Students: Home

A variety of services are available to Austin College's students, including: 

Research Consultations  |  Research Help Desk  |  Interlibrary Loan  |  Group Study Rooms  |  Extended Study Room

Please contact the appropriate library personnel with questions regarding any of these services.

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) or a librarian. 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, 12:30 pm to 10:00 pm
  • Friday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 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 Interlibrary Loan with any questions.

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

• It is not required, but recommended, that you have at least two people in your group to reserve a study room. 
• There is a 2-hour reservation limit per room. If you wish to renew your checkout, you may do so via the online reservation form as long as no other reservations have been made.
• Maximum checkout period for a room by any individual is 4 hours per day.
• Room reservation/checkout is available online. Questions may be directed to the circulation desk via email or by calling 903-813-2236.

Book A Study Room!

The Extended Study Room is a large, multipurpose space that is open to AC students 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 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 opening hours. This is a safe workspace available to all students that is equipped with private study carrels, collaborative group spaces, computer workstations, printers, and a copier. Restroom access is available.

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