in the LRC for searching the web. Please ask the librarian if you need assistance.

How do I get books and magazines that the LRC does not have?

Crowder College is a member of the SWAN cluster of MOBIUS. Crowder students may search the SWAN and MOBIUS catalogs on the web and make an online request to have a title sent to them at the Crowder College LRC or to any of the other SWAN libraries. A delivery service transports books usually within 3 days among all of the libraries in MOBIUS.

The LRC can also help students get books and magazine articles from other libraries through a service called Interlibrary Loan (ILL). The LRC belongs to a group of libraries which lend to each other at no charge. These libraries will loan books and photocopies of magazine articles up to 20 pages. Interlibrary Loan request forms are available at the front desk and are required for each item.

Crowder College students and employees may also borrow in person from other libraries in SWAN and/or MOBIUS. A validated identification card from a MOBIUS institution such as Crowder College is necessary to check out books from their collections. Before making a special trip to another library, look at their catalog on the Internet to see if they have what you need.

How do I learn to use the LRC?

The best way is to try, and when you aren't sure about something ask questions of the library staff. Most students will get practice using the LRC during their English Composition and College orientation classes, but anyone should feel comfortable to ask questions at any time.