Our Mission and Values

Our Mission

Oesterle Library is a student-centered resource center focused on creating a diverse and responsive environment of access, creativity, and learning. We cultivate an ethically engaged and information savvy community by supporting open access to spaces and information, fostering the creative inquiry process, advancing teaching excellence, and cultivating diverse and responsive collections through intentional collaboration with the North Central College campus and surrounding communities.

We Value:

1. Access - Open access to information, privacy, transparency, and intellectual freedom to support the NCC community and student success.
2. Accessibility - Providing accessible virtual and physical spaces that are inclusive, diverse, respectful, and welcoming.
3. Learning - Lifelong learning, exploration, and curiosity through academic and intellectual growth.
4. Information - Accessible, diverse, and dynamic collections that support the research, teaching, and learning of the NCC community.
5. Community  - Engagement with the NCC community and surrounding communities through collaborative programming, spaces, and resources.
6. Literacy - Fostering a community of information and media literate learners that are ethically engaged citizens.

General Information

The library adheres to the following professional guidelines:

•  American Library Association's Bill of Rights
• Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries
• ALA Freedom to Read
• ALA Freedom to View Statement
• ALA Statement on Challenged Materials
• ALA Statement on Professional Ethics
• ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education
• Social Justice Standards of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Spaces

The Oesterle Library and resources are open to the North Central community, including faculty, staff, and students. NCC alumni and individuals from the surrounding communities are welcome to use our spaces and resources with some limitations. Users from I-Share libraries can check out items in the collection.

Room Scheduling

There are 10 study rooms and 2 sound dampening pods that can be reserved and used by NCC Undergraduate and Graduate students. It can be used by NCC Faculty and Staff if not in use or reserved.

There are other reservable spaces in the Library and Learning Commons. All of these spaces are reservable by NCC students, faculty, and staff through Coursedog.

• LIB130 - A conference room (LIB130) that seats 8 at a table plus 6 on couches. This space is a priority staff and faculty space.  This room is available for use when not reserved.

• Oesterle Main Lobby - Table 1 and Table 2 in the main entrance area – These spaces are for tabling events, such as student organization outreach, employer recruitment days, or other campus groups.

• Library Patio – The patio has stone picnic tables on the south entrance.

• Oesterle Library Lawn – This is the green space on the south side of the building. 

Computers

There are two different kinds of computers available for use by NCC students, faculty, and staff in the library building.

• A PC lab (LIB100) with 40 computers that is available when no class is in session for general use. This lab can be reserved by faculty and staff through Coursedog. Classes of 25 people and smaller are asked to use other labs on campus.
• A Mac area with 14 computers.

Lactation/Mother's Room

A Lactation Room is available on the lower level of the library. Ask at the service desk and library staff will unlock the private room for you.

After-Hours Book Return

A drop box is located at the North entrance to the library. The box is emptied every morning that the library is open.

Beverages/Food/Smoking

Beverages: Only non-alcoholic beverages in containers with secure lids are permitted in the library.

Food is permitted in the library. Patrons are required to clean up after themselves.

Tobacco: The use of all tobacco products (cigarettes, e-cig, vape, pipe, etc.) is prohibited throughout campus.

Children

The Oesterle Library is designed with the NCC community as a focus, but we also welcome children when they are accompanied by a parent or other caregiver over 18 years of age. Responsibility and care for children in the library are the sole responsibility of the parent or caregiver accompanying the child. For the purposes of this policy, children are persons aged twelve and younger.

Services

Printing 

Printing is available for NCC students, staff, and faculty using library computers and Follow-Me-Printing or from personal devices via Web Printing.

Textbooks

The Cardinal Textbook Collection is a Reserve collection that is available for 2 hour increments and in-library use only. This collection contains all print textbook for the undergraduate level courses at NCC. The Library accepts suggestions for purchase and donations for inclusion in this collection.

Lost and Found

Articles found in the library are held at the Information Services Desk. Items of value are given to Campus Safety. Periodically, items in Lost and Found are surrendered to Campus Safety.

Lending

Confidentiality

The College's privacy principles and policies follow the Family Educational Right and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Gramm Leach Bliley Act. These policies safeguard personal information about students, employees, and other members of the College community against such risks as theft, unauthorized access, destruction, misuse, modification, unauthorized disclosure, or other compromise of information. Moreover, Oesterle Library observes the American Library Association's guidelines on the "Confidentiality of Library Records." Circulation records and other records identifying the names of library patrons with specific materials are considered confidential and are not available, except pursuant to process, order, or subpoena.

Borrower Types

North Central College Patrons: Members of the campus community may borrow materials from Oesterle Library upon presentation of their North Central College ID card.

