Using the Library
- Location and Hours
- Public Access
- Borrowing and Renewing Books: Austin Seminary students, faculty, and staff
- Borrowing and Renewing Books: Austin Seminary Alumni
- Borrowing and Renewing Books: Guest Borrowers
- Fines and Fees
Location and Hours
Click here for driving directions and campus map
Parking: You may park in any visitor space on campus and get a parking pass from the circulation desk.
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
100 E. 27th Street
Austin, Texas 78705
https://goo.gl/maps/schkGgHbHAELRtf37
Public Access
Please note that public access may limited by Austin Seminary's COVID policies limited public access to the seminary campus.
The library is open to all users from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
To ensure a safe learning environment, access to the building is restricted to the following persons after 5:00 p.m. and on weekends:
- Current students, faculty, and staff of:
- Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
- Seminary of the Southwest
- Lipscomb University-Austin Center (formerly Austin Graduate School of Theology)
- The University of Texas
- Persons who have obtained written permission from the library director
- Patrons using the Wright Learning and Information Center after 5:00 p.m. and on weekends are required to present their Austin Seminary, Seminary of the Southwest, Lipscomb University, or UT ID card.
- Anyone who is not an Austin Seminary, Seminary of the Southwest, Austin Graduate School of Theology, or UT student, faculty member, or staff member who needs to use library resources may request evening and weekend privileges by sending an email to the Wright Center Director, Dr. Timothy Lincoln at: tlincoln@austinseminary.edu.
- Persons granted exceptional access must present a photo ID and a copy of the library director's grant of permission. They must also sign the log-in sheet.
24/7 access to the first floor study areas of the Wright Center is available to students, faculty, and staff of Austin Seminary during regular academic terms. Door codes for gaining access may be requested at the McCord desk.
Borrowing and Renewing Books: Austin Seminary students, faculty, and staff
Renewing Books
Borrowing policies
|
Category |
Book Limit |
Loan Period |
Card Expires |
|
Students |
50 |
30 days |
End of term |
|
Faculty / Staff |
100 |
End of term |
Retirement (extended for emeritus faculty) |
|
DMin students |
25 |
Varies |
End of term |
|
College of Pastoral Leaders |
10 |
30 days |
2 years |
|
Education Beyond the Walls |
2 |
2 days |
End of the week |
Notes:
- The loan period for books is 30 days.
- The loan period for audio/visual materials is 14 days.
- Toward the end of each semester, all items are due on a designated date to allow us to clear student records.
- Reserve books usually circulate for 3 hour loans (unless the professor has requested a different loan period); they may be checked out overnight beginning 3 hours before closing and are due one hour after the library opens the next day.
- Periodicals, reference materials, archival materials, and restricted circulation materials do not circulate.
Reciprocal Borrowing
Austin Seminary students have reciprocal borrowing privileges at the Booher Library of the Seminary of the Southwest, which is located near 32nd and Duval, just a few blocks from our campus.
- Present your seminary ID at their circulation desk to register to use the library.
- We have a shared library catalog with the Booher Library which makes it easy to see which resources they have.
Stitt Library also has a reciprocal borrowing agreement for Austin Seminary students, faculty, and staff at The University of Texas at Austin libraries.
- You can obtain a free courtesy borrowing card that gives you limited borrowing privileges at most UT libraries and will allow you to use most of the UT databases in one of their libraries on UT's campus.
- Take your Austin Seminary ID card to the Perry Casteneda Library on UT’s campus on the corner of Speedway and 21st. Go to the Courtesy Borrowing desk located in the circulation area, and tell them you are a student at Austin Seminary and would like a courtesy borrowing card.
- For more information about UT's Courtesy Borrowing Program, contact UT's Borrower Services Department here.
For more information about all our library partnerships, see our Partner Libraries guide (PDF).
Interlibrary Loan
The Stitt Library offers interlibrary loan services to current Seminary students and faculty. See our interlibrary loan information or ask the Access and Instruction Librarian for assistance with interlibrary loan requests.
Borrowing and Renewing Books: Austin Seminary Alumni
Renewing Books
Borrowing policies
|
Category |
Book Limit |
Loan Period |
Card Expires |
|
APTS Alumni (local) |
10 |
30 days |
One year |
|
APTS Alumni (out-of-town) |
4 |
30 days |
One year |
For more information on the resources and services offered to Austin Seminary alumni, please see the Alumni Resources page.
Borrowing and Renewing Books: Guest Borrowers
Renewing Books
Other Seminaries - Students, faculty, and staff
Borrowing policies
|
Category |
Book Limit |
Loan Period |
Card Expires |
|
Students (SSW, SWBTS, Perkins, DTS, AGST) |
10 |
30 days |
End of Austin Seminary term |
|
Faculty/Staff (SSW, AGST) |
10 |
127 days |
One year |
- Students at Seminary of the Southwest, Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary (Ft. Worth), Perkins School of Theology (Southern Methodist University), Dallas Theological Seminary, Austin Graduate School of Theology, and other members of SWATLA may request a free library card at the Stitt Library circulation desk by presenting their school ID and providing contact information.
