By Codie Winslow, CCU Director of Library And Learning Resources

With all the time you spend online, there are times when it feels good to have a hard copy resource in your hands. Flipping through the pages of an anthology or pouring over the words of a great article in actual print can scratch an itch, that desire to do it the good ol’ fashioned way. Too bad no more card catalogues, right? Or is that just me.

The process of learning something new amongst the hallowed stacks of a physical library is a lost art, but it doesn’t have to be.

Through Calvary Chapel University’s membership with the Association of Christian Librarians (ACL), a professional community that creates and promotes quality materials and projects for the benefit of libraries, CCU students and faculty have access to the Reciprocal Borrowing Program.

Reciprocal borrowing is a voluntary program whereby ACL member institutions choosing to participate extend in-person borrowing privileges to authorized patrons from other ACL institutions. Patrons, including faculty, students, and staff, have reciprocal access to the physical collections of participating Christian institutions.

Pinch me! Ok…I may be a bonafide, lifelong-learning nerd. And, I hope you are too. Here’s how to take advantage of this benefit:

ACL Borrowing Procedures  

• Borrower obtains a signed Authorization Form from the home library to receive borrowing privileges from a participating library. Currently employed faculty and staff and currently enrolled students in good standing are eligible. The home library has the authority to issue or deny this privilege.
• The home library determines the length of valid authorization. The authorization period may vary depending on the status of the borrower but should be no longer than a year. When authorization period expires, borrower may request another signed authorization form from the home library.
• Borrower takes the signed Authorization Form along with a photo ID to a participating library. Privileges and loan periods are determined by the lending library and may vary from those of the borrower’s home institution.
• Borrower returns materials to the lending library by the requested due date and pays any applicable fines and fees for late, lost, or damaged materials as determined by the lending library.

Visit www.acl.org/RBP to find a current list of participating libraries near you or check out theMap of Reciprocal Borrowing Institutions to locate one near you.