New Faculty

Smith Library

The main library on campus, providing both versatile study spaces, as well being home to a wide variety of items that are available to check out: audiobooks, board games, books, DVDs, media equipment, music (CDs and LPs), and much more!

• First Floor: Browse our collection of over 12,000 movie and TV show titles on DVD and Blu-Ray. Check out professional media and video equipment, including cameras, microphones and lighting equipment. In our Media Lab, use our mini-studio, edit sound and video projects, or relax in our Makerspace area. Enjoy complimentary coffee from our break room.

  • Two classrooms (LEC1 and LEC2) are located on the first floor for regularly scheduled classes, in addition to three reservable spaces (Instruction Lab, Group Lab, and Media Lab) providing varying teaching environments. Please check the Spaces page on the library website for availability and to book a space.

• Second (Main) Floor: Holds, Reserves, and Interlibrary Loan items can be found at the Circulation Desk. For more details on placing items on reserve for your courses, please see our section on course reserves. At the Research Services Desk you will always be able to find a librarian on duty 24/5 during regular semester hours, to answer questions and provide help.
• Third Floor: Home to our main print collection of over 245,000 titles, including bound periodicals.

Martha Luck Comer Learning Commons (3rd floor, RG Wanek Center)

The Learning Commons houses a collection of Young Adult fiction titles, as well as providing a large comfortable study space for quiet and individual study. Computers and printers can also be found in this location. Our two outdoor balconies offer alternative work spaces, with views over campus.

Stout School of Education Resource Center

The SOE Resource Center houses a children’s book collection and education-related materials. Faculty from all departments can check out materials from the collection, and can attend storytime events with their children.

Ask a Librarian!

Available 24/5 during the regular semester, you or your students can chat with an HPU librarian using the Ask a Librarian chat box on the library homepage or by using one of our chat widgets within databases and research guides.

Librarians are also available for one-on-one research consultations with students and faculty members.

Databases A-Z List

HPU Libraries subscribes to over 230 database collections, and provides access to over 785,000 eBook titles.

Search the Databases A-Z list to find multi-disciplinary or subject-specific databases.

To look up a journal publication, search the title in our Journal Finder tool linked from the library’s homepage.

Library Catalog

The library's catalog, searchable from the library's homepage or the link below, allows you to search our entire collection of print and e-books, DVDs, and electronic resources.

Take a look at the tutorial video below to learn more about the catalog!

Research Guides

The library’s website offers access to helpful online guides that can provide resources necessary for successful research in all subjects. These guides contain links to library resources as well as relevant and credible web sources.

Please contact your departmental liaison librarian if you're interested in having a guide created for one of your courses!

There are four types of research guides:

Faculty Document Delivery

Document Delivery provides for the retrieval and delivery of HPU library materials and ILL materials to the campus address designated in your Library account. This service is provided for HPU faculty only. Please contact ill@highpoint.edu with any questions regarding Document Delivery services.

Items available for delivery:

• Books, videos, CDs, music scores, maps, DVDs, or other items held at one of the HPU Libraries locations.
• Individual journal articles from a bound or current periodical or microfiche. (Journals are generally non-circulating items, so we cannot send entire journals). Scanned articles will be delivered electronically to your email. You can check the status of an item by logging into your library account.

Please allow at least one to two business days for items to be processed and delivered by Campus Mail.

To select Campus Address Delivery: Once you have found the desired item using the library’s catalog search, click on the “Interlibrary Loan Request/Campus Delivery (faculty only)” button. In the resulting form, there will be a drop down menu called “Pick Up Location.” Select “Campus Address (Faculty Only)”.

Interlibrary Loan

If HPU Libraries does not own an item needed for your research, you may request the item from another library through Interlibrary Loan. This service is available to HPU students, faculty, and staff. Items that can be borrowed include books, audio and visual items, articles, microform items, etc.

Articles can be delivered electronically to your email in about 1-3 days. Books take between 1 and 3 weeks. Please keep in mind when requesting materials that these are average turnaround times. Instructional or specialty video and audio materials, dissertations, music scores, and most other types of items can be requested. Items can be picked up at the Circulation Desk in Smith Library.

You can make ILL requests through the library's catalog. Additionally, you can make ILL requests and check delivery status by logging into your Library Account.

