Catalog 2020-2021

Olin C. and Marjorie H. Bailey Library

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.

Within Bailey Library are its collections, Research Support Services, the Wilbur D. Mills Collection, the Hendrix College Archives, the Arkansas United Methodist Archives, and three instructional spaces where peer learning,  library instruction, and classroom instruction occur. The adjacent Jennings L. Snoddy Academic Resource Center features a 24-hour accessible student computer lab (part of which can be converted into a teaching classroom), a seminar classroom, the Writing Center, and 24-hour study rooms. Current and past issues of print journals, the reference collection, a browse-able video collection, newspapers, and microforms are on the first floor. The library service desks, printers, a digital scanner, audiovisual and microfilm viewing rooms, classrooms (including the Learning Commons and a library instruction lab), the Mills Collection, and the Snoddy Center are also on the first floor. The second floor has main collection books, including juvenile books, the archives, a seminar classroom, and group study rooms. Individual desks and tables are located throughout the library. Works of art from the college’s permanent collection are on display, and the library also provides space for temporary and student exhibits.

LIBRARY SERVICES AND RESEARCH SUPPORT

Library services include access to print and electronic collections, research support services, instructional sessions, and interlibrary loan. 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 provide individual research assistance at the Reference Desk or by appointment. Librarians lead library instruction sessions, arranged with Classroom Teachers to meet the research needs of students in their classes. Librarians also conduct tours and workshops on particular topics. Research support is also provided by Library Associates, highly trained student workers who support the research needs of individuals and classes by appointment or during evening hours.

If needed information is not in the Bailey collections, librarians can identify relevant materials within other libraries’ print and electronic collections and provide easy access through cooperation with other regional libraries or through Interlibrary Loan

COLLECTIONS AND ACCESS TO THE WORLD OF KNOWLEDGE

Bailey Library boasts an excellent small academic collection with 235,100 bound volumes, 40,400 ebooks, over 3,400 films, and access to over 85,300 electronic journal titles. The library’s books, ebooks, government documents, and media are searchable on the online catalog, where students and faculty can also access their library accounts.

Bailey Library provides electronic access to 53 subscription databases, including both multidisciplinary and subject-specific databases. Our online Class Guides instruct students and faculty how to find and use our different databases and other resources.

Students may borrow materials from the main book collection for the length of the semester. Materials placed on reserve by instructors, videos, CDs, and bicycles may be borrowed for shorter periods of time. For details about borrowing policies and procedures, consult the Bailey Library website.

Hendrix students can also borrow materials from the University of Central Arkansas’ Torreyson Library and Central Baptist College's Story Library, upon presenting a Hendrix ID. The Hendrix College Archives is dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of Hendrix College and to making available its collections to researchers. Students and other researchers can access some materials by searching finding aids and digitized materials on the Archives’ website. Other materials may be accessed by appointment.  

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