Penn State University Libraries - Services for Faculty & Staff

In addition to helping students, the library staff is available to assist faculty members' research needs. There are several options for obtaining help:

• Onsite: The reference desk is staffed during all of the library's operating hours.
• Phone: Call the reference desk at 215-881-7424.
• VRS: The university's Virtual Reference Service is available 51 hours per week. Click on the ASK! button anywhere you see it.

For more specialized reference help, contact one of the librarians directly.

Librarians are available to provide course-related and specialized instruction. If you would like to have an instruction session for one of your classes, please use the online instruction request form to schedule a session. You can also contact Paula Smith, the library's instruction coordinator, at pms20@psu.edu or 215-881-7462.

Librarians can also provide specialized instruction for faculty and staff members. Individuals, groups, or departments may wish to request tutorials on subject-specific databases. Contact Paula Smith at the above email address and phone number to schedule a session.

Books and articles not located at the Abington campus, but within the Penn State catalog or in electronic resources, can be obtained through interlibrary loan. Depending on the source loaning the material, please allow 2-3 days for your request to arrive. You will be notified by email when we have received the requested materials.

Requesting books from another Penn State campus location:

1. Search in the CAT using a title or author search. Make sure the In Library box is set to All to include a search at all campuses.
2. If the book is listed in the results, click on Details next to the entry in the list to determine if it is located on the Abington campus.
3. If the book is not available at Abington, go to the top of the page and click on I Want It.
4. Input user id and password. Your user id and password are the same as those used for email.
5. Select "Penn State Abington" as the location for receiving the book.
6. Click Place Hold.
7. Click OK.

Requesting materials outside of the Penn State collection or journal articles held in University Park collections:

1. Search the electronic databases and the CAT to determine whether the material is available online or in print.
2. If materials are not available in these sources, please access ILLiad to execute your request.

For additional information about interlibrary loan requests at Abington, contact Lil Hansberry at 215-881-7428.

To place an item on reserve in the Abington Library, please submit the online Course Reserves Request and bring any corresponding materials to the Circulation Desk. Requests for electronic reserves can be submitted through the Electronic Reserve Request Form. All requests will be processed in the order in which they are received. To ensure items are processed in a timely matter, it is recommended that requests be received no later than two weeks from when the item is needed.

Guidelines for electronic reserves, such as articles available through databases, scanned articles and websites:

• Journal Article: We can scan/post no more than 2 articles from any single issue of a journal or magazine.
• Book Selections: We can scan/post no more than 15% of any single book or monograph as determined by page count.
• Reserves staff can create durable links to full-text articles available through many, but not all, databases. Some examples of databases are:
• JSTOR
• Muse
• ACM
• Use the e-Journals Title Search  to determine if a journal or periodical is available through one of these databases. Photocopies are not required for articles available through these databases. (Please Note: If your search is successful, be sure to check that the Coverage Dates include the volume/year you are looking for.)
• External Websites: We may create reserve links to any website or document that is freely available (i.e., does not require registration) online. To request a link, please include the url in the online Electronic Reserve Request Form. Photocopies are not required for links to external websites. (Please Note: We cannot be responsible for external websites/documents that are removed or relocated.)

Guidelines for placing books on reserve:

• Books "on-shelf" at the Abington Library may be brought to the Circulation Desk for fastest processing.
• Books that are checked out to users will be recalled by Reserves staff. Please note that materials recalled for course reserves require an additional ten days processing time to allow for return.
• Books available at other Penn State Library locations will be requested by Reserves staff and placed on reserve in the Abington Library. Allow one additional week for mailing.
• Reference books may be placed on course reserve only at the discretion of reference staff.
• Bound journals may be placed on reserve at the discretion of reserves staff. Unbound journals are not available to be placed on course reserve.
• Personal copies of materials may also be brought to the Circulation Desk to be placed on reserve. Please note that the library cannot be held responsible for personal copies of materials that become lost, damaged or stolen while on loan for patrons.
• Please indicate what loan periods (e.g., 2 hours, overnight, 5 days) each item should be put on reserve.

Directions are available for linking a reserves list to your ANGEL course.

At the end of each semester, all items will be removed from the reserve shelf. If an instructor wishes to keep materials on reserve for the following semester, please indicate this on the request form. Some materials, due to copyright restrictions, may not be allowed to remain on reserve. If you have any questions, please see the university's statements on general policy, copyright guidelines, and fair use.

Rooms 6 and 104 are available for student, faculty, and staff use as the Media Commons. They are located on the library's lower level and main floor. These rooms may be used for video production and editing.

• Use of the rooms is limited to Penn State University students, faculty and staff with a current, valid Penn State ID.
• No food or drink allowed in the Media Commons rooms.
• Please do not leave library materials in the rooms or leave personal items unattended.
• Check out keys to the rooms at the Circulation Desk. Keys may be checked out for two hours at a time. Fees will be incurred for late returns, vandalism, or lost key.
• Fines will accumulate at the rate of $1.00 per hour for each hour that the key is late, reaching a maximum of $100.00.
• Missing or damaged items in the Media Commons room (lights, backdrops, tripods, and HD video camera in Room 6; Macs in Room 104) are the responsibility of the person checking out the room key. Replacement costs may be charged to that person.
• Missing or damaged items checked out from the Circulation Desk are the responsibility of the person checking out that particular item. Replacement costs may be charged to that person.
• Students, faculty, and staff wishing to use the Media Commons facilities for class- or work-related projects have priority over those using equipment for personal reasons.
• The rooms must be reserved in advance. They can be reserved by calling 215-881-7424 or in-person at the reference or circulation desks.

The library's conference room 202 is available for faculty and staff meetings. The room contains several tables and seating for about 15 people. Projectors and other electronic equipment are available upon request from Instructional Media Services. Please contact 215-881-7418 to reserve equipment. To schedule the use of the conference room, call the reference desk at 215-881-7424.