Courtesy Borrower Patrons: Trustees, faculty and staff spouses, alumni, and individual public library patrons are eligible for personal Courtesy Borrower Cards if over the age of 18. Applications are available at the Information Services Desk. Patrons must present their personal Courtesy Borrower Card when borrowing materials.

Patrons from Other Academic Libraries:North Central College is a member of two groups of academic libraries that extend borrowing privileges to each other's patrons; LIBRAS and I-Share. Patrons from these two library networks must present their own ID to borrow materials and be in the I-Share database.

Lending Times

The lending times, on average are:

• NCC Students, NCC Support Staff, and Courtesy Borrowers

  • books 28 days (max loan with renewals 112 days); media 14 day (max loan with renewals 28 days)

• NCC Faculty and Administrative Staff

  • books 28 days (max loan with renewals 196 days); media 14 day (max loan with renewals 28 days)

Items may be renewed for a total of 112 days.

Overdue Notices

Courtesy due date notices and overdue notices are issued via email. Failure to receive an overdue notice does not release the patrons from returning or renewing materials.

An after-hours book return is located at the North entrance to the library. The box is emptied every morning that the library is open. 

Fines

Fines are not charged for overdue materials, with the exception of:

• Recalled items - $1/day

• Hourly reserve materials - $1/hour

• Daily reserve materials - $3/day

Patrons will be billed for a lost item if it becomes 35 days overdue

Billing

Patrons are responsible for payment of any bills issued by Oesterle Library or the lending library for lost, damaged, or overdue materials.

Lost or Damaged Materials

If an Oesterle Library item is lost, the patron to whom it is charged will be billed for the cost of the item or the patron can replace it with a duplicate item in new condition. If an interlibrary loan material is lost, the patron will be billed by the lending library, according to that library's policies.

Refunds

Full or partial refunds are issued at the discretion of Oesterle Library.

Claimed Returned Materials

Materials that are deemed overdue by the library but claimed returned by the patron will be assessed on a case by case basis. The library will make all efforts to locate the item. If the item is not found after a reasonable search, the item will be deemed lost/missing and the patron will be responsible for paying for or replacing the item.

Suspension of Library Privileges

Patrons who owe a minimum of $25.00 in fines/fees to Oesterle Library will have their borrowing privileges suspended until such time as these fines/fees have been paid.

Oesterle Library items that are 29 days or more overdue will be declared "lost". At this time, the patron will be billed the replacement cost. In addition, the patron's borrowing privileges will be suspended until such time as the item has been returned or the replacement fees paid.

ILL, I-Share, and Reciprocal Borrowing

Oesterle Library participates in reciprocal borrowing practices with other libraries and lending entities.

The library complies with the Copyright Law of the United States. Library services, including reserve materials, interlibrary loans, photocopying and acquisition services must comply with the U.S. copyright laws and principles.

Archives & Special Collections

Mission

The North Central College Archives & Special Collections collects, organizes, describes, preserves, and makes available research and reference materials on the history of North Central College, Shimer College, and the western Chicago suburbs after World War II. The Archives supports the College community's need for historical information and provides reference assistance to researchers from on and off campus.

Special Collections consists primarily of rare books and publications that hold long-term historical research potential for the North Central College academic programs. The collections support a broad range of research and teaching activities in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Use

Instruction and reference are available to individual researchers during the Archives open hours upon appointment. Appointments should be made with the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Course-specific instruction is also available and designed in conjunction with classroom faculty.

The preservation of materials is vital to the ongoing operations of the NCC Archives. The collections are housed in a secure, temperature-controlled environment. The Archives is a closed stack facility. All materials in both archival and special collections are non-circulating and must be used in the Archives reading room.

Further information about the archival collections, open hours, and contact information can be found on the NCC Archives website, specifically within the collection guides and the digital collections.

Individual items in Special Collections may be located by searching in CardinalSearch, Oesterle Library's catalog.

Information Resources and Services

 

Overview

• The mission of North Central College Library Services is to provide resources and services to meet the College Community's information and instructional media needs and to assist members of that community in developing skills for lifelong learning. To support this mission, the library has a Collection Development Policy that is reviewed no less than every three years.
   
• The information resources selection process is a cooperative endeavor. Responsibility for developing a relevant and balanced collection depends on the efforts of faculty, library liaisons, and students. Each librarian serves as a liaison to a department or division. Library liaisons assist faculty with the following library-related needs:

1. Collection development - selection and management of library materials in all formats.
2. Library instruction - subject-specific instruction sessions tailored to the course's needs.
3. Reference - online searches, specialized reference assistance, noteworthy additions to the collection.

