Library Procedures and Policies
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Send an email message to library@hillcollege.edu or use the Library Services Request form on the Library website: https://form.jotform.com/92884004315152.
Library Access for Burleson Center (HC @ B) Students
Burleson center students are welcome to use either Hill College campus library and may also establish an account at the Burleson Public Library by presenting a current Hill College student ID.
Material Loan
Patrons must have a valid Hill College student or employee ID to borrow library materials. Patrons are limited to 15 items; only two may be DVD or other media format. Community patrons must show a valid state or military photo ID for registration; transactions are limited to 3 items, one of which may be of media format.
Material Loan Periods
Books: Fourteen-day loan period. Items may be renewed up to three times, unless another patron has a request for the item and has placed a material hold.
Audiobooks (Books on CD): Seven-day loan period. Items may be renewed once, unless another patron has a request for the item and has placed a material hold.
DVDs: Three-day loan period, two item limit. Items may be renewed once, unless another patron has a request for the item and has placed a material hold.
Equipment-Calculators/Flash Drives/Headphones/Portable DVD Drives: These items are issued on a one-day loan period. Equipment is for in-library use, but may be taken from the library with consent from library staff.
Reference Materials/Periodicals: These materials are available for in-library use only.
Fines
Books: 10 cents per day, maximum fine of $10.00. Books over 60 days overdue will roll to lost status. Items in lost status may be subject to item replacement cost, a processing fee of $10.00, and the maximum fine. Damaged items may be subject to a $10.00 repair fee or item replacement fee.
Audiobooks: 25 cents per day, maximum fine of $25.00. Audiobooks over 10 days overdue will roll to lost status. Items in lost status may be subject to item replacement cost, a processing fee of $10.00, and the maximum fine. Damaged items may be subject to a $10.00 repair fee or item replacement fee.
DVDs: 25 cents per day, maximum fine of $15.00. DVDs over 10 days overdue will roll to lost status. Items in lost status may be subject to item replacement cost, a processing fee of $10.00, and the maximum fine. Damaged items may be subject to a $10.00 repair fee or item replacement fee.
Equipment: Calculators/Flash Drives/Headphones/Portable DVD Drives: One dollar per day, maximum fine of $100.00. Equipment over 10 days overdue will roll to lost status. Items in lost status may be subject to item replacement cost, a processing fee of $10.00, and the maximum fine. Damaged items may be subject to a repair fee or item replacement fee.
Lost Materials
Lost materials are subject to item replacement cost, processing fee, and any accrued fine.
Holds
Holds are placed on accounts of patrons with overdue or missing materials and will block material loan, class registration, and transcript access. Holds are removed upon reconciliation of accounts with campus libraries.
Fine Payments
Material fines may be paid at campus libraries by cash or check. Fines may be paid in the campus business office by credit or debit card upon prearrangement from library and Business Office staff.
Books
The Hill College Libraries house over 48,000 print volumes of circulating books and reference materials.
Electronic Books
The Hill College Libraries offer access to over 400,000 electronic book titles through the eBook Collection (EBSCOHost), ProQuest eBook Central (Ebrary), Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL), and the R2 Digital Library. Titles are accessible through the Library website, and many are available for download to compatible readers.
Databases
The Hill College Libraries offer 24-7 access to over 175 electronic databases.
Periodicals
The Hill College Libraries subscribe to over 15 periodical print resources, including medical journals, magazines, and area newspapers.
DVDs
The Hill College Libraries hold over 550 DVD titles.
Streaming Video
The Hill College Libraries offer access to over 44,400 streaming video titles, and over 330,000 video articles/segments through the Films on Demand, and JoVE Science Education Video platforms.
Library Usage Policy
The Hill College Libraries are open to all students, faculty, staff, and community patrons. Residents of the Hill College service area may register for library accounts to receive basic material use privileges. Many library materials, including display items, books, DVDs, and periodicals are suited for adult patrons ONLY; parents and guardians are responsible for any censorship of such materials. Children under the age of 15 may not be left unattended in campus libraries, and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times. Library staff cannot assume responsibility or liability for the safety and well-being of any child in the absence of a parent or guardian.
Alumni Library Resource Access
Hill College alumni are welcome to utilize library resources (subject to library staff approval) for continued educational pursuit, job seeking, research, and other undertakings.
Computer Usage Policy
The Hill College Libraries offer access to personal computers for academic purposes. Library computer and printer access is available until 15 minutes prior to library closing time. Students, faculty, and staff may use their Hill College issued login credentials for computer access. Guests and community patrons may request a guest login for purposes such as applying for federal financial aid, filing Apply Texas and Hill College applications, and job search related endeavors. The aforementioned requests are granted at the discretion of Hill College library staff. Patrons are limited to one login at a time, including wireless Internet access for laptop computers, tablets or other devices. Library computers and the Hill College network may not be used for unauthorized commercial or illegal purposes pursuant to the Texas Penal Code, Chapter 33 Computer Crimes.
Off-Campus Access
The Hill College library databases, electronic books, streaming video collections, and the Online Library Catalog may be accessed from off-campus sites 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A current login credential is required for off-campus database, electronic book, and streaming video collection access. The off-campus login protocol mirrors the default protocol for college network access, email, and Schoology. A login is not required for off-campus Online Library Catalog access.
Saving Documents and Items on Library PCs
When saving documents and items accessed on Hill College library PCs, use cloud, network or portable storage. Files may be temporarily saved to the computer desktop for later use (such as attaching a document or other file to an email or for upload into the Hill College Schoology Course Management System). Files saved to the computer hard drive are erased upon network log off.
