Library FAQs

Only currently registered students, faculty, and staff are allowed to use the databases off campus.

If you see this login choose your category, and use your Canvas/Portal login information:

If you are still having problems, please use the library chat located on our homepage and we can verify the number we have for your account. You can also call the Reference Desk (636.922.8620), but the chat will offer a quicker response (provided you do so during our regular business hours).

The library hours in the Fall and Spring Semesters:

• Monday - Thursday: 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m
• Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
• Saturday: CLOSED
• Sunday: CLOSED

​The library hours in the Summer Semester:

• Monday - Thursday: 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m
• Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
• Saturday: CLOSED
• Sunday: CLOSED

But just because the building closes doesn't mean you can't still get help! We offer 24/7 assistance through the library chat.

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Hours vary during breaks and holidays.

The library closes at 4:30 p.m. on days with no scheduled classes.

You'll need to know your SCC ID number. If you haven't gotten your physical ID yet (head here to start that process), you can locate your ID number on your class schedule. The Library staff will be happy to assist if you have trouble locating the number. Please call us at 636-922-8434. We can also accept a valid driver's license.

Currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff can check out circulating materials. 

You can access our official loan policy here

If you are looking for books you can use MOBIUS! The SCC Library is a member of the MOBIUS Consortium of more than 60 academic libraries in the state of Missouri and a few surrounding states. Currently-enrolled SCC students, faculty and staff can request books from any MOBIUS library. Requested books typically arrive in 3-4 business days, and you are notified via email when they are available for pickup.

If it is not convenient for you to pick up your books at SCC, you may request for books to be sent to any library in MOBIUS though "Pickup Anywhere." "Pickup Anywhere" is great for students, faculty and staff who live in Missouri but reside a significant distance from SCC. "Pickup Anywhere" allows you to request, pick up, and return items at any MOBIUS member library. 
 
For more information on requesting material see our requesting material policy page.  

To locate articles that the library doesn't have you can submit a request directly from the database by clicking "Request this item through interlibrary loan." This will take you to our ILL request form. You'll fill in the relevant information about your article and we'll see about acquiring the material from another institution. We say it is best to budget a week for turnaround time, but articles typically come sooner than that. 

 

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Interlibrary Loan

Research materials which are not found in the MOBIUS online catalogs or cannot be accessed via our full-text online databases can be obtained from other libraries through the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) process. Articles usually arrive in 1-3 days, but some materials may take 1-2 weeks to arrive depending on the lending library. Use this form to request material not available through MOBIUS. Email ill@stchas.edu for assistance.

MOBIUS and interlibrary loan are not available to community users.

The library has many different kinds of study spaces available.  

The first floor is an excellent place for group work if you're comfortable working in a dynamic atmosphere with a little background noise.

 

We also have study rooms that groups can use. These rooms can be booked up to a week in advance using our online booking system: https://libcal.stchas.edu/reserve/studyrooms. The rooms can be reserved for up to 2 hours. You'll come to the Circulation Desk to check out the key for the room that has been booked. Each room has a whiteboard and flat-screen TV so you can project a laptop. If needed, laptops and/or dry erase markers can be checked out with the room.

 

The second floor is our quiet study space, so it will not be the best place to study as a group.

When you are at your computer just hit print like you normally would. Once you are ready to print, go to the computer next to the printers (the "Print Release Station") and type your login ID (the first part of your email address - everything BEFORE the @my.stchas.edu) in the box on the screen.

Only the jobs you've sent to the printer will be displayed. Click "print" to release your print jobs. Each semester you have $10.00 of printing credit and the cost to print will be deducted from that balance. For black and white printing it costs 10 cents a page or 15 cents a page if it is double-sided. To print in color it is 30 cents a page or 45 cents if you print double-sided.

If you happen to go through all your printing credit you can pay by using the coin box by the printer (it will take one and five dollar bills as well as silver coins). Please ask at the reference desk if you need printing assistance. 

MOBIUS is a consortium of Missouri libraries that work together to provide residents with books from libraries all over the state (in addition to other states!) in 3 to 4 business days.

MOBIUS includes ALL of the college and university libraries in the state along with a few public libraries. When you combine all those libraries you have access to over 25 million items! You can search MOBIUS libraries here, and when you request a book it will be sent to SCC in just a few days!   

If you do request a book using MOBIUS, you will be notified of arrival through your my.stchas.edu email. Books check out for 4 weeks, simply return MOBIUS items to the SCC Library when you are done. 

Click here for more information about our MOBIUS policies and procedures.

The study area on the second floor of the library is the quiet study area. No cell phone usage is allowed in this area and no group study. We'd say it's the best place on campus to study!

We also have study rooms on the second floor. Study rooms can be reserved up to a week in advance using our online booking system: https://libcal.stchas.edu/reserve/studyrooms. Rooms can be reserved for up to 2 hours. Keys for the study room are checked out at the Circulation Desk.

EBSCO is a company that produces a number of online databases. The library pays for access to many of their different databases. If your instructor said to "use EBSCO" they probably meant to use Academic Search Premier which is the largest EBSCO database we have.

Still confused? Watch this video to find out more about accessing articles in a database.

Yes we do! eBooks (and audiobooks) are incorporated into our library catalog. When you do a search you can filter your results on the left-side of the screen to only show "eBooks." These titles are coming from our Overdrive collection and our eBooks from EBSCO collection (both of which can be searched independently). We also have some online reference books through the Gale Virtual Reference Library. 

