Services for DTS Students Who Live in the Dallas Area

This is a summary of the library services for DTS students who live in the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) area. DFW area is defined as Dallas county and its contiguous counties. Students who live outside DFW should consult the following as appropriate.

Contact Information

To contact the library, email library@dts.edu or phone +1-214-887-5284. Consult the How to Contact Library Staff page for more specific contact information.

Reference Assistance

Library reference staff are eager to help with your research. We will not do an assignment for you, but we will teach, guide, and assist. We will help you become an independent learner and researcher. For example, to get you started we may recommend a database or search terms or a few good sources relevant to your specific information needs.

Access to Databases

The library provides access to scores of databases. You may link to databases through the title list, the topic list, or the drop down menu on the home page. When you select a database, you will be prompted to authenticate using your Microsoft account.

See the key databases page for a description of the most frequently used databases, and the database tutorials for instruction about using the main search engines. DM7102, and BS8104 include some formal instruction about how to do library research. Contact the library if you need help.

Document Delivery

We do not mail books to students who live in the DFW area. We do not scan journals and books for students who live in the DFW area. You are expected to visit the campus. We do, of course, provide appropriate services for the disabled.

Access to Textbooks and Required Course Readings

Are you looking for a textbook? The library does not provide textbooks. The library owns one copy of all (or nearly all) textbooks, but the library does not attempt to provide multiple copies. Purchase your textbooks. (When publishers sell textbooks in ebook format, they almost always restrict the ebook so it can be used by only one person at a time. This restriction protects their income. So there is no practical way the library could provide ebook format textbooks for everyone.)

Are you looking for something that is required reading for a course such as a journal article or a single chapter from a book? Try the following.

  1. Check Canvas for your course. For many courses, required readings (journal articles, single chapters from books) are in Canvas.
  2. Check your Logos collection.
  3. Check WorldCat and Atla Religion Database to see if those databases provide a link to the article.
  4. Contact library@dts.edu

Borrowing Privileges. Loans and Renewals

The library allows current students in good standing to have a maximum of fifty items on loan at one time. Some materials, such as reference books and periodicals, are non-circulating and never leave the building. Loans must be properly recorded against the borrower's account before materials can be removed from the building. Circulation staff process all borrowing transactions including course reserves. All borrowed library items must be returned on or before the date due to the circulation desk or (after hours) to the overnight book drop near the main entrance. Please use the media center desk (Mosher basement) to borrow and return media center equipment.

The loan period varies with item type; books, for example, are loaned for three weeks, with a maximum of three renewals possible. You may renew eligible items yourself via WorldCat, the library catalog. Borrowers with overdue materials are subject to fines, and long overdue materials will be declared lost and the borrower invoiced. Students should not ignore due dates or overdue notices.

Course Reserve Services

Items are placed on course reserve at the request of instructors. This is a means of guaranteeing students have access to specific high-demand resources in order to complete specific required assignments for a given course. Required text-books are normally not put on reserve. You may use the reserve module of WorldCat to see what is on reserve for any course or instructor. Reserve materials are loaned for two hours during the day, or overnight. You may have a maximum of two reserve items on loan at one time. Course reserve materials should be returned directly to circulation staff for immediate check in to avoid overdue fines.

Most courses no longer place items on library course reserve. Instead, pdfs are posted to Canvas, the DTS online learning management software. If a course syllabus says something is on reserve, but it is not, then look on Canvas.

Hold Notification

Students may ask to be notified when unavailable items (e.g., items currently on loan, at the bindery, etc.) become available. This is called placing a hold. In most cases you may use WorldCat to place the hold yourself. If a hold is placed on an item that is on loan to someone, the software will prevent the current borrower from renewing the loan. When the item is returned, you will be notified (via email), and the item will be kept up to one week at the circulation desk for you to pick up. Holds may not be placed on items in some special collections such as academic course reserve.

Search for Missing/NOS Items

Library staff will help you search for missing items. By missing we mean the item is supposed to be on the shelf, available for use, but it is not there. Once the missing item has been reported to staff, they will verify the item is not on loan, at bindery, etc. Staff will search the entire building for the missing item several times over the next 90 days. If the item is not found within 90 days, a replacement may be purchased. It is possible to place a hold on a missing book in order to be notified when the item is found.

Archives and Special Collections

These resources are available at the discretion of the Archivist. Details available on the Special Collections page.

Media Center and Computer Lab Services

Here you may use computers, scanners, color printers, Internet resources, a range of software, a video suite and an audio suite. You may also rent equipment (e.g., digital video cameras, digital still cameras, data projectors) to use off campus.

TexShare Cards

Students who reside in Texas and wish to borrow books directly from other Texas libraries may contact the Library to obtain a TexShare card. TexShare is a Texas library resource sharing program consisting of state and other interested public and academic libraries. If a library is a member of the TexShare card program, it will allow TexShare card holders from other libraries to borrow books.

Interlibrary Loan

Need something Turpin Library does not own? Use our interlibrary loan department. Interlibrary loan is a service whereby one library will loan items or provide copies to another library for the use of a requesting patron. Thousands of libraries lend to other libraries, so you can obtain almost any book or article in the world in this fashion (except rare books and unpublished manuscripts like unpublished foreign dissertations). However, ILL delivery can be slow, so plan ahead. It is not practical to depend on ILL for your routine needs; use it for special long term projects.

It is best if you use one standard ILL form for each request. Please do not submit requests via the phone; it is too easy to make transcription errors. When you request an item, you do not need to know what library owns the item. We can identify potential suppliers. Just give us an accurate bibliographic citation such as:

  • author, book title, edition, publisher, and date; or
  • author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, pages, and date.

Miscellaneous Services

Group study rooms are available for group projects but may not be used by solitary students. These rooms are available on a first-come first-served basis only and must be renewed or relinquished after two hours. Conference rooms may not be used for group study. Conference rooms must be reserved through the campus Event Services dept.

The library has a limited number of lockers which are annually issued to current students as available. There is a small fee, part of which is refundable when the lock is returned.

Doctoral students may apply for reserved carrels on a semester or annual basis. These carrels are in clearly designated areas, and they are prominently labeled with the name of the authorized occupant. Other library users should not use these carrels at any time and should respect the privacy of assigned users. Authorized carrel users may store personal books, computers, or other personal study materials in their carrels. The library is not responsible for theft or property damage and offers no guarantees of property safety. Properly borrowed library materials may be stored in these carrels overnight; library materials which have not or cannot be duly borrowed must be returned to one of the reshelving trucks or to the main circulation desk before the end of each day. The library has keys to all carrels and reserves the right to periodically open and inspect the carrels for contraband and library materials not properly borrowed. There is a small fee, part of which is refundable when the key is returned. An application with information about additional regulations is available at the circulation desk.

Watch for the annual library book sale. We sell damaged books and donated books we do not need at very low prices.

Ask about unsecured storage units and binding services.

Policies and Rules

See House Rules for policies.

How You Can Help Us

The library eagerly solicits suggestions and recommendations. We firmly believe both policy and procedure can be improved, and we are always looking for ways to further the mission of the library and meet the information needs of the library constituency. Don't be shy; tell us how to improve. Feel free to recommend the purchase of a specific book.

Please obey closing rules and clear the building on time. Closing announcements are made in advance. No transactions will be made after the library closes, except that users who are already in line at the desk before it closes will be allowed to complete their transactions if otherwise practical.

Please respect others who wish to study in a quite environment. Do not talk in the no talking zones. Use of cell phones is permitted only in the stairwells.

Please do not mark in books.