Software Use
Only licensed software may be utilized on campus computers. Patrons are not allowed to load programs or software without prior approval from the Hill College Information Technology Department.
Laptop Computer/Tablet/Smartphone Internet Access
Wireless Internet access is available for students, faculty, and staff of Hill College. Instructions for set-up are available at the library reference desk. In order to set-up wireless Internet access on laptops, units must have current, operable, antivirus software. Use of a library data port for personal device network access is prohibited.
Printing Policy
Hill College utilizes the netZcore print management system in campus libraries and computer labs. Each student enrolled in a credit class receives a $20.00 print credit on their netZcore account at the beginning of a new semester. If allotted print credits become exhausted, patrons may add credit to their account at either campus library or Business Office. Guest patrons may print a limited number of pages at the discretion of Hill College library staff. Patrons are unable to print from laptops and/or wireless devices, but may borrow a flash drive from the library for transfer of files to a library computer.
Photocopiers
Hill College Libraries offer the use of photocopiers for students, faculty, staff, and community patrons. Faculty and staff may use college assigned access codes; students may use their netZcore account credits. All other patrons are subject to a charge of 10 cents per side for a standard size copy, and 20 cents per side for a legal size copy.
3D Printing
3D printing is available, upon request, at Hillsboro and Cleburne Campus Libraries. Please schedule an appointment with Library staff to discuss printing options, and schedule availability. 3D printing jobs are charged at .05 cents per gram of the printed object.
Bibliographic Instruction
Library information instruction sessions are available throughout the semester. Campus librarians are available to present instruction to individuals, classes, and other groups. Sessions may be tailored to general research, individual subjects or specific class assignments. Contact your campus librarian for scheduling and/or additional information.
Library Computer Lab Reservations
Faculty and staff are allowed to reserve library computer labs based upon availability. Students and community patrons are not authorized to reserve computer labs. All library computer lab scheduling is processed through the campus libraries.
TexShare
TexShare cards, which allow material checkout from affiliated academic and public libraries in Texas, are available for current Hill College students, faculty, and staff. TexShare cards are issued for the duration of the current college semester. Patrons utilizing cards are required to abide by the policies of the lending library. Please refer to the TexShare website for additional information: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/texshare/index.html.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Interlibrary loan services are available for all Hill College Library patrons. Please note that users of this service are subject to access and loan period regulations from the lending libraries. In some instances, a fee for access or shipping may be required. Please allow enough lead time for material delivery (in some cases up to two weeks, depending upon the physical distance from the lending library).
Confidentiality of Patron Records/Usage
Patron library usage records are kept confidential; only current or overdue material records are retained. Upon material discharge, usage records are purged. The USA Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) supersedes library confidentiality policy, and the Hill College Libraries will comply with any government requests submitted under the jurisdiction of the USA Patriot Act.
Pursuant to legal requirements of the USA Patriot Act, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other law enforcement agencies or officials may obtain court orders for library records for investigations involving national security and/or terrorism. Under penalty of law, libraries or library staff served with search warrants may not divulge the existence of the warrants or dissemination of records disclosed as a result of the warrants. Patrons cannot be informed that their records were provided to law enforcement agencies or that they are/were under FBI investigation.
Material Acquisition Requests
Hill College library patrons may request materials for acquisition by campus libraries. All requests are evaluated by the campus librarian to determine whether the material is suitable or necessary for addition to the library collection.
Collection Development
The Hill College Libraries strive to compile an information collection that supports the curriculum and research requirements of Hill College. The collection development policy of the Library centers on the acquisition of, and providing access to materials that are relevant to instructional programs and curriculum.
Intellectual Freedom
It is the responsibility of the librarians and evaluators to ensure that all essential viewpoints are considered for the collection. Patrons with concerns regarding collection holdings may contact the Director of Library Services.
Gifts and Donations
The Hill College Libraries welcome and appreciate gifts and donations. The Library accepts donations of books and other materials with the understanding that items will be adopted for the collection only if deemed relevant and appropriate. The Library cannot appraise value of donated materials, but may provide an acknowledgement of receipt, including a description of the items. If donated materials are adopted for the collection, the donor may request that a book plate denoting donation details be placed inside the front cover of a book or material holding case. If donated materials are not adopted for the collection due to duplication, condition or dated information, the Library will give them to charitable organizations, offer them to library patrons or return them to the original donor.
Exam Proctoring Policy
Requests for Library personnel to proctor course exams must be received from the Hill College Testing Center or individual Professor for the class. Test proctoring is available for students enrolled in classes at universities or colleges other than Hill College, if a formal request is received directly from the educational institution.
Food and Drink Policy
Snacks and drinks with covers are permitted in Hill College Libraries.
Noise/Cellular Phone Usage Policy
Hill College Libraries strive to offer an atmosphere conducive to study and research. Campus library building layouts require that patrons be considerate and keep noise levels to a minimum. Loud talking or other boisterous activity is not permitted. Library patrons are asked to set cellular phones to silent or vibrate when inside the library. If a patron must accept a phone call, they must keep it brief and quiet or take the call to the library foyer or completely outside of the library.
Library Security
If a security alarm sounds upon exit of the library, please return to the front desk until dismissed by a library staff member.
Synchronization of Hill College email to a Smartphone
The set-up protocol information listed below is required to synchronize your Hill College email to your smartphone:
Type: Microsoft Exchange
Server name: studentmail.hillcollege.edu
User: firstname.lastname (if you don't see a Domain option, enter your full email address as your username.)
Pass: (your email password)
Domain: student.hillcollege.edu
SSL/HTTPS: On