Common Policies

While McMurry is not a public library, we actively participate in reciprocal borrowing with the Abilene Consortium Libraries: Abilene Christian University (ACU), Hardin-Simmons University (HSU), Howard Payne University (HPU), and the Abilene Public Library (APL). Borrowing privileges vary by patron type as outlined below:

  • McMurry Students – Up to 60 items from MCM, APL, ACU, HSU, and HPU. Loan period: 3 weeks with two renewals.

  • McMurry Faculty – Up to 60 items for one semester with two renewals at McMurry. Checkouts from consortium partners follow the lending library’s policies.

  • Abilene Public Library Patrons – Up to 5 items, loaned for 21 days with two renewals.

  • AISD 5th Grade Students at McMurry – Up to 3 items, loaned for 21 days with two renewals.

  • McMurry’s Leased Collection (McNaughton) – Non-circulating to ACU, HSU, HPU, APL patrons, and McMurry 5th-grade students.

  • TexShare Cardholders – Up to 2 items from the general collection of each consortium library, loaned for 21 days with two renewals.

CAVEAT: There is an important difference between Consortium Loans and Inter-Library Loans.

  • Consortium Loans: Items borrowed from one of the five Consortium Libraries.

  • Inter-Library Loans: Items borrowed from libraries outside the Consortium.

Please check the catalog first to see if the item you want is available within the Consortium before requesting an Inter-Library Loan.

While the library is usually considered adequate for most undergraduate needs, even the most extensive library can’t contain all the material needed for more sophisticated programs. To this end, the library staff can borrow from libraries outside of Abilene through the interlibrary loan system if adequate time is allowed.

Students:
You may request up to 5 articles/ books unavailable in the Consortium at a time through ILL.

  • For most students, materials will be requested from TexShare libraries only.
    • Students writing their honors thesis may request items found outside of Texas WITH:
      • PERMISSION from the Department Head to request items
      • A GUARANTEE that they will pay the charges, if any.
  • There will be no charge unless the lending library requires payment.
  • The student will be contacted before the ILL department confirms a request from a library requiring payment. Payment will be due upon receipt of the requested item.
  • The ILL Department follows Copyright restrictions when making inter-library loan requests.

Faculty/ Staff:
May request items as needed. Please check first to see if they are available in the Consortium.

IF the material is not available in Abilene:

  • Items will be requested from TexShare libraries first if they are available.
  • There will be no charge unless the lending library requires payment.
  • The faculty/staff member will be contacted before the ILL Department confirms a request from a library requiring payment. Payment will be due upon receipt of the requested item.
  • The ILL Department follows Copyright restrictions when making inter-library loan requests.

THINGS TO REMEMBER:
ILL may take a week or more.

Methods of request:

  • WorldCat (most efficient) & Multi-Search interface
  • Written Form
  • Emails from faculty

If you need help, please come by the library or contact the Reference Librarian.

The Jay-Rollins Library provides collections and services in support of the instruction, research, and service missions of McMurry University. Users have the right to expect a safe, pleasant, and productive environment for research and study. Users are expected to abide by the rules established by the Jay-Rollins Library and MCM’s Student Code of Conduct found in the MCM Student Handbook. If patrons are asked to change their current behavior and refuse, they may be asked to leave, or the staff member on duty may call Campus Security.

Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to:

  • Creating a disturbance or behaving in a manner that interferes with regular use of the Library, such as rowdiness, noise, loitering, and offensive interpersonal behavior.
  • Disruptive use of cell phones or other electronic devices.
  • Violating policies concerning tobacco products, alcohol, or drugs.
  • Failing to follow library circulation policies and procedures.
  • Mutilating, defacing, or misusing library materials, equipment, or property.
  • Removing or attempting to remove library materials or property without checking them out or without proper authorization.
  • Concealing or otherwise restricting access to materials in the Library for the exclusive use of an individual or group.
  • Possessing a weapon or a hazardous substance/item.
  • Tampering with emergency mechanisms (fire alarms, elevator alarms, opening emergency exits in non-emergency situations).
  • Being in an unauthorized area of the building, remaining in the building after closing, or when requested to leave during emergencies or drills.
  • Bringing animals into the building that do not meet ADA guidelines.
  • Riding wheeled devices in the Library is not intended for medical use.
  • Violating University and Library rules regarding computer use.

Shaped by Christian principles, McMurry University challenges students to examine our complex world from multiple perspectives in preparation for lives of leadership, service, and professional success.

Since conversation is essential to intellectual exchange and spiritual formation, inhibiting learning and conversation can be troubling. When community members cannot contribute to important dialogue, we risk impoverishing the search for truth, placing in jeopardy the university’s goal of preparing students to engage with the world.

The library selects material primarily to support the courses at MCM, the faculty’s research, and on a modest scale, the recreational reading interests of our campus community. Because the university’s courses reflect a variety of ideas, the material in MCM Library reflects a variety of ideas. Book selection does not equate to endorsement just as reading does not equal agreement with content. Selection is based on our collection development policies to align library materials with course needs. We endeavor to have materials that allow our campus and community to learn, to evaluate, and to discuss in a collegial manner.

