About the Library


Library Services

Getting a Library Card

A-B Tech issues college ID cards to students, faculty, and staff that also serve as your library card. If you do not have a college ID yet, your first step, after you've registered for classes, is to go to the Bailey Student Services building to get one. Next, bring your new A-B Tech ID card to the Don C. Locke Library so we can activate your card in the library's database.

With your library-activated photo ID card, you can check out materials and access reserve items. Please note, that you must present your card each time you wish to check out any library materials. During semester breaks, we will need to see proof of paid registration before granting the full library borrowing privileges listed above.

The barcode number printed on the back of the A-B Tech ID card will be your library card number. You will need to know your college ID number when accessing library databases off-campus.

Continuing education students, as well as Buncombe and Madison County residents, can also get library cards by filling out an application at the Don C. Locke Library circulation desk. Borrowing privileges for those two groups are different from curriculum student privileges. Contact the circulation desk at (828) 398-7301 for more details or see our Don C. Locke Library Lending Policy document.

 

Services From Other Libraries

A-B Tech offers Interlibrary Loan (ILL) which allows borrowers to request materials from participating libraries. Book loans are generally free. Sometimes a fee, determined by the lending library, is charged for periodical articles. To find the necessary forms and full guidelines, visit Interlibrary Loan Guidelines and Forms.

 

Checking Out Books And Media

Curriculum students, Faculty, and Staff

  • General Collection books: no limit, two-week, one renewal
  • Feature Films: two DVDs, one week, no renewals
  • Audio Books: two audiobooks, one week, one renewal
  • Magazines: three magazines (except current issues) one week, no renewals
  • Reserve Items: check out period set by the instructor, no renewal

Continuing Education students and Community Patrons

  • Limit of five general collection books for two weeks

Overdue fines are 25 cents per day for books; 50 cents per day for magazines, and $1 per day for media. Fines vary for reserve materials depending on the loan period.

Important: You must have your A-B Tech photo ID with you to check out library materials. There are no exceptions.

 

Laptop, Mobile Hotspot, & Calculator Checkout

Laptops, hotspots, and calculators are available to currently enrolled curriculum students for home use. They are unavailable for checkout until classes have begun. The loan period for laptops is per semester. The loan period for mobile hotspots and calculators is four weeks. An A-B Tech Photo ID is required for all three electronic resources. Students must have records in good standing in order to check them out. Overdue fines are $5 per day for laptops and hotspots and $2.50 per day for calculators.

Printing is not available when using a laptop, so you will need to save your work to a flash drive or email it to yourself.

 

Word processing, printing, email, and using Moodle

Curriculum students can do all those things in the open computer lab located on the lower level of the building. The Don C. Locke Computer Lab is managed and staffed by the IT department. An IT staff member is generally available to assist students there during regular operating hours. For more information check the Don C. Locke Open Computer Lab page.

The Research Central computers on the library's upper level are used primarily for individual and class research. Research help is available at the Circulation Desk from one of our librarians. Students who do not need computer lab assistance may also use these computers for word processing, email, and Moodle.

 

Renewing items

Books can be renewed at the Circulation Desk or online through the library catalog. You do not have to bring your books with you to renew in person. For online renewal, please select the renew link on the left side of the library home page and enter your library card bar code number to access your account. If an item is already overdue, you may not renew it online. You cannot renew feature film DVDs, magazines, reserve materials, or items that have been requested by another patron.

 

Quiet places to study

We have four group study rooms with whiteboards and four individual study rooms. The group study rooms each seat 6-8 people. They are all available on a first-come, first-served basis. Whiteboard markers for the group study rooms may be checked out at the Circulation Desk with your A-B Tech photo ID card. We have designated several areas of the upper level as "quiet study zones". If you encounter a problem with noise in the library, please ask for assistance at the Circulation Desk.

 

Off-campus access to NC LIVE & other databases

All current students and faculty or staff members have their own personal logins which give access to all available NC Live resources and other subscription databases. Your username is your last name and your password is your 7-digit College ID number. Visit the Off-campus access to NCLIVE and other subscription databases page for more information. (Faculty and staff, your 7-digit college ID is the same as your employee number which can be found on your pay stub).

 

Wireless access

Wireless access is available throughout the library. No access code is required to use the wireless network on your own laptop computer.

 

Class Reserves/Textbooks

Reserve items are held behind the Circulation Desk and may be checked out with your A-B Tech student ID card. Check-out periods for reserve items may vary and some items must remain in the library at all times.

Some instructors do place a copy of a course textbook on reserve at the library for limited checkout, however, not all do, so check with your instructor.

You can also search the library catalog for reserve items using the Browse Search option and then search by your instructor's last name or by the course name/number such as ENG-111 or PSY-150.

 

Food and Drink guidelines

You may bring library-friendly drinks and snacks to Don C. Locke Library. Covered drinks--travel mugs, bottled drinks with caps, and lidded cups--are library-friendly. Snack items such as packaged crackers, cookies, pretzels, granola bars, nuts, raisins, M & Ms, etc. are allowed when consumed responsibly. Fast food items or meals from an outside vendor, including the A- B Tech Cafe, must be eaten outside. Just like the Sierra Club and Smokey Bear--we respectfully request that you leave no trace. When you leave, throw away or pack out your snack and drink trash. You can also recycle your plastic drink bottles in containers located near the central elevators.

 

Suggestion for Purchase

Don C. Locke Library welcomes suggestions for purchase for our collection from college faculty, staff, and students. Please use this online Suggestion for Purchase form to submit your request.

 

A-B Tech Digital Archives

DigitalNC, a joint project of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the UNC-Chapel Hill University Library, and the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center has digitized some of A-B Tech's archival yearbooks and many of its college catalogs.