Borrowing Course Textbooks? Activate Your Library Privileges First

Welcome to the Spring 2015 semester! The library’s busiest place at this time of the year is most likely the circulation desk (“Circ”) – the front desk as you enter the library – where you can activate your library privileges and check out textbooks kept in course reserves.

Activating your library privileges:

Bring in your current Rio Hondo College ID to the circulation desk to be verified in the library system. Once your status is updated for Spring 2015, you can check out circulating books and use in-house materials such as course reserves, videos, CDs, laptops and headphones.

Check out textbooks from course reserves:

Many (not all) instructors loan us a copy of their textbook for use by their students. These textbooks are kept in course reserves behind the Circ desk. If you know your textbook is in the course reserve collection or want the Circ staff to do a quick check, you can present your activated student ID at the circulation desk and tell the Circ staff the course number and book title and, even more helpful, your instructor’s name. All textbooks are 2-hour use inside the library only.

Alternatively, you can check whether the library has a copy of your textbook by using the online catalog. Start by clicking on “Reserve Desk” in the left column of the catalog and then search by one of three methods: by Course Name (e.g., College Composition), Course Number (e.g., ENGL 101), or Instructor Name (e.g., Reilly). The catalog will give you a list of the textbooks the library has for that course or instructor. You can also ask a reference librarian for help or call the reference desk at 562-908-3484.