REFERENCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Patron Assistance

Our primary patrons are North Park University students, faculty, administration and staff. Others with library privileges include students affiliated with institutions with whom we have cooperative borrowing arrangements, alumni, pastors, and people with special research needs that only our collection can address.

2. Reference service includes:

Providing answers to specific questions while teaching the patron skills to locate information in the future.

Assisting patrons with more involved research needs by offering individualized instruction on the use of library resources such as the online catalog, indexes, databases, and reference tools.

Providing bibliographies and other guides to encourage effective use of the collection

Organizing un-catalogued materials for reference use (pamphlet file)

Building and maintaining the reference collection

When North Park’s collection does not satisfy the patron’s needs there are many other library collections in the metropolitan area that can be accessed. The catalogs of most libraries are now available online and can be accessed through the Internet. Patrons are strongly encouraged to use North Park’s resources before going to other libraries. If using another library, patrons should call ahead to determine hours and privileges.

Interlibrary loan of books and journal articles is available (see Circulation).

North Park patrons may use Northeastern Illinois University’s library at all times it is open. The patron must have a North Park ID card to check out a book. Periodicals do not circulate.

With their North Park ID patrons may check out books from any library in the LIBRAS consortium: Aurora, Barat, Benedictine, Columbia, Concordia, Elmhurst, Illinois Benedictine, Judson, Kendall, Lake Forest, Lewis, North Central, St. Francis, St. Xavier, Trinity Christian, Trinity International, and Wheaton.

Seminary students have access to members of the ACTS consortium, a group of nine seminary libraries.

Other university libraries in the metropolitan area which offer limited public access include Northwestern University and DePaul University.

Infopass forms are kept in the book Illinois Libraries and Information Centers, behind the Reference Desk. Students must bring a pass to any library closed to the public, such as University of Chicago. Infopasses are issued if the resources of North Park’s holdings have been exhausted and the student needs to use a research library that is closed to the public. Each Infopass is issued for one visit only and does not give the patron borrowing privileges. Infopasses are not given to a patron who merely wants to study in another library. Generally speaking, it is useful to call the library ahead of time to be sure the needed resources are available or to arrange ahead of time for a librarian to be available.

Other special libraries in the Chicago area include the Newberry Library (humanities); John Crerar Library (science); Chicago Historical Society; the Art Institute, and many others. These are research libraries and should be used only after resources at local libraries have been exhausted.

Most metropolitan Chicago hospital libraries are open to North Park patrons. Their ID card will gain admittance, but materials do not circulate to them. These libraries rarely have evening or week-end hours.

Resident students may apply for a Chicago Public Library card at the Albany Park Branch at the corner of Foster and Kimball Avenues. They need to bring their current North Park ID card as proof of residence, as well as 2 other forms of identification with their Chicago address.

Materials traditionally placed in the pamphlet file include pamphlets, maps, illustrations, government documents, booklets, and other formats that are not catalogued as books or shelved as periodicals.

Ephemeral materials relating to North Park, the Evangelical Covenant Church, and the local community as it relates to North Park University are kept in the Archives.

Subject headings of the pamphlets conform to Library of Congress Subject Headings.

Pamphlets are stamped with a date stamp and a North Park University stamp.

Normally, pamphlets do not circulate, but at the discretion of a librarian they may. The reference librarian keeps a list of items borrowed.

The pamphlet file is weeded every other year.

The head reference librarian and the reference and serials librarian are responsible for library instruction for undergraduate and graduate programs. The Seminary librarian is responsible for library instruction for the seminary.

Library instruction for First Year English Composition classes is coordinated with faculty teaching those sections. The reference librarians contact each professor of an English Composition section to arrange for the instruction, which takes one or two class sections (depending on length of class time).

Other course-related library instruction is presented as requested by faculty. During the summer a memo is sent to faculty reminding them that library instruction is available for courses in which their students will be writing a research paper or doing some library work. For most presentations, at least two weeks’ notice is requested. Professors are encouraged to attend the presentation.

Instruction can include, but is not limited to:

Introduction to research materials, methods and database demonstration in a specific subject area (can be delivered in library or in classroom, depending on computer connections)

Library tours

Graded assignments in the form of worksheets, bibliographies, exercises, etc.

Most of the graduate programs arrange for a library orientation for their new students. Some of these are conducted off-site if they are distance-education programs.

Bibliographies and other handouts given to students during each library instruction presentation are also available on the library’s website under Library Instruction. The bibliographies and other handouts are updated whenever a class is repeated.

The head reference librarian keeps statistics on the bibliographic instruction sessions, including date, name of course, professor, and number of students in attendance.

The Library Guide and 1^st Year Library Instruction booklet are revised annually. Revision begins during spring semester and needs to be completed by the beginning of July. The Publications department of the university is responsible for the final editing and printing. The number of booklets ordered is determined by the number of 1^st year students, continuing education students, and graduate students, all of whom receive a copy during orientations.

Faculty and students may be asked to evaluate the instruction.

 Please send any questions or comments to the Systems Librarian.