When using our Overdrive collection you'll want to download the Libby app for easy access to material.

We know that sometimes things happen that prevent you from returning your books on time. We don't have any late fees for our library books so as soon as they are returned your record is clear! However, if you have overdue books a hold is placed on your account until the item is returned. This means you won't be able to register for classes, get grades, or request a transcript - so you want to make sure you return all the library materials you check out. We'll let you know an item is overdue by sending an email to your CougarMail - that way you can either try and renew the item or return it in a timely fashion.

If you check out an item that has been placed on Reserve there are late fees that accrue simply because of the high turnover and the likelihood that another student is waiting to use the same material. Reserve late fees are 50 cents/hour.

Because of the way our library is set up there isn't necessarily a "fiction section" like you would find in a bookstore or at the public library. There are a few different locations you can go to find fiction titles in our collection. The first place is on the first floor of the library on the shelves closest to the library entrance. Here you will find two different bookshelves. One is for "Popular Books" and has a range of current titles. The second bookshelf highlights our "New Books" and you can find fiction titles in the "P" section located on the side of the bookshelf facing the windows.

We also have fiction interspersed in the library's circulating collection. If you go upstairs to the second floor of the library and enter the Stacks (the room beyond the double doors where quiet study happens) look in the P section - you'll find fiction titles in the PG-PT call number range, depending on what your literary interests are. You can also check out our Juvenile collection which is located in the very first row of bookshelves farthest to the right when you enter the Stacks. Here you'll find children's books including Newberry and Caldecott award winners and various young adult titles.

When your professor says you need to use scholarly articles, what they mean is that the article has to be written by a scholar. You can find articles written by scholars on the Internet but many times those articles can't be viewed without paying for them.

Luckily the library already pays for access to these types of articles in the library databases! You can access the databases from our home page by clicking on "Library Databases" - located under our search@SCC searchbox.

 

All of the library databases contain scholarly articles but a good one to start with is Academic Search Premier because it has a large number of articles on almost any topic. We also have subject-specific databases for programs like nursing (CINAHL Complete) and education (ERIC). If you need articles about literature (novels, short stories, plays, or poems) use our literature database (Gale Literary Sources).  

For more information on the difference between popular and scholarly sources watch this 3 minute video.

The Reference Librarians at SCC are here to help you with all of your information needs. Whether it is choosing the right search tool, finding the best sources, or citing them appropriately, the librarians will help you navigate the research process. You can come by the Reference Desk any time the library is open or you can use the menu at the right to call, chat, or text us. You also have the option of "booking an appointment" with a librarian via Zoom or by phone.

If your instructor has placed something for you on Reserve you'll need to go to the Circulation Desk to check the material out. Make sure you know your SCC ID number in order to get the material (if you're unsure we can look it up for you, or you can locate it on your class schedule through SCC Connection).

When an item is placed on Reserve that means that your instructor wants the material to be easily accessible for the whole class. Items are only available for in-library use, meaning you'll have to read/watch the material in the library. The check-out time for Reserve material is 2 hours. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic you will be required to wear your mask while using Reserve material.

We have several databases devoted to literature criticism. The best one to start with is Gale Literary Sources because it covers all types of literature (novels, short stories, poems, etc.) and all time periods. But we have a few more that can help as well:

• Humanities International Complete has articles from a number of literature journals.
• Salem Literature Reference Sets with access to literarature-focused reference collections.

Choose "Literature" in the dropdown box on our database page for a full list of our literature offerings.  

The library offers black-and-white AND color printing! Every semester SCC students receive $10 of printing credit on their accounts.

To print in black and white it costs 10 cents a page to print single-sided and 15 cents for a double-sided page.

To print in color it costs 30 cents a page to print single-sided and 45 cents for a double-sided page.

Library computers default to double-sided printing, but this can easily be changed when you go to print. If you're not sure how to change this setting come see a librarian at the Reference Desk - they're happy to help!
 

Yes!

We have DVDs and streaming videos available for you. Our DVDs check out for 10 days (if they aren't on Reserve for a class). If there's a specific film you're looking for, you can search for it in the library catalog. The DVDs we have available for checkout are located on the second floor of the library. Take a right after entering the double doors and find them behind the Juvenile collection.

You can access some of our streaming videos directly by heading to Academic Video Online (AVON) or Films on Demand.  We also have some major motion pictures available through Swank.

If you need to renew your books there are a couple different ways to do it.

The first, and easiest way, is to go to the library website and click on "Access Account" option. You'll be prompted to login with your SCC email and password. Once you're in the Library Catalog, you'll want to click on "My Bookshelf" at the top of the page. You will then see all the items you have checked out. Just click on the "Renew" button underneath the title(s) where you want to extend your loan . If the items are renewable you will see a new due date appear. If an item isn't renewable it will let you know and the item will need to be returned.

You can also call the Circulation Desk for assistance with renewing books. The Circulation Desk number is 636.922.8434. Just be prepared with your SCC ID number. 

We do!  

You can search for streaming videos by searching in the library catalog and filtering your results by format, selecting "Streaming Video."

The library offers access to a selection of videos from Films for the Humanities and Sciences called Films on Demand in addition to videos from Academic Video Online (AVON).

These resources are available to you off campus if you are a current student, faculty, or staff.