Procedures

When the Library receives a written Request for Reconsideration of Materials Form, the Director should:

  • Stamp or write the date of receipt on the form
  • Make a copy for the Director’s office and for the person submitting the request.
  • Acknowledge receipt to the individual who made it and provide a copy of the procedures and timeline that will be followed.
  • Notify the professional library staff by sending them a copy of the request.

Within 10 working days of when the request was filed

The Director will organize a Materials Evaluation Committee composed of:

  • Director (chair).
  • The other professional library staff.
  • A classroom professor most closely associated with the resource.
  • Three other members of the McMurry community. (Faculty and Staff)
  • The total number of members of the Materials Evaluation Committee should be an odd number to avoid the possibility of a tie vote.
  • Select a non-voting recorder for the Materials Evaluation Committee from the assembled committee.

The Reference librarian will provide to the Materials Evaluation Committee:

  • copies of the relevant portion of the collection development policy governing the selection of that resource.
  • a description of the classes the resource is primarily intended to support.
  • any positive or negative reviews of the resource.
  • the number of times the item has been checked out and how many other libraries in the Abilene Library Consortium have it.

Within 20 working days of when the request is filed, the Materials Evaluation Committee will:

  • Individually and as a committee, determine if the resource meets the criteria within the library’s collection development policy and MCM’s overall policy.
  • Individually and as a committee, check general acceptance of the materials by reading reviews.
  • Individually and as a committee, weigh values and faults and form opinions based on the material as a whole.
  • Meet, discuss, and prepare a Materials Evaluation Committee Report.

On or before day 28 of the request period, the Director must send a copy of the completed Materials Evaluation Committee Report. The Director will:

  • Prepare a letter and a copy of the report and send them to the person who filed the request for reconsideration.
  • Notify the VPAA of the University.
  • Notify library employees of the decision.
  • Keep a copy of the request, committee minutes and decisions, and any other correspondence.

The decision of the Materials Evaluation committee is final.

McMurry University acknowledges and respects the importance of accommodations for students with disabilities. Per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are permitted on campus. While not required, students are strongly encouraged to report their service animal to the Disability Services Coordinator.

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) must be approved through the Disability Services Office and the Office of Residence Life before being brought onto campus. Students with approved ESAs must renew approval at the beginning of each semester to continue housing their animal on campus. For further information, please get in touch with the Residence Life Coordinator.

Library Guidelines for Service Animals

To maintain a safe, pleasant, and productive environment for all library users and staff, the following guidelines apply to service animals within the Library:

  • Service animals must always remain close to their handler and under their control; they may not be left unattended.

  • Service animals must stay on the floor and are not permitted on tables, chairs, or other furniture.

  • Service animals must be leashed or harnessed at all times unless doing so interferes with the animal’s ability to perform its designated task(s). If a leash or harness is impossible, the animal must remain effectively controlled through voice, signals, or other reliable means.

  • Service animals must not display disruptive behavior (e.g., barking, growling, or lunging).

  • Service animals must be housebroken. Handlers are fully responsible for cleaning up and maintaining their animal’s hygiene.

  • Individuals with allergies or discomfort related to service animals should notify a staff member for assistance.

 Student Handbook

All buildings on the campus of McMurry University are tobacco-free. Tobacco is defined as all tobacco-derived products, including and not limited to cigarettes (e.g., clove, bidis, kreteks), electronic cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos, hookah-smoked products, pipes, and oral tobacco (e.g., spit and spitless, smokeless, chew, snuff) and nasal tobacco (e.g., snus). It also includes any product intended to mimic tobacco products, contain tobacco flavoring, or deliver nicotine other than for cessation.

Smoking, dipping, or chewing any form of tobacco as defined above is not allowed in any building on campus. Smoking is not permitted within twenty (20) feet of the entrance of any building on campus. (Complies with the City of Abilene Ordinance, Chapter 10, Article III, Division 2, SMOKING of the Code of the City of Abilene.) Designated areas have been established for students to smoke outside the buildings. According to university and NCAA rules and regulations, tobacco use at any athletic event is prohibited.

 Student Handbook

As a member of the Abilene Library Consortium, McMurry University welcomes members of the Abilene community to use our facilities.

  • We provide three stand-alone Internet-only computers that do not require log-ins.

  • As an academic library, our computers are not filtered.

  • In alignment with the Abilene Public Library’s policy, youth under 18 must have a parental permission form on file to access the Internet.

We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain safe and responsible use of library resources.

An unaccompanied minor requesting access to the Library’s Internet-only computers must present a valid Abilene Public Library Card. The card will be checked to see if the minor has signed permission from their parent(s) or legal guardian on file allowing them to access the Internet.

If the three Internet-only computers are in use and a McMurry patron needs access to the computer, the minor will be asked to log off.

If the minor accesses sites of a sexual/violent or inappropriate nature, they will be asked to log off and leave the Library.