Library staff designs and delivers customized library instruction and guidance to support the curriculum, research, and self-directed lifelong education and learning. Information literacy, the ability to locate, evaluate and use information effectively is a core component of all GTC library instruction.
Library staff uses a variety of methods to teach essential research skills and deliver library instruction including
Gwinnett Technical College registered students in good standing, faculty, staff, and Adult Education students who reside in the County may borrow materials. Borrowers are verified against active registration databases (e.g., Banner, GALIS) and picture identification (student ID or driver’s license) is used to verify identity. The loan period for circulating items is generally three weeks and most library items may be renewed, either in person, by telephone, or online. Limits to the number of items that can be checked out to an individual may apply. Reference resources, periodicals, and newspapers are for use in the library only. Library materials are a shared resource and not intended for extended checkout for ongoing use in classroom instruction. Faculty is to purchase such items from program/department budgets.
Library customers are responsible for returning material on time, either in person or by placing items in the book drop beside the entrance to the Library. The charge for overdue materials is 10 cents per day per item after the due date. Library customers are responsible for lost and damaged materials as per library policy.
Collections
The GTC Library currently has approximately 18,000 print and media items in the collection that continues to evolve in order to meet the needs of the college community. Physical Materials include a selection of reference materials for use in the library, faculty reserves, a small selection of popular magazines, newspapers, and circulating books, books on CD, and DVDs. The library also has a small popular literature collection. These materials give faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to enjoy popular titles for enjoyment and personal enrichment.
The Gwinnett Tech community has access to a wide selection of electronic resources. These include almost 200,000 eBooks in EBSCO eBooks, Books24x7 and eBrary Academic Complete, online encyclopedias and reference sources, almost three hundred databases, and thousands of full text articles via GALILEO. This award-winning initiative of the University System of Georgia provides extensive resources to all currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff. Program-related professional journals and industry trade publications are available in GALILEO databases.
Customer input into the selection of physical and online resources is critical for ensuring a relevant and useful collection, which reflects collaboration between Library staff, faculty, and students. Library collection decisions are informed by working with students, faculty meetings, and ongoing curriculum and program assessments. Ad-hoc faculty and student suggestions are also encouraged and facilitated by online forms.
The library’s collection is organized by the Library of Congress Classification System, which uses letters and numbers to group books according the subject area. Each item that the library owns has a label containing one or more letters followed by some numbers. This is the item's Call Number, which identifies its location of the shelf.
Access to GTC Library collections are facilitated by a web-based online catalog, which can be searched from any Internet computer. Gwinnett Technical College Library Catalog
The library catalog has a self-service component that enables customers to renew items online and to place holds on items that they would like to check out when they come into the library. Catalog search results show images of book jackets, reviews, tables of contents, summaries and annotations.
Instructors may put items such as books, AV, readings, sample exams, or supplementary materials on reserve in the library to make them readily available to students. Reserve materials may be owned by the library or the instructor. The check out time of the reserve item is two hours, for use in the library.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service through which print materials not owned by the GTC Library may be borrowed from other library systems. GTC is a member of the OCLC Worldshare interlibrary loan network. Membership provides access to the collections of member libraries statewide, as well as with other states in the Lyrasis consortium and beyond.
Library customers initiate ILL requests by filling out an “ILL Request Form” and agreeing to all terms and conditions of the lending library. Requests for media such as videos, Books on CD or tape or music, cannot be accepted.
Loan period and renewal are determined by the lending institution and lending institutions may require that their materials be used in the library.
It is difficult to determine the length of time necessary to fill an ILL request. Customers will be notified of the availability of requested materials within two to four weeks of submitting their request.
Currently enrolled students and currently employed faculty and staff have access to borrowing privileges at Georgia Gwinnett University, Gwinnett County Public Library, and the network of TCSG libraries. The extent of these privileges is established by the lending library.
The Gwinnett Tech Library is organized for maximum accessibility and optimum service to students, faculty, and staff. Occupying 9,800 square feet*, the library is spacious with seating for 175 at a combination of lounge chairs, individual carrels and desks, and tables that comfortably accommodate from four to six. The library has study quiet rooms that can be used on a first-come, first-serve basis by registered college students for college-related activities and studying. Individuals or groups are welcome to use these areas. The library is compliance with the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
The Alpharetta-North Fulton Campus Library occupies approximately 750 square feet with seating for thirty. The library has one 100 square feet conference room, and approximately 200 square feet for office space and a small materials processing work area. The Alpharetta-North Fulton Campus Library has fifteen computers and an additional thirty workstations in the teaching lab adjacent to the Library.
*7,500’ public area, 800’ office 1,000’ hands-on instruction/learning space 200’ materials processing work area
Twenty six computer workstations provide students with high-speed access to the Internet & Galileo, Blackboard, the library’s electronic resources, DVD viewing, and the library catalog. There are an additional twenty computers in the instruction/learning space that used for hands-on library instruction sessions and as overflow during peak hours. Wireless Internet access facilitates the use of personal technology devices.
A coin-operated photocopier is available. The charge is 10 cents a copy for personal copies. Students are provided with a printing allotment each semester. Customers are not able to print from their own computers when using the Library’s wireless Internet access. Users may use the image scan feature on the printer at no charge. Scans can be sent to a USB/Flash drive only; scanning directly to email is not supported by the library printer.
A selection of instructional support equipment for faculty is available in the GTC Library. These include a laminator, overhead projector, and laptop computers.
The Library is a shared resource and promotes a safe and comfortable environment for all. Library staff will address inappropriate conduct or behaviors in accordance with acceptable use guidelines and policies.
Drinks in closed-lid containers are permitted in the library. Customers are expected to clean up after themselves and violators will lose food/drink privileges.
The library is within the Academic Affairs division at GTC. The Director of Library Services is responsible for the overall operation of the Library. The Director coordinates the operation of the library and its services with assistance from a staff of librarians and support staff. The Library ensures that customers have ready access to help from a team of qualified, service-oriented, and helpful professional librarians and staff.
The GTC Library complies with U.S. Copyright Law, Title 17 of the U.S. Code
