As the center for intellectual endeavor at Hendrix College, the Olin C. and Marjorie H. Bailey Library actively responds to the research and instructional needs of Hendrix students and faculty. The Library works with all members of the Hendrix community to establish a nurturing environment that promotes scholarship, learning, creativity, and the freedom of inquiry that is the foundation of a democratic society.
Library services include access to
print and electronic collections, reference (research consultation) services,
instructional sessions, and interlibrary loan. The Bailey Library houses
library collections, Reference Services, the Learning Commons (tutoring), the Hendrix
College Archives, the Arkansas United Methodist Archives, a 24-hour accessible
student computer lab – part of which can be converted into a teaching
classroom, a writing lab, 24-hour study rooms, and a computer
equipped bibliographic instructional lab.
Collections and Access to the World of Knowledge
The Library boasts an outstanding small academic collection with 234,600 bound volumes, 31,600 ebooks, over 3,000 films, and access to over 74,000 electronic journal titles. The Library’s books, government documents, and media are searchable on the Library’s online catalog, where students and faculty can also access their library accounts. Most of the Library’s electronic resources, including many full text journals, are accessible here.
Bailey Library provides electric access to 60 article and book databases, both multidisciplinary, such as WorldCat and JSTOR, and subject specific, such as the American Chemical Society’s Web Edition and PsycINFO. The Library offers an array of primary source databases for student and faculty research, including Historical Newspapers, the American Periodical Series, and the U.S. Serial Set. Students may borrow materials from the main book collection for three weeks, and check out materials professors put on reserve for shorter periods of time. A number of bicycles are also available for a three-day check out, and during semesters the Bailey Library therapy dog, Duke, visits the library weekly and can be checked out for 30 minute periods. Presentation of a valid college identification card is necessary to borrow library materials. The privilege of borrowing the intellectual content of the Library requires a commitment to care responsibly for the items, return them on time, and pay for damages as necessary. Hendrix students can also borrow materials from the University of Central Arkansas’ Torreyson Library and Central Baptist College's Story Library. Up to three books may be borrowed for 28 days upon presenting a Hendrix identification card. Current issues of print journals, along with their backfiles, are on the first floor. The reference collection, a browse-able video collection, microforms, government documents, teaching lab, and tutoring area are also on the first floor. The second floor has main collection books, including juvenile books, the Hendrix College Archives, and group study rooms. The Hendrix College Archives is dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of Hendrix College and to making available its collections to researchers. Researchers can access some materials by searching finding aids and digitized materials on the Archives’ website. The Wilbur D. Mills Collection is also housed in the Bailey Library and is available to researchers by appointment.
The First Step to Effective Research: Consult a Librarian
Librarians are happy to help locate quality resources supporting research and classroom work and to assist with the critical evaluation of academic information. Countless hours can be saved by asking a librarian to recommend reference works, research databases, Internet sites, or library collections that are appropriate to research needs. Librarians additionally provide individual reference assistance, tours, and workshops. Many professors incorporate instruction sessions led by a librarian in their classes to orient students on finding relevant information for their research papers. If needed information is not in the Bailey collections, librarians can identify relevant materials within other libraries’ print and electronic collections and can provide easy access through Inter library Loan.
Media Collections (Bailey Library)
The Media Collection contains over 3,000 videos of popular
and academic titles and over 1,000 CDs, including classical, jazz, and popular
music – all available for a 3-day checkouts at the Bailey Library Check-Out
Desk. Many of the titles in the Library’s collections are placed by
faculty on reserve so that they can be viewed in the Library’s media room. All of
the video and music titles are searchable on the Library’s online catalog.