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Lindsell Library - Charlotte Campus

Policies

Statement of Philosophy and Attitude

Harold Lindsell Library's underlying principle is one of service to library users in the context of careful management of resources for the sake of the whole Gordon-Conwell community. This principle permeates the library's policies, guidelines, procedures, and individual arrangements.
 

Mission of the Gordon-Conwell Library program

July 1988; Revision as submitted to President Cooley, January 3, 1991. With minor adjustments, May 20, 1993. The mission of the Gordon-Conwell library program is:
 
  1. To serve as a partner with the faculty in the educational endeavor of the seminary by making available for access academic information (in all formats) and by providing sources related to the world of preserved information. In this context, the library program is especially intended:
    1. To support the curriculum of Gordon-Conwell, particularly as broadly understood--that is, in terms of its consistent and long-range thrust. And,
    2. To enable both students and faculty to achieve a higher level of theological learning and study than is possible through the classroom and textbooks or indeed even through the whole of curricular study for a degree, and to expose them to valuable information which might otherwise be missed.
  2. In conjunction with other theological libraries, to serve as an ecclesiastical resource--in that context, aiding the mission of the church, assisting its leaders in grappling both with Christianity's intellectual challenges in the world and with the church's internal theological debates, and providing those leaders with or guiding them to information of practical use in church work.
  3. As a participant in the world of libraries, to play its part in the conservation of culture and to act as a resource for scholarship generally, by filling its distinctive niche and by building on its particular configuration of special interests according to the seminary's traditions, geographical locations, and long-term commitments and goals.
  4. To play its part in networks of information access, at least to the degree that this is balanced with the Gordon-Conwell library program's use of those networks.
  5. Creatively to stimulate, facilitate, and contribute to scholarship insofar as this is a natural extension of other elements of its mission.
  6. To discharge relational responsibilities, e.g., to the Carolinas Theological Library Consortium and to the American Theological Library Association. The Gordon-Conwell libraries consist not just of bricks, mortar, and informational materials, but just as essentially of their staffs, which means that any one of the libraries is not just a repository of information but a living, vital, interactive, service-oriented organism; and its mission should be understood that way.

How to find what you are looking for

Books (including theses and microforms) The OPAC is accessible at any time via the internet (https://gordonconwell.on.worldcat.org/). It will tell you which of the GCTS libraries owns the item, whether it is on the shelf, in reshelving, or on order, and the due dates of books that are checked out.
Periodicals Print periodicals are located in alphabetical order by title on the first floor of the library. Microfiche periodicals are located in the first floor cabinet next to the microfiche printer. Please ask at the circulation desk if we can help.
Indexing To find material in journals, use the periodical indexes. The most helpful is the American Theological Library Association's Religion Index, an extensive index of periodical articles, book reviews, collected essays, and theses published since 1949 (also available in print in annual editions). Now also consult ATLA’s ATLAS, which has the full text of over fifty journals. The public access computers also include other indexes, some of which include the full text of the item.
Audiovisuals  A few hundred videos, hundreds of audio cassettes (many uncataloged), and a few kits (cataloged) are available.
Newspapers and magazines The most recent issues of newspapers (USA Today; Wall Street Journal) are kept on the newspaper rack on the second floor. Current issues of academic journals and popular magazines (Journal of Biblical Literature; Christianity Today, Christian Century) are kept in the current periodicals area on the first floor

Syllabi

Current course syllabi are available on the Gordon-Conwell Charlotte Registration website.
 
Theses. Gordon-Conwell Doctor of Ministry theses have been cataloged and are listed in the OPAC. Most of those bound and printed since 1995 are available for inlibrary use and are located next to the reference section.

Borrowing

  • Any person welcome on campus is also welcome within the Library. However, all borrowers who wish to check materials out of the Library must have either a current Gordon-Conwell ID, Driver's License, or ID card from a consortial institution. 

Guest Accounts

  • Guest accounts for borrowing cost $50.00 per year, but are free for some categories of borrowers and members of institutions from the Carolinas Theological Library Consortium (CTLC), our regional consortial group of libraries. To request guest borrowing privileges please contact the library by email at hllibrary@gcts.edu.