• Library liaisons accept book and media orders from the chairperson of each department or division to which they are liaison. Library liaisons also facilitate the selection of gift materials and the annual review of periodicals. For library assistance, faculty are encouraged to contact their library liaison.

 

Gifts to the Library

• The library welcomes gifts of books or other materials that support the curriculum from members of the North Central College community. Please contact the Technical Services Coordinator at 630-637-5702 or email LTS@noctrl.edu regarding any possible donation.

 

Information Services Desk

• Assistance in locating and using library resources or obtaining materials from other libraries is available at the Information Services Desk on the main floor of the library.
   
• The Information Services Desk is staffed every hour that the library is open, and reference services staff are also "on call" for answering more in-depth reference questions.

 

Reference Questions

• "Email a Librarian" is an electronic reference service which makes it possible for the NCC community to ask quick, factual reference questions via the Library website. The library will attempt to answer all questions submitted through "Email a Librarian" within a 24-hour period, Monday-Friday. 
   
• Patrons may call the Information Services Desk at 637-5700 for assistance.
   
• Patrons with in-depth research questions are invited to stop by the Information Services Desk on the main level of the Oesterle Library and Learning Commons.

 

Website

• North Central College Library Services website provides access to information resources in a variety of formats.
   
• Most information resources are accessible from the website on and off campus, including CardinalCat, the library's online catalog of books, videos, and other materials; CardinalSearch, the library's one-stop connection to most databases; individual databases providing citations, abstracts, and full-text articles from newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals.
   
• The Library Services website also provides links to the Archives website, which includes information on archival collections, programs, and online exhibits.

Oesterle Library Collection Development Policy

Introduction 

The purpose of Oesterle Library Collection is to actively support the educational programs of North Central College. The library's primary goals are to develop a collection that supports the current curriculum; meets departmental or program accreditation or re-accreditation requirements; and serves the college's information needs. The library also follows the collection requirements outlined by grant funding agencies and consortiums to which it belongs. The purpose of the Collection Development Policy is to provide guidelines for the selection of materials consistent with these goals.

The Collection Development Policy is written collaboratively by the Director of Library Services in consultation with librarians who serve as liaisons to academic departments and programs. 

 

Selection Responsibility

The selection process is a cooperative endeavor. Responsibility for developing a relevant and balanced collection depends on the efforts of faculty, librarians, and students. Librarians use a variety of selection tools, including professional library literature, and welcome suggestions from faculty, staff, and students.

 

Funding

The college makes available funding for library materials during an annual budgeting cycle. The funds are allocated and spent at the discretion of the library director with assistance from the subject liaison librarians. 

 

Copyright

The library complies with the Copyright Law of the United States. Library services, including reserve materials, interlibrary loans, photocopying and acquisition services must comply with the U.S. copyright laws and principles.

 

Selection 

The library supports the American Library Association's Bill of Rights, Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries, Freedom to Read, Freedom to View Statement, Statement on Challenged Materials, and Statement on Professional Ethics. 

The library has the responsibility to develop collections that support the learning, teaching, research needs, and cultural interests of a diverse constituency. As an institution of higher learning, which encourages the contemplation of many different issues, the collections should have materials that express a variety of views, opinions, and perspectives on various topics. The acquisition of such materials does not imply approval or endorsement of their contents. No material will be excluded from the collection because of the race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, political or social viewpoint, or controversial nature of either the author or of the material.

Materials purchased by the library or donated to the library must meet the following criteria:      

Intellectual Value

The library collects materials that originate from recognized authorities who have a command of a particular subject. Such individuals may be qualified through their education, experience, occupation, or affiliation. Material should demonstrate accuracy, quality, and depth of material appropriate for the subject.

Format and Condition

The library collects material in the format that is most economical, most suitable for the content of the information, most appropriate for retention, and best meets the demands of accessibility. As technology continuously changes, the ways in which information can be stored, acquired, maintained, and retained will also change. The library will review formats and acquire the ones most appropriate to its mission.  

When a physical format is selected, new copies are preferred. Used copies will be considered on an item-by-item basis when they are the only option.

 

Languages

The library collects materials primarily in the English language. Exceptions may be made for materials needed for the Modern and Classical Languages curriculum and related interdisciplinary programs.

 

Scope

The library will add materials to the collection that pertain to subjects covered by the current undergraduate and graduate curriculum. The level of treatment for these materials will be commensurate with the level at which the subject is taught. At the discretion of the library, the library will acquire materials to support faculty research and program accreditation requirements. 

The library also will add materials that support and maintain collection strengths, particularly those developed through cooperative collection development grants. In accordance with cooperative collection grant requirements, the library may be established as a last copy site for specific topics or disciplinary areas.