Renewing ILLs:

• How can an ILL item be renewed? Log into your Library Account, find the item you want to renew, and click on the renew button located to the right of the selected item.
• When can a renewal be requested? Renewal requests can only be submitted one week or less before the due date. This gives the lending library enough time to process the request and complete the renewal. If the due date has passed and you still want to renew, contact ill@highpoint.edu.
• What if the renewal request is denied? If a renewal is denied, another ILL request for the same item can be submitted through your Library Account. Keep in mind that each new book request can take between 1 and 3 weeks to arrive. Please contact ill@highpoint.edu with any questions regarding Interlibrary Loan.

Library Material Order Requests

HPU faculty are encouraged to submit requests for library collection purchases in support of teaching and research goals. Each department is allocated funds to purchase books, ebooks, movies and other content to develop the collection at the University. Speak with your department head about their policies on material purchases.

There is an online request form available through the library's Faculty Services page, or feel free to contact your library liaison.

Please check the catalog to see if we already have an item before making your request.

Subject Specialist Liaison Librarians

Each department on campus is assigned a liaison librarian with background knowledge of their assigned discipline. The liaison serves as your primary contact with the library and can support your research and teaching by:

• Teaching your students research and information literacy skills
• Supporting your classes by creating web-based research guides and reading lists
• Assisting students in their research for your courses
• Supporting your teaching or personal research
• Assisting you in developing collection materials (including books and films) to support teaching, research, and disciplinary collection
• Answering any questions you may have about resources and services available through the library.

Research & Library Instruction Sessions

The HPU Libraries Reference & Instructional Services librarians provide library instruction in numerous forms to HPU faculty, staff, and students.

In support of the library’s mission, we offer the following services:

• Library Instruction Sessions – We work with faculty to teach one or more in-class sessions that are customized to a particular course and research assignment. These sessions can vary in terms of length, content, and format, so contact your library liaison to discuss your needs.
• Research Consultations – We offer one-on-one, in-depth research assistance through individual consultations. Feel free to take advantage of the scheduling platform on our website, or contact your designated library liaison to set up an appointment.
• Customized Research Guides – Research guides are created to support individual subjects, courses, or topics. They can also be customized for use with online or hybrid courses. Browse our current research guides and contact your library liaison if you have a request or suggestion for a research guide.

The research instruction policy can be found on the About page of the library website. Please contact Lauren Ksa if you have questions. The policy explains scheduling and session practices, including:

• Requests for library instruction should be made at least one week in advance, to allow adequate time to tailor the session to the instructor’s assignment
• Your presence is vital to the success of the session. Often questions about the assignment will come up in the course of a session, and your presence is tremendously helpful
• In addition to tailored in-class research instruction sessions, we offer a variety of instructional services, such as group consultations and online research modules. We encourage faculty to connect with their library liaison to develop an approach best suited to their students’ research needs.

Course Reserves

HPU Libraries maintains reserve collections and electronic access to course-related materials to support the University’s academic programs. Books and other materials are placed in reserve collections and circulate for shortened loan periods. Articles and other documents are scanned and made available electronically as PDFs.

  Media and Digital Services

HPU Libraries Media & Digital Services is a multifaceted department with various services on offer for faculty. From managing titles in the film collection, to offering instruction sessions for media projects, to hosting VR sessions for classes, Media Services is here to help.

Check out cameras, microphones, lighting and video equipment:

• DSLR cameras, great for both photography and video
• High-quality microphones for video production or standalone audio projects
• LED video lights, reflectors, handheld stabilizers, camera sliders for better results
• Get advice on what equipment to use and how it works.

Create and innovate in our Media Lab Makerspace and Mini Studio:

• Makerspace includes 3D printer, sewing machine, paper crafting, and LEGO
• Mini Studio is available 24/7 to record and edit video and audio; equipped with DSLR camera, lighting, Rodecaster Pro audio interface, and editing workstation

Browse over 12,000 movie and TV show titles on DVD and Blu-Ray:

• Many niche collections including titles from Criterion, foreign films, LGBT/social activism, and documentaries, as well as mainstream Hollywood films
• Huge collection of streaming titles on Swank, AVON, Kanopy, and Films on Demand
• Place course-relevant titles on course reserve for your students
• DVD and Blu-Ray players available for checkout
• Schedule organized film screenings for your students
• Request digitized clips from films to use in class.

Print Shop

The Print Shop, located on the first floor of Smith Library, is available for you and your students' academic printing projects.

Print Shop services include:

• Photo or matte prints from high-grade photo printers
• Sizes range from business cards to extra-large posters
• Consultation and advice from graphic design experts available
• Only available for academic projects
• 24-hour turnaround time