Services for DTS Students Who Live Outside the United States

This is a summary of the main library services for DTS students who live outside the United States (and therefore rarely have access to the Dallas campus). Students who live in the United States 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. We recognize there are things that you cannot do yourself because you do not have access to the Dallas campus library collection, so we will help as needed.

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 DTS 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 encourage international students to use books and journals from the Dallas campus library in addition to online resources. Tell us what you need and we will try to deliver it. We scan and email everything possible, including journal articles and book chapters. However, copyright law does not allow us to scan entire books.

The library does not mail print books to destinations outside the continental United States.

Looking for a textbook? See the textbook section below.

Please use the following procedure to request a journal article or book chapter. First use WorldCat and the ejournal list to verify that Turpin Library owns the item you want. Then contact the library as listed above. We will deliver the scan in a few days.

We have a strong collection. If you ask for something we do not own, we may suggest a substitute we do own. If there is no acceptable substitue, we might possibly be able to purchase an online ebook or obtain a pdf journal article for you. Purchases can take weeks.

Access to Textbooks and Required Course Readings

Plan to purchase your textbooks. The library does own at least one copy of a every textbook, and sometimes the copy is ebook format, but the library usually does not own multiple copies of textbooks sufficient for all students. Why? When publishers sell ebooks, they often restrict the ebook so it can be used by only one person at a time. They almost always do this with textbooks. This restriction protects their income. Of course print books work the same way: only one person at a time can use a copy. There is no practical way the library could afford enough copies of textbooks for everyone. So plan to purchase your textbooks.

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, class notes from the professor) are in Canvas.
  2. Check your Logos ebook collection; it contains a small number of textbooks. DTS provides this to every DTS student.
  3. Check WorldCat and Atla Religion Database to see if those databases provide a link to the article.
  4. If you do not live in the Dallas area, and you need only a single chapter from a print book or a single article from a print journal, then the library will scan and email a pdf to you. Just tell us what you need. We can not legally copy an entire book. Contact library@dts.edu. (We do not offer this service for those who live in the Dallas area; they are expected to come to the library and help themselves.)

Help When You Visit the Dallas Campus

If you visit the Dallas campus, you may wish to schedule an appoint with reference staff. Tell us what you need before you come and we will help you make efficient use of your time on campus.

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.

Plan ahead and make all requests for help well in advance of your deadlines.