Dec 10, 2024  
2024-2025 Catalog and Handbook 
  
2024-2025 Catalog and Handbook

Library


The mission of the Wampler Library is to provide materials and services which support not only the educational programs of the College but also provide broad exposure to various disciplines, cultures, and ways of understanding. The library houses over 40,000 print and 450,000 electronic book volumes, as well as 54 print magazine and journal titles, and 122,000 electronic magazine, journal, and newspaper titles. In addition, the library provides access to 170 electronic research databases licensed by the VCCS and the Library of Virginia, as well as to the vast electronic resources of VIVA (The Virtual Library of Virginia). All library collections are accessible online at https://www.mecc.edu/library/

There are 25 Windows and 3 Mac computers in the library which are provided for conducting research and for completing self-paced instruction, classroom assignments, or personal projects. Enrolled students can access online library resources from off campus via the Internet.  

The library staff provides circulation, reference, and interlibrary loan services, as well as technical assistance with the computers and computer software. The library staff also provides information literacy instruction for using the library’s collections and services for research. Books, magazine articles, or other materials, which are not owned by the Wampler Library can usually be obtained through interlibrary loan. All interlibrary loans are free; the library pays any charges for them.   

Library Use Policy and Procedures

Photocopy and Printing Policies

Color and black-and-white copying and printing are provided free of charge for the benefit of students, faculty and the community. All copying must be in compliance with the United States Copyright Act.  

Notice Warning on Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

Library Fines

Fines are no longer charged on overdue library materials at Wampler Library. When library materials are overdue, the student or library patron will receive two email notices of the overdue materials as a courtesy reminder. If overdue materials have not been returned within three weeks of the due date, the materials are marked as lost and a billing letter for replacement costs is mailed to the student or library patