We will work with high school teachers who want to bring a class to Abell Library to find information for a class assignment. In order to ensure that a library visit is a good experience for everyone involved, we would like to coordinate visits with the school librarian and we ask that teachers please abide by the following guidelines.
- Call ahead of time (two weeks or more) to arrange for a meeting time that will be convenient for the library staff and for your students.
- Contact the Library Director's Office at 903-813-2490 to schedule a time to bring your class.
- Please do NOT show up with a group of students unannounced or refer a large number of students to work on an assignment at our library without consulting us first. We want to ensure that there will not be conflicts with Austin College activities in the library or on campus and that librarians will be available to help your students.
- Familiarize yourself with the collection, search tools, and policies that will pertain to your students' assignment prior to the scheduled visit. For example, you should have a general idea of how our materials are arranged and find out whether students will be able to locate the information they need for a particular assignment in Abell Library.
- You might prepare a handout describing appropriate sources and how to locate them and discuss this with the class before they visit Abell Library. Students will then have more time to spend using the resources and spend less time trying to figure out what they need to do. If requested, we will consult with teachers regarding preparation for such a handout.
- Please inform your class of our library's policies that would affect your students: books can only be checked out to students who bring a BARR card from either Sherman Public Library or Denison Public Library. (We do not issue BARR cards.) Students must be 16 years old to obtain checkout privileges. Photocopies can be made at the cost of 10 cents per page.
- Group size should be limited to 35 or fewer. If more than 20 students are brought, please plan to have two adult supervisors. The school librarian is encouraged to accompany the group with the classroom teacher. Adult supervisors should assist students in locating the materials and supervising their activities.
- Keep in mind that we have a limited number of Internet workstations and photocopiers. Students need to be willing to wait in line and to share.
- Prepare your students for visiting a college library. Discuss acceptable behavior and the fact that Austin College students may be here studying for an important test and must not be disturbed. Also students should come to the library with a chosen research topic, not for a scavenger hunt.
- Prior to students beginning their research in the library, a brief introduction to Austin College will be presented to visiting classes by the Institutional Enrollment Department.
