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For Faculty
The HCCS Libraries are dedicated to serving faculty and students alike. We offer faculty a variety of services and welcome their input on our collections and the services we offer. Please let us know if there is anything you need to know that is not covered in the information below.
Materials and Equipment
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Services
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Materials and Equipment
Getting Books and Articles
- HCCS Library Cards
To obtain a library card, which allows access to HCCS Libraries' materials including books and electronic databases, faculty must present a valid photo ID, their department name, and contact information at any HCCS library circulation desk. - HCCS Collections
- Books and periodicals
HCCS Libraries also maintain collections of books, popular magazines, scholarly journals, and newspapers. Faculty have access to the book collections of all HCCS Libraries, regardless of at which campus they work. Periodicals are for in-library use only and backfiles are usually limited to a year for magazines and journals and a few weeks to few months for newspapers. Faculty can locate books or periodicals of interest to them in the HCCS Library Catalog and, using the request button at the top of an item's catalog record, request that books be sent to the campus nearest them for pick up. - Electronic Resources
The HCCS Libraries also provide faculty and students with access to the full text content of thousands of popular magazines, scholarly journals, newspapers, and books (e-books) and indexing and abstracting for almost twice as many more through our collection of electronic resources. A complete list of the databases we offer is available here. Notice also that there is a breakdown by subject available in the column on the left. Using their library card barcode, faculty can access these materials from off-campus, as well.
- Books and periodicals
- Interlibrary Loan
Faculty can also request books via interlibrary loan. - TexShare
Under a statewide program called TexShare, current HCCS employees and students can receive a TexShare card that will allow them to borrow onsite materials from any TexShare participating academic or public library in the state. Local participating libraries include the University of Houston and Texas Southern University. You must apply in person at any HCCS library to receive your TexShare card. You will be asked to show your current HCCS library card.
Reserves
Instructors or departments can request that an item be placed on reserve at any campus library. Most often, these items are the property of the department or requesting faculty member. In some cases, however, materials owned by the Libraries may be put on reserve, but only at the library where an item is normally housed. To place an item on reserve, contact the library at which you want the item housed. Also, please alert your students that a current HCCS picture I.D. is required to check out any items placed on reserve and that these items are to be used in the library.
E-Reserves
Instructors or departments can request that an item be placed on e-reserve at any campus library. For more information please see our E-Reserves FAQ.
Library Collection Contacts
Each college has librarians dedicated to building the library's collection of materials in specific subject categories. If you're interested in speaking with the librarian at your college who handles your discipline, call the library and ask which librarian handles your area.
Audio/Visual Equipment and Media
Each campus library has a collection of audio/visual equipment (TVs,
DVD and VHS players, overhead projectors, multimedia/data projectors,
etc.) available for faculty use in classrooms. Equipment available varies
by campus.
In addition, many of our campuses have extensive collections of materials
in different media available for faculty check-out. Videos and
DVDs can be searched in the library
catalog.
To book DVDs or Videos from another campus, please contact
a librarian or book the item yourself directly from the catalog record anytime you see this link:
Services
Instructional Support
The HCC Librarians are dedicated to making sure that everyone - faculty and students - have the skills and knowledge to make the most of our great collections and electronic resources. To that end, we offer a variety of instructional options.
- Hands on in-class library instruction
for your students
Allow an HCC librarian to teach your students how to do better research. All you have to do is call your HCC library and schedule a session! - One on one faculty instruction
Many faculty members, especially newer ones, are not aware of the extent of HCC's resources. Schedule some time with a librarian at your campus to learn more! - Online
Tutorials
These tutorials were designed for our students, but would be helpful for anyone wanting to familiarize themselves with HCC's library resources. - Handouts and Webpages
The librarians at your campus might already have handouts and/or webpages available to provide your students with subject specific information and research help. If there is not something already available, it might be possible to get something designed specifically for your class. Contact your HCC library for more information. - Other Services
Interested in another service not listed here? Contact a librarian at your campus to see if it's something we can accomodate.
Plagiarism and Citation Guides
Plagiarism is a growing problem, with some estimates showing that as many as 75% of undergraduates will plagiriarize during their college career. Below are some great resources for preventing plagiarism from happening among your students, as well as identifying it when it does. Also included are some MLA and APA style guides so that students can learn how to properly cite information in their papers.
- A list of resources for students
- A great hands-on tutorial from Acadia University to help your students understand plagiarism
- Anti-Plagiarism Strategies - Great info including insight on why students cheat and how you can prevent it from happening in your class.
- A list of Internet papermills - Know your enemy!
- Google - Why? If a particular turn of phrase sounds too good to be your student's, it never hurts to run it through a search engine to see in what kinds of contexts it turns up.
- Plagiarism: What it is and how to avoid it - A great resource you can pass on to your students to reinforce your discussions on the subject.
- Bedford and Martins' APA and MLA Style guides.
- Sample APA and MLA Works Cited pages.
Contacting Librarians
Often a quick email or phone call to the library can answer your questions. Here are staff contact pages by campus.
- Central College (includes Willie Lee Gay Hall and Whiteley buildings)
- Coleman Health Science Center
- Northeast College (Includes Codwell, Northline, and Pinemont)
- Northwest College (Includes Town and Country and Westgate)
- Southeast College
- Southwest College (Includes Stafford, West Loop, and Alief)
Ask a Librarian
The Ask a Librarian email, phone, and in-person reference service is available for faculty as well as students. Don't hesitate to contact us, and please encourage your students to utilize this service, as well!
Distance Education and the Libraries
In an effort to reach out to our Distance Education students and faculty, the libraries have implemented LibLine: An HCC Library Blog. Using LibLine, faculty can have important library instructional content delivered straight to their students via email, if they choose. Students can subscribe to the blog using the self-subscribe option in the upper left-hand corner of the blog, or faculty can subscribe their students themselves! The blog interface allows students 3 ways to interact electronically with librarians:
- Students can leave comments on the blog
- They can use the Ask A Librarian link to email us
- Or they can use the embedded chat window when a librarian is logged in
Please encourage your students to utilize this great resource! Additionally, please check out our page of resources for DE students.