 

Timeliness

In general, materials added to the collection will contain information that is relevant and current within subject areas. When necessary to support the curriculum, the library will purchase retrospective materials that represent “classics” or the growth of thought in a discipline.

 

Duplicates 

The library does not normally purchase or retain duplicate copies of a title. Requests for duplicate titles will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Exceptions to this policy are copies acquired for class reserves or textbook collections. 

 

Reprints and Subsequent Editions

Collecting new and unique titles is generally preferred to acquiring different editions of items already in the collection. Newer editions of materials, however, may be purchased at the discretion of the subject liaisons.

Previous editions are retained only when they are important to the development of thought in a particular discipline. Previous editions that do not meet these criteria or that contain information that is obsolete or misleading to users are not retained.

 

Gifts

The library follows North Central College guidelines when accepting gifts for inclusion in the collection. The second guideline of the campus policy states, “A gift will not be accepted unless it will assist or enhance the College’s ability to fulfill its mission. All gifts accepted by North Central College will conform to federal and state statutes and regulations.”

The library welcomes donations of scholarly materials from North Central College students, faculty, staff, trustees, and alumni. Donations from outside the College community may only be accepted when there is a compelling curricular need and by prior approval of the Director of Library Services. No appraisal of materials may be provided by library staff, and donors must agree that the library may use or discard the materials in any way the library deems appropriate.

 

Textbooks

The library collects textbooks for the following purposes:

• Primary and secondary school textbooks for the Curriculum Collection.
• Textbooks recognized as "classics" in a field (with proven value outside of the classroom) or as the only source of information on a particular topic.
• Items that are acquired with the intent to be placed on Reserve or in the Course Textbook Collection.

 

Board Games

The library collects board games, card games, and other tabletop games to encourage community building and connection through gaming. Games may be added to the collection if they have themes relevant to college curriculum, are critically-acclaimed or award winning, or represent the interests of the community.

 

Collection Management

Collection Assessment and Evaluation

Subject liaisons continuously assess the library’s collections in order to identify collection strengths and weaknesses and to ensure that the collection supports the library’s ongoing mission.

Inventory/shelf reading and physical assessment of materials is performed on an ongoing basis to ensure that the library’s catalog accurately reflects the library’s holdings. This assures easy access to local and Interlibrary Loan users.

 

Deselection

Deselection, or weeding, is an integral part of collection management. Materials may be deselected for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to materials that:

• have not circulated in an appropriate duration of usefulness for the discipline
• contain out-of-date, inaccurate, or obsolete information.
• cover subjects no longer covered by the curriculum or which are not appropriate for a college collection.
• are in too poor condition to be repaired in-house or easily rebound.
• are in a format that cannot be easily viewed or read.
• have been replaced by a more accessible format.

 

Disposition of Deselected Materials  

The library will attempt to transfer deselected materials, including monographs that are the last held copy in Illinois, to an Illinois library following procedures established by CARLI.

All deselected materials that are not transferred to another library will be disposed of in the most efficient and economical manner available.

 

Collections

There are several separate and named collections within the Oesterle Library:

• Circulating Collection.
• Curriculum Collection - The collection houses K-12 textbooks and activity and resource materials needed by education students. 
• Juvenile Collection - A collection of children's and young adult books is maintained to support the teacher education programs offered by the Education Department. 
• Giere Audiovisual Collection.
• Reference Collection.
• Periodicals Collection.
• Archives and Special Collections - The North Central College Archives is to collect, organize, describe, preserve and make available for research materials on the history of North Central College, Shimer College, and the western Chicago suburbs after World War II. The Archives supports the College community's need for historical information and provides reference assistance to researchers from on and off campus. We collect archival material, including documents, audio, video, photos, and artifacts, in both analog and digital formats. The Archives does not function as the repository for current College records.
• Theses Collection.
• Cardinal Textbooks – This is a Reserve collection available for 2 hour increments and in-library use only. Items that are included are print books that are required texts for North Central College classes. Exceptions include course packets and workbooks.
• Tholin Chicagoana Collection - This reference collection consists of materials in many topics relating to the city of Chicago and is available for in library use only.
• Board & Card Game Collection.

 

Electronic Resources

Purchasing decisions for electronic resources, take the following factors into consideration:

• Cost - Electronic resources often have a recurring annual expense and cost is one of the most important factors when making a decision about electronic resources.
• Access - Access is of paramount importance to purchasing electronic resources. Preferences are given to resources that allow multiple or unlimited simultaneous users.
• Authentication – Resources must allow authentication for both on and off campus users.
• Accessibility – Preference will be given to resources that meet standard accessibility practices as laid out in X and that adhere to the Universal Design for Learning Framework (UDL).