LLC Mission Statement (revised August 2018)
Through an engaged team of faculty and staff, the FSCJ Library and Learning Commons (LLC) provides robust and relevant information resources, instructional services, tutoring support, and student-centered facilities to foster academic success and life-long learning in a dynamic, information-rich educational environment.
LLC Vision Statement (revised August 2018)
The FSCJ Library and Learning Commons is a nationally recognized leader in the provision of innovative library information resources and services, educational technologies, and tutoring support that measurably improve students' academic success.
LLC Support of General Education Learning Outcomes
The LLC directly supports the College’s general education program by providing specific and targeted information literacy instruction as well as student, faculty, and staff access to information, instruction, resources, and academic support services in all disciplines. Faculty librarians are actively engaged in college-wide general education assessment processes.
LLC tutoring services enable students to succeed in developmental and general education subjects including English Composition, Humanities, Mathematics, and Sciences as well as other core teaching and learning areas.
LLC Support for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
The Florida State College at Jacksonville Library and Learning Commons is committed to promoting equal access to information for all persons and recognizes the continued need to increase the awareness of and responsiveness to the diversity of our patrons and service area. This commitment aligns with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging initiatives at Florida State College at Jacksonville, the American Library Association (ALA), and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). The Florida State College at Jacksonville Library and Learning Commons works to fulfill this commitment by providing materials and information that present diverse points of view, challenging censorship, promoting the removal of all barriers to library resources, and continually assessing our commitment to equity, inclusion, diversity, and belonging for all patrons.
Library and Learning Commons Locations and Hours of Operation
LLC facilities are located at all FSCJ Campuses and Centers. Hours of operation for each campus LLC are determined locally to meet the needs of the campus or center course offerings. A listing of the current hours of operation (which vary from term to term and on holidays and breaks) is available on the LLC LibCal website.
The Learning Commons are “one-stop sites” that offer robust instructional technologies, helpful tutors, and a welcoming learning environment to support student academic success at all levels. Academic tutors and peer tutors work individually and with groups of students. Tutors at all locations provide support in core academic areas such as reading, writing, math, and computers. Additionally, select locations offer tutoring in science, foreign languages, aviation, nursing, and accounting. Tutors assist students at all academic levels, from students enrolled in developmental and Adult Education courses to those enrolled in the College's associate and baccalaureate degree programs.
Distance learners may use any campus or center convenient for them or take advantage of a wealth of online tutoring resources. Online assistance is available via the Tutoring Services LibGuide. The College also provides 24/7 access to the online Brainfuse tutoring platform, which enables students to receive synchronous and asynchronous tutoring in a variety of disciplines, including writing, reading, mathematics, science, Spanish, business, nursing and allied health, computers, and technology.
The Learning Commons is staffed by professional career and student peer tutors who provide subject-specific tutoring, facilitate academic workshops, assist students with using the latest hardware and software, and help students develop study skills that will empower them to become increasingly independent learners.
Faculty Resource Centers (FRC) collaborate with the Library to provide faculty support through the Office of Training & Organizational Development. FRCs are available at most campuses and often housed within the LLC. The FRC assists full-time and adjunct instructors in bringing new technologies and media to their curriculum. FRCs provide the full Adobe Creative Suite on Macintosh computers in addition to Apple software packages. The FRC staff offer faculty assistance with hardware and software such as computer programs for developing photos, audio files and movies to help faculty further engage students in course materials. The FRCs also maintain a supply of materials such as markers, folders, erasers, binders, etc., for faculty use. Faculty Development Specialists may conduct and host workshops in the FRC and assist faculty individually upon request. Online faculty resources are available through a faculty Blackboard community. The Blackboard community provides faculty with resources including “how to” tutorials for Blackboard support and other information technology related topics.
The College's Dual Enrollment program offers high school students opportunities to attend FSCJ college level classes while attending high school. Once student data has been entered into FSCJ’s systems, dual enrollment students enrolled in FSCJ courses offered at off-site locations have the same LLC user privileges as those enrolled at the College’s campuses and centers. Students may visit any of the campuses or centers to take advantage of the physical services and resources offered by the LLC. During dual enrollment orientations, students are given an overview of LLC services and resources. Dual enrollment students may also utilize the full range of online resources offered to FSCJ students. Assessment statistics for Dual Enrollment services is available through a public Dual Enrollment Services dashboard.
Like dual enrollment students, students enrolled at remote sites such as Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville have access to the College’s physical and online resources and services.
The College provides high-quality academic support and information services for faculty, students, and staff by offering full-service libraries, information literacy classes, tutoring services, academic workshops, computer labs, and adaptive technology for learners with disabilities. The two major service areas of the LLC are the Library, which provides library services, resources, and instruction--and the Learning Commons, where students may receive tutorial assistance and access other academic support resources. The LLC's physical facilities provide an optimal learning environment in which students may access needed materials and technology and receive academic support. The LLC offers varied study and instructional spaces to facilitate group and individual study. Users also have access to hundreds of computers with full Internet access, and they may access the Internet wirelessly. Some LLC locations are co-located with Faculty Resource Centers, which serve as a resource for faculty professional development, collaboration, and faculty wishing to incorporate media and technology into their instructional offerings. The LLC meets the needs of distance learners by providing online tutoring services and a robust collection of virtual library and learning resources. The LLC's organizational structure (see Appendix B) provides a seamless, collaborative service experience for students.
Library Services facilities at each campus and center house a wide range of information resources including collections of print materials, electronic database subscriptions, periodicals, and a variety of audio-visual and multimedia materials. The library collections are organized using the Library of Congress Classification System.
Florida State College at Jacksonville is part of a statewide-automated information system that electronically connects state college and community college library collections. Use of the online catalog allows access to the Florida State College at Jacksonville collections, other college library collections, electronic databases, and worldwide information resources.
Access to all online information resources, including the library catalog, is available via a single sign-on login to MyFSCJ .
The Library is staffed by faculty librarians who provide reference assistance and information literacy instruction, lead collection development efforts, and collaborate with faculty across the College to ensure that the LLCs are responsive to the academic needs of faculty and students. M o s t LLC locations provide library assistants and clerical staff who can assist patrons with locating materials, circulation assistance, and help with the use of technology.
Professional instruction, reference, and research assistance services are available upon request. Individual research assistance may be requested at the Library Services (Circulation/Reference) Desk. Reference resources include a broad selection of academic support materials in print and electronic formats. Faculty librarians provide instruction in searching and retrieval procedures for library resources. Information Literacy instruction and library orientations are offered in person within the LLC and online for distance education students and dual enrollment students. Library instruction is provided synchronously and asynchronously using tools such as LibGuides. Librarians collaborate with faculty and act as liaisons to assigned Schools to offer instruction in ways that best fit the needs of the faculty and students.
FSCJ libraries provide real time online access to reference assistance via phone, websites, text messaging, LibAnswers and LibChat. These services are accessible through the LibAnswers platform.
All LLC services are available to currently enrolled students, including distance learners, faculty and staff. Extensive information regarding LLC services and resources is available on the LLC Student Resources website, Faculty Resources website, and in the FSCJ Canvas learning management system (LMS).
Library Technical Services is the centralized unit that provides college wide database maintenance, cataloging, and processing of library materials. Technical Services staff ensure the College complies with library cataloging standards and facilitates timely access to materials purchased for students and faculty.