DCCC Library Books and Bytes

Librarian  Joanna Tillson has begun her position of Extension Services/Distance Services Librarian at DCCC and now supplements the videoconferencing, email, and IM reference services that are already in place, with in person visits to the students and faculty at Downingtown, Exton, Southeast Center and Pennock’s Bridge campuses.

Joanna moved to the Philadelphia area from Seattle, WA, so if you see her, you can ask her about the cultural changes between west and east coast living. She has also recently spent a summer in Cameroon, so travel is definitely one of her hobbies. Her DCCC travelling schedule for Spring semester is:

Mondays: Downingtown mornings and Exton afternoons

Tuesdays: Exton mornings and Downingtown afternoons

Wednesdays: Southeast Center mornings and main campus afternoons

Thursdays: Southeast Center between 11:30 am and 7 pm every other week (2/5.2/19,3/5, 3/26, 4/9, 4/23 and 5/7)

Thursdays: Pennock’s Bridge between 10 am and 5 pm on 2/26, 4/2 and 4/30.

Joanna is available to teach research skills to classes at off campuses and will also be in the Learning Centers to help students individually whenever she is not teaching. She can be reached at jtillson@dccc.edu Welcome Joanna!   (mg)                                                                      

The library has 30 new laptops for lending which brings the total number to approximately 60. Students need their DCCC college ID and need to be in good standing to check out a laptop. Borrowing period is for one day. Laptops are due back by noon on the day after borrowing for day students and by 6:30 pm on the evening after borrowing for night students. Late fines are steep for this privilege! Fine is $20 per day if laptop is not returned by due date and time. (For weekends, you can borrow on Friday and bring it back Monday at noon for day students and Monday at 6:30 pm for evening students.) Questions about laptop borrowing procedures can be handled at the library circulation desk 610-359-5326. Technical questions about laptops including internet accessibility can be handled at the Academic Computing helpdesk at 610-359-5211 or room 4274.(mg)

There are four ways that you can talk to a librarian:

Our live chat IM service “Ask Here PA” will connect you 24/7 to a live reference librarian who can help you to find articles, web sites and more.

Our email service “Ask a Librarian” will get you a response from a DCCC Librarian the same day except for when the library is closed, for example Sundays, holidays and in between semesters.

The number at the reference desk is 610-359-5146. You can call the DCCC librarian on duty for a verbal ” walk through” of your research process.

Finally, you can visit the librarian on duty at the reference desk for a face to face consultation about your research. (No appointment necessary!)

The latest in assistive technology for DCCC’s special needs students is available in the library. Zoomtext enlarges any document, a book page and even an object onto the monitor, and a new audio software, named Kurzeil, can actually “read” back a scanned document or book page to the user! In addition, special needs students can borrow an adaptive laptop that can be brought to class in order to reflect what the instructor writes on the class whiteboard onto the laptop monitor.

College library collections normally contain books that support the courses. But as a courtesy to our patrons , DCCC Library subscribes to  a small rotating collection of best-selling fiction (and a few best-selling non-fiction titles as well.) If you have time for some recreational reading on that burnt out Friday night, or that last weekend of beach time, come see the McNaughton collection: here you will find Evanovich, McCall-Smith, Clancy, Leonard, Parker, Higgins Clark, etc. The books are actually rented (not purchased) from a subscription service so that we can continually trade them in for the latest hot titles!

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Is it 2 am and you need to speak with a librarian? Here’s your answer. Try AskHere PA, the online 24/7 chat reference service. Click on the link from the library home page and you’ll be connected with a librarian immediately. This service is sometimes staffed by DCCC reference librarians and sometimes staffed by academic librarians across the country.

Did you know that you can check books out from 48 different college libraries in our area? It’s true! The DCCC library is a member of the Tri-State College Library Consortium (TCLC), a group of local college and university libraries working together to provide better services for our patrons. Because of an agreement we have through TCLC, you can go to any library in the consortium including West Chester Univ., Widener Univ., and Villanova Univ., and check out books yourself. All you need is a letter from one of the DCCC reference librarians and your DCCC ID. To obtain a letter, please come to the reference desk in the main library and request a TCLC letter from the librarian on duty. With literally millions of books for you to use, why not try it?

Do you attend classes at a DCCC site other than the main campus? If yes, we can bring the library to you! Books can be borrowed from main campus and shipped to you at the Learning Resource Centers at Downingtown, Exton, Southeast Center, and Malin Road Center. And it’s free! See the library website at http://www.dccc.edu/library for more information.

Did you know that the library has laptops for you to borrow?  They can be checked out on a daily basis or on Fridays for the weekend.  These include approximately 50 Dell computers with CD burners and wireless Internet connection.  Borrow one for class.  Borrow one to take home!  All you need is a valid DCCC ID and to be in good standing with the College.  Ask at the Circulation Desk or in the Learning Resource Centers at any campus.