Circulating books: 

  • 25 items, 28 days for Gordon-Conwell borrowers (Faculty, Staff, and Students).
  • 5 items, 21 days for Guests and GCTS Alumni.

Approved Thesis Loans: 

  • Students writing approved theses may check out circulating books for 6 months. After the first 28 days, the books may be recalled by another patron. 

VHS & DVD's:

  • All VHS must be viewed in the library. 
  • Reference DVD's - cannot be checked out. 
  • All other DVDs - limit 2 at a time for 14 days. 

Audio Cassettes & CD's:

  • 7 days (Maximum of 5 out at any one time to any borrower)

Reference, Reserve, Journal, Thesis, Cooley, Microform, and Vertical File:

  • For use only in the library. Page scanning, copying, and printing is available. Please see a library staff member for assistance.

InterLibrary Loan:

  • The primary purpose of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is to help the Gordon-Conwell community access resources outside of its libraries' collections. ILL provides supplemental materials in order to help patrons access the best resources in any given field.
  • For ILL policy and instructions please visit the library's Interlibrary Loan page. 

Renewal Options

  • Renewals of Lindsell Library items may be requested using one of these methods: 

Renewal Periods

(All library owned items are subject to recall after their lending period has ended)

  • Circulating books:
    • Students and staff: up to five renewals of 28 days each.
    • Faculty: up to 11 renewals of 28 days each. 
    • Alumni and Guests: one renewal of 21 days each.
  • Cassettes & CD's: 7 days
     
  • Thesis loans: two renewals of only 28 days each after the 6 month period.

How to Renew Online

  • Library Accounts can be accessed from these locations:

  • Library Homepage: Click 'Library Account' from the side menu or 'Log into your Library Account' from the WorldCat Discovery search box. The account log-in page will open. 

  • Within WorldCat Discovery: Click 'Sign-in' in the top right corner. 

New Log-in information: Library account username and passwords are now the same used for other Gordon-Conwell services (SAKAI, CAMS, and email). When your password changes, the updated password must be used here.  
 
  • Once you have logged into your library account you will be able to view borrowed items, contact information, and books on hold.
     
  • To renew one or more items, click the Renew button. 
     

Account Log-in and Renewal Help
 

  • For log-in issues try logging into SAKAI or CAMS before contacting us. If its working there but not for your library account we can assist with troubleshooting. 
     
  • Renewal requests are denied for a number of reasons including renewal limits, hold requests, fines, account issues, or system errors.  
     
  • Please contact the library for log-in or renewal concerns. 

Course Reserves Explained

  • Course reserves are highly used or required items that are requested by a class professor to be placed on reserve. Reserve items remain on the reserve shelf until the class has ended.  
  • Reserve materials are kept behind the circulation desk.  
  • Generally reserves are not allowed for checkout from the Charlotte campus library. Permission must be granted by the class professor with an email send to the library director. 

Searching for Course Reserves

  • Visit the Course Reserve tool within WorldCat Discovery to view what is currently (or formerly) on reserve from any Gordon-Conwell campus library. 
     
  • Search by course name, instructor, department, or prefix. Searches can include former courses by clicking 'include inactive courses'.  
     
  • Search Examples:
    • Course name: Managing Conflict
    • Instructor: Cooper
    • Department: Counseling
    • Prefix: CL640

Holds Explained

  • Holds are placed on items that have already been checked out by another patron. The current borrower is under no obligation to return the book until the end of the first loan period. Placing a hold will, however, prevent the current borrower from renewing the item. 
  • Only current students, faculty, and staff may place a hold.
  • Only circulating items can be placed on hold from the branch library where the borrower is a student or employee. 

Recalled items

  • All items are subject to immediate recall after they have been in a borrower's possession for 28 days.

  • Items that are needed for course reserves are subject for immediate recall regardless of how long they have been in the borrower's possession.

Requesting a Hold

Viewing Items on Hold