- Faculty and staff at the Seminary of the Southwest and Austin Graduate School of Theology may request a free library card at the Stitt Library circulation desk.
- Students, faculty, and staff members at other seminaries may register as local or library associate patrons, as described below.
- Periodicals, reference materials, archival materials, and restricted circulation materials do not circulate.
The University of Texas at Austin - Students, faculty, and staff
Borrowing policies
|
Category |
Book Limit |
Loan Period |
Card Expires |
|
UT Austin Undergraduate Students |
4 |
2 weeks |
End of Austin Seminary term |
|
UT Austin Graduate Students |
10 |
30 days |
End of Austin Seminary term |
|
UT Austin Faculty |
10 |
30 days |
One year |
- Those who wish to borrow materials from the library will need to obtain a Stitt Library card. Please apply at the Stitt Library circulation desk, providing your UT ID card and contact information.
- Periodicals, reference materials, archival materials, and restricted circulation materials do not circulate.
Community Members and Local Clergy
Borrowing policies
|
Category |
Fee |
Book Limit |
Loan Period |
Card Expires |
|
Local* Clergy |
$5/year |
10 |
30 days |
End of Austin Seminary term |
|
Local* Community Member (non-clergy) |
$5/year |
4 |
30 days |
One year |
|
Library Associate |
$25/year |
25 |
30 days |
One year |
*local = Austin, Georgetown, Buda, Pflugerville, Round Rock, San Marcos, Bastrop, Cedar Park
- Those who wish to borrow materials from the library will need to obtain a Stitt Library card. Please apply at the Stitt Library circulation desk, providing your photo ID and contact information.
- Students and faculty at St. Edward’s University, Concordia Lutheran College, Huston-Tillotson University, Austin Community College, or Texas State University may register as local or library associate patrons.
- Periodicals, reference materials, archival materials, and restricted circulation materials do not circulate.
Fines and Fees
Overdue Fines
- Regular books, CDs and DVDs: $.20 per day / per item
- Reserve materials: $.60 per hour or portion thereof
- Late return of recalled item: $1 per day
- Students with unresolved overdue books or fines will be prohibited from registering for the next term or graduating.
Fees
- Replacement library card: $5
- Library associate: $25/year
- Local clergy: $5
- Community member (non-clergy): $5
- Book replacement fee: $75 per book
Library Policies
General Library Policies
- Weapons; sleeping; use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs; begging; soliciting; sales; and animals (except guide dogs and other assistive animals) are not permitted in the library.
- Shirt, shoes, and appropriate clothing are required.
- Quiet conversation is allowed as long as it does not disturb others.
- Public computers and printers are intended for those conducting research. Please refrain from excessive printing or abuse of seminary resources.
- Library management reserves the right to ask anyone to leave whose behavior is disruptive, inappropriate for the library environment, or interferes with the use of the library by other patrons.
Noise Levels
• The Wright Center contains social spaces and spaces for quiet study.
- In the Wardlaw Commons, it is acceptable to converse with others.
- It is appropriate to hold conversations with group study rooms with the door closed.
- Patrons seeking quiet study should use the historic reading room on the first floor or the study carrels on the third floor.
• Library patrons may use headphones to listen to music or other content in the Wright Center.
- Sound levels should be low enough not to bother other patrons.
- Headphones are available at the Library Services Desk if needed.
• Phone use is permitted following the same volume restrictions noted above for different areas of the library.
Food and Drink Policies
• Please follow “Leave no trace” principles: clean up after yourself and leave the space better than when you found it.
• Drinks in lidded containers only, please.
• Individually wrapped snacks are permitted, but not meals.
• Food and drink are not permitted in stacks areas, the archives, or near photocopiers, scanners, and the microfilm reader.
• A vending area is available near the north entrance. Wright Center patrons are encouraged to bring their own lidded reusable cups when using the coffee maker. Compostable cups with lids are also available for patron use.
Study Spaces and Meeting Rooms
• Reservations for the Digital Education Center (204), the Archives Conference Room (310), Flowers Terrace (3rd floor), and Wright Hall (4th floor) should be made through Auxiliary Enterprises.
- Austin Seminary community members should use the request form on the Resources page of MyCampus, under Events & Meeting Requests.
- External patrons requesting reservations for those spaces use this form:
• The Media Lab and the third-floor group study room (308) can be reserved by members of the Austin Seminary and Seminary of the Southwest communities by emailing library@austinseminary.edu or stopping by the Library Services Desk.
• Group study rooms on the first floor are not reserved and are available first-come, first-serve.
• Locked individual study carrels are located on the third floor of the Wright Center.
- These carrels are assigned to Austin Seminary students on a semester-by-semester basis.
- Students may leave possessions in carrels. Students should lock their carrels when not in use.
- More detail on policies for using the individual study carrels can be found on the application form.
- If an individual study carrell is open and unlocked, it can be used for quiet study on a first-come, first-serve basis.
- Open study carrells in the dormer windows on the east side of the building are not reserved and are available first-come, first-serve.