Library FAQs

Notes:

"MIC" denotes the Maryland Interlibrary Consortium, which has daily book-shuttle service among its members. All MIC holdings are included in SHARC, the library catalog.
MIC includes Hood, Mt. St. Mary's, Loyola/Notre Dame, Columbia Union College and Villa Julie.
"BALC" denotes the Baltimore Academic Library Consortium, which has reciprocal borrowing among its members (see the red-starred ( * ) libraries on the "Other MD Libraries" page for a list of libraries with reciprocal borrowing).

Circulation

Checkout periods
Books: 4 months for faculty, 4 weeks for students, 3 weeks for BALC, alumni/ae, and community borrowers.
Media: 7 days for faculty, 5 for grad students, 3 for undergrads (4 weeks for audio formats).

How many items can be checked out?
Books: 200 for faculty, 50 for students, 5 for BALC, alumni/ae, and community borrowers.
Media: 7 for faculty, 5 for grad students, 3 for undergrads. Students usually cannot check out educational or documentary material except by permission of instructor or other faculty.

I'm an alumnus/alumna. Can I: A) check out materials? B) access the library's databases from home?
A) Books: Yes, for 3 weeks. Allow at least 24 hours to elapse between renewals. Media: No.
B) No.

I've never been a student or faculty of either college. Can I still check out materials?
Books: Only if you live in the immediate vicinity of the library or your institution is a member of BALC or the Maryland Interlibrary Consortium (MIC).
Media: No.

Can I renew materials over the phone? Online?
Students and faculty may renew items online if they are not overdue. If items are overdue, call the Circulation Desk at 410-617-6801. Students may renew materials once, faculty twice, and there are no renewals for BALC, Alumni/ae, and community borrowers. Media renewals can be done over the phone at 410-617-6803.

Putting an Item on Hold
Books: If a book is currently checked out, students and faculty of Loyola or Notre Dame can ask at the circulation desk (410-617-6801) to be notified when a book is returned, and it will be held for them at the circulation desk for 5 days. Also, students and faculty of Loyola or Notre Dame may call and request that an item be pulled from the shelf and held at the Circulation desk, with their name attached, for approximately 24 hours (this latter service is a courtesy extended primarily to faculty or to students living off-campus).
Media: Only faculty can place holds on checked-out media material.

Catalog/Locating Items

Finding items in the library
The library catalog indexes all the reference books, circulating books, periodicals, reserve items and media items in the Loyola/Notre Dame library and other MIC libraries (what is MIC?). Most items are assigned a "call number," which might look something like BX412.6 .I58 S44 1993. To find where books and other media are in the library by their call number or other designation, please consult the library directory.

I found the item I needed in the catalog, and it said it was not checked out. Why can't I find it on the shelf?
It could be A) awaiting shelving, B) shelved in the wrong location, C) on reserve, D) in one of the other MIC consortium libraries (check location in catalog), or E) missing. Please consult Circulation or Reference staff when you cannot locate an item.

Course reserves
Paper copies of Reserve holdings are kept behind the Circulation desk. Lists of Electronic Reserves by instructor, department, course and/or section are under "Course Reserves" on the main page and catalog page. Media reserves are located in Media Services

What does "stacks" mean?
Books are referred to as being either in the "stacks" - books available for checkout on the shelves on the 2nd (L-Z) or 3rd (A-K) floor, or in "Reference" - books for library consultation only, kept on the shelves on the first (main) floor.

What kinds of items can I request?
If materials are not owned by the library, LNDL students and faculty can request books from the consortium (MIC) libraries or with an ILL request, and journal articles can be requested through ILL. Faculty can borrow media from other MIC libraries.

Where are the journals?
The library subscribes to well over 14,000 full-text online journals (check EJournal Locator to search for a journal by title). Recent print issues of journals and newspapers are on the 1st floor, and the bound journals (older volumes) are on the lower level.

MIC Requests

Requesting a book (LNDL Students and faculty) or media item (LNDL faculty only) from another MIC library
Log on to the library catalog, bring up the item record, and make an online request (see the "request" tab in the top bar), or contact a Reference librarian for help. Items take approximately 24 hours to arrive.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Ordering an item not found in the catalog or EJournal Locator
Click on Interlibrary Loan on the Library homepage to initiate your ILL request. You will need to be a faculty member or a currently registered student, and you will need your library barcode. If you cannot log in, call Circulation at 410-617-6801.

