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Library FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions. If you don’t find your question answered here, please use the chat box or email us at library-help@actx.edu.

The main library is on the Washington Street Campus, on the 3rd floor of the Ware Student Commons.

We also have some space on the West Campus – in the Amarillo Public Library’s Northwest Branch.

You can always find our hours on our homepage, at www.actx.edu/library. During the Fall and Spring semesters, we’re usually open Mondays-Thursdays from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., Fridays from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. In between semesters, when classes are not in session, and in the summer, our hours vary, but you’ll always see the current hours on our homepage.

Yes! We have a chat available for you from 8 a.m. - 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. - midnight Friday and Saturday.

You can get help from a live librarian (not AI or a bot) during these hours, unless Amarillo College is closed for a holiday.

Start by using the Amarillo College Bookstore’s website to find which books your instructor requires. You don’t have to actually buy the books – just use the Bookstore’s system to find what you need by programming in all of your course information. Then, you can call us when we’re open, (806) 371-5400, chat with us by using the chat box on our homepage, or use our online catalog to search for the books.

Yes, as part of the Adult Students Program (please see that question/answer on this FAQs page) we do have calculators available to check out for the duration of your course.

Unfortunately, the library does not have laptops available for checkout, but there are some laptops and computers that AC students and staff can use while in the library. Also, the AC Bookstore (www.actx.edu/bookstore) has a laptop loan program.

Unfortunately, the library does not have hotspots available.

If you already have a library card from a public library in the Texas Panhandle (such as Amarillo Public, Canyon Public, Hereford, etc.), as long as you’re in good standing – without lots of overdue fines – you can check out books with us. If you don’t already have a library card, show us your student ID, or at least your virtual ID, and we’ll make you a library card that you can also use at the public libraries in the Texas Panhandle.

If you aren’t an AC student or staff member, you won’t be able to use our computers or printer, but you can use the space – including the study rooms – and access our free WiFi.

The limit for check-outs is 50 books.

Most of our checkouts are for 2 weeks; however, we can sometimes give you longer. If we have a textbook that you need, as long as you’re an AC student, we can check it out for you for the duration of your course.

Even if the building is locked, you can slide materials through a slot into the Book Drop. It’s on the front of the Ware Student Commons (the East side of the building).

The Adult Student Program is a program offered by the Advocacy and Resource Center (the ARC) to help support students who meet eligibility requirements with their expenses, such as paying for gasoline, childcare, tuition, textbooks, and graphing calculators. Library staff assist the ARC with managing the textbook and calculator check-outs. After meeting with the staff of the ARC and enrolling in the Adult Students Program, you can visit the Library to check out textbooks and calculators.

If you are an AC student or staff member, you can use the printer available in the library. Library staff will be happy to walk you through how to print.

If your instructor requires you to conduct research or “find sources”, we highly recommend starting with a library database, which gives you high-quality, college-level information that you can trust. You’ll see Quick Links to the most popular databases on the Library’s homepage: www.actx.edu/library. ProQuest is usually a good place to start, because it’s our largest database, but Gale sometimes provides simpler, easier-to-read sources. Librarians can help you with your research in person, via email, or through the blue chat box on our website. The chat box connects you with a person – it’s not a bot.

If your instructor allows you to choose any topic you wish, we often recommend that students use the database called Opposing Viewpoints to get ideas. From our homepage, you can find Opposing Viewpoints by using the A-Z database list, under Quick Links. You’ll see some “Issues of Interest” on the Opposing Viewpoints homepage, but you can also click on Browse Issues in the menu toward the top of the page to see a huge subject list.

Use your AC Connect username and password to log in to our databases. BUT, be sure you are NOT using your entire email address as your username. It should only be the info before the @amarillocollege.com. 

 

Example: if your email address is AceBadger@amarillocollege.com, you will only use AceBadger as your username. Your password stays the same.

LibGuides are available to assist you with citing within your text (in-text citations) and on your bibliography (Works Cited page or References page, in MLA and APA, respectively). Librarians are available to help guide you through citation and formatting in person, via email, and in the blue chat box on our website. The chat box connects you with a person – it’s not a bot.

Yes! We have 6 quiet study rooms, but they’re first-come, first-served. We don’t take reservations.

We recommend using one of our study rooms to take exams, so that you have some privacy. We have headphones and earplugs available for you to use, if that helps you to block out sound. All of the study rooms have computers that are preloaded with the Lockdown Respondus Browser software.

Yes! Because you have a login (a username and password, which you use to access Blackboard), you can use our computers, study rooms, and printer. If you want to check out materials, you’ll need a library card (please see that question/answer on this FAQs page). Unfortunately, we do not have textbooks available for dual credit students, but other nonfiction books, fiction, graphic novels, and picture books for children are all available.

We do have yearbooks from 1930 to 1971. The physical yearbooks are in-house use only – you cannot check these out to take with you – but one of our librarians digitized them, so please contact us if you’re looking for something specific.

Need some assistance? Ask us!  We're here to help.

*Note: It can take up to 2 minutes before the librarian replies. 

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If the chat is unavailable, email library-help@actx.edu.

Contact Us

Washington Street Campus, Ware Student Commons, 3rd Floor
2201 S. Washington St.
Amarillo, TX 79109

Hours

Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Sunday: CLOSED

West Campus Library

Inside the Northwest Public Library
6100 SW 9th Ave
Amarillo, Texas 79106
(806) 356-3627 

Hours

Monday – Thursday: 11:15 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Friday – Sunday: CLOSED

Closure Policy

When Amarillo College is closed, the Library will also be closed. This includes inclement weather days. *Check the Master Calendar to verify closure dates.

Please report problems with this site or content errors to Connie de Jesus .

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