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Abell Library offers a variety of services to the Austin College community.

Services available to students include:

• Research Consultation - Librarian
• Research Help Desk - Peer Research Assistant
• Interlibrary Loan
• TexShare Library Card
• Group Study Rooms
• Extended Study Area

Find contact information for library personnel if you have questions about any of the services listed above.

Your faculty librarians are happy to help with your research, and can assist you in a number of ways:

• Stop by the Circulation Desk (or Research Help Desk) and ask to speak to a Reference Librarian. 
  • They are available Monday - Friday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
  • They can assist you in selecting and searching in databases for journal articles, selecting appropriate subject headings to locate books using our catalog, and much more.
• If you’d like to make an appointment with a specific librarian, please contact them.
• For reference or research assistance, you may also email your query. Look for a response from a librarian within 48 hours, excluding weekends. The librarian will make every attempt to answer your question(s) or refer you to a source to obtain your answer.

You may also stop by the Research Help Desk to receive hands-on assistance from a student Peer Research Assistant (PRA). PRAs are AC students who are trained to help you locate sources for your research projects. They can help you find potential sources (books, journal articles) in the catalog and databases, recommend subject-specific databases to explore, or help refine your search query to locate more relevant results.

• LOCATION: 1st floor of the library
• HOURS:
  • Monday to Thursday, 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm
  • Friday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm;
  • Sunday, 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
• No appointment necessary!

If a database or catalog search reveals that we do not have a book or journal title in our library, please complete and submit the appropriate Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request form for the item (see buttons below). (Note: you will also find ILL Form links available in many databases as well as the catalog.)

• Allow five to ten days for requested material to arrive from the lending library. Though interlibrary loan is based upon cooperation between institutions, some do charge for loans or for photocopying. The library will usually pay charges for student requests, and for faculty requests we will charge your departmental account.
• Books borrowed through ILL are held at the circulation desk, while articles are sent to you via email.
• You will receive a notification via email that your ILL material has arrived and/or is available.
• Please contact Karen Oliver with any questions.

The study rooms are located on the second floor of the library for small groups of students to study together.

• There must be at least two people in the group to check out a group study room. 
• There is a 2-hour reservation limit per room. If you wish to stay in a room longer than your checkout, you must come to the circulation desk to renew your checkout. This is only possible if there is no other group waiting for a room.
• Room checkout is maintained at the circulation desk. 

The Extended Study Area is a large room that is open to AC students 24 hours a day. The room is adjacent to the library's entrance (just inside the sliding doors to the left), and requires a valid Austin College ID for entrance after hours. This is a safe workspace available to all students that is equipped with study spaces, computer workstations, printers, and a copier. 

You can get the digital edition of The New York Times for free! See this page to find out how.