How long does it take for items ordered through ILL to get here?
Times vary widely by item, but one to two weeks is a common waiting period.

Off-Campus Delivery

Delivery to off-campus centers
Yes. ILL and document delivery (MIC) forms have fields at the bottom where you can specify location of delivery. Materials are delivered to the receptionist desk at Timonium and Columbia; for delivery to other locations such as Southern Maryland or the HEAT Center, please call Circulation at 410-617-6801.

Reference

"Primary" research materials
"Primary" research material means either A) original documents from an historical period, such as newspaper articles, diary entries, or published books, or B) publications, usually articles, that present (for the first time) observations, discoveries, and/or results of original research such as experiments or surveys.

"Scholarly" / "peer-reviewed" / "refereed" journals
These terms all refer to the same thing - a journal devoted to scholarly research, where the articles are reviewed (or "refereed") by a panel of experts prior to publication. Most journals whose content is narrowly focused on an academic subject fit this description. If you are uncertain about a particular journal, please see Reference for help.

What I need isn't here. Can Reference help me find it at another nearby library?
Yes, and we will try to find a BALC member with the item if possible. Please come to the desk or call 410-617-6802 for help.

How do I do a citation in MLA/APA (or other) style?
There are quick links to APA and MLA style sheets on the library main page. If you need further help, please call Reference.

Access

Accessing material from off-campus
When you attempt to access proprietary library material such as subscribed databases or course reserves from outside the Loyola or Notre Dame networks, you will be asked to log in with your last name and library barcode. Your library barcode is the 14-digit number on your student ID that begins with the numbers 22425. If you can't get into the library databases from home, there are several reasons this may be happening. If, after attempting to log in, you reach a page that says "that username or password was incorrect," you have either mis-typed your username or barcode or you need to be entered into the system at the Circulation desk (410-617-6801). If you get a different error message or a second login page, please click here and/or call the Reference desk at 410-617-6802.

Using a laptop in the library
The majority of laptop users with Wi-Fi enabled are able to get access to online library materials while in the library or from many other locations on the Loyola or Notre Dame campus. If you have trouble, please click here and/or see Reference.

Printing/Photocopying

Printing
Before printing or photocopying in the library, you need to set up a print account at the Circulation desk. The cost is 8 cents per page. Online articles can also usually be printed when accessing from home or from a computer lab on the Loyola or Notre Dame campus.

When I try to print a PDF file, all I get is a blank page. What's wrong?
Make sure you use the print command or icon from the PDF frame surrounding the document - not the print command or Icon from the browser (top) window. If problems continue, see Reference.

I'm Faculty/Staff. Do I have to pay for printing?
No. Faculty and staff of Loyola or Notre Dame, or students assisting them, can fill out a brief form to print or copy using a library account. Please inquire at the Reference desk.

Do you have a color printer/copier?
Yes. Printing or copying in color is 50 cents per page.

Facilities

How do I get to the library?
Please see "directions" on the library website.

How do I reserve a study room? Is it necessary?
Study rooms are generally available on a first-come, first-serve basis, but Loyola and CND students and faculty always get first priority. See Circulation for details.

I'm not a Loyola or Notre Dame student. Can I use the computers?
You may use the seated public computers on the main floor during certain hours (8-5 Mon -Thurs., 8-6 Fri, 8am-12pm Sat., 10am-12pm Sun.) when they are not needed by Loyola or Notre Dame Students. The six standing computers are open to everyone. The computers in the labs on other floors are reserved for Loyola and Notre Dame students.

Faxing / scanning
Unfortunately, we currently have no fax machine or scanner in the library available for student use. There is a fax machine (50 cents a page) at the Loyola campus Post Office and one for Notre Dame students and the public at the Document Center in Gibbons Hall. There is also a public fax at the Staples office supply store, approx. 1 mile north of the library on York Road. Loyola has a scanner at Knott 106, and Notre Dame has one in Rice Hall.

What are the library hours?
Hours vary before finals, between semesters and during holidays. Detailed schedules are available under "hours" on the library website.

Where are the bathrooms?
On the lower level and second and third floors, on the south side of the building.


200 Winston Avenue • Baltimore, Maryland • 21212 • 410-617-6800

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