Social Work Library

Mission/Purpose | User Profile | Facilities | Services | Resources

Mission/Purpose
The mission of the Social Work Library is to serve the academic and research needs of the students and faculty of the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. The maintenance of a strong and independent library has always been integral to the academic programs at the School. Both the School and the Library were established in 1936 at the School's original location at 126 Newbury Street, Boston. The School and the Library were moved to the present location in McGuinn Hall in 1968. The library was renovated in 1996.

User Profile
The library and its resources are used primarily by 450 masters degree students, 48 doctoral students, and 29 full-time and 56 part-time faculty of the Graduate School of Social Work. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the collection and the uniqueness of its holdings, the library also serves the entire Boston College community. It provides library services to students taking social work courses offered at the School's four off-campus sites. Alumni of the School of Social Work and professionals in the community utilize the library's collections, as do social work students from other schools of social work in the region. The holdings are requested frequently for interlibrary loan to other institutions.

Facilities
The Social Work Library occupies a large, well-lit space on the lower level of McGuinn Hall, which is the home of the Graduate School of Social Work, as well as other academic departments, including the sociology department. Within the library are 60 study carrels, two media carrels, a current journal reading area, a service desk, a reference desk, 3 public photocopiers, and a public fax machine. A small conference room is used for meetings and group study. All carrels have network drops and electrical connections for laptop use. There are 12 public computer terminals with networked laser printers for accessing the online catalog and other electronic resources. Stack shelving is more than adequate for the collection, with room for growth.

Services
The Social Work Library offers the full range of library services needed to support graduate study and research. Services are provided onsite by 2 full-time librarians and 3 full-time support staff. Most services can be accessed remotely through the Social Work Library web site. Services for students in the off-site programs are provided via remote access and site visits by library staff.

Access Services
The Social Work Library provides interlibrary loan, rush, recall, and other standard circulation activities. Policies are designed to promote uniformity with similar services at the other BC Libraries. Online request forms are available for all circulation functions, including special forms for the off-site students, who may request delivery of photocopies and loan of materials from the collection by mail.

Reserve
An extensive closed course reserve collection is available to support classroom instruction in the Graduate School of Social Work. The Social Work Library also participates in the pilot electronic reserves project. Small reserve collections are also available in the four off-site locations.

Reference and Instructional Services
Two full-time reference librarians provide individualized and group instruction and consultation. Continuous reference coverage is available from 8 am until 7 PM Monday through Friday. A part time reference librarian provides supplemental coverage on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

Resources
The Social Work Library houses the resources for graduate study and research for the students and faculty of the Graduate School of Social Work. It contains a distinctive and comprehensive collection of materials focusing on professional social work education, keeping pace with new trends in the field. The strengths of the collection are in the areas of clinical social work, social policy/planning and administration, and research. Other concentrations served are child welfare, health and medical care, gerontology, and forensic and occupational social work. The Library contains over 32,000 volumes, 400 serial titles, 500 social work dissertations, 800 Boston College School of Social Work master's theses, and publications of professional social work organizations, as well as audiovisual materials and selected government documents. Research and subject guides to the collection are available in digital format from the Social Work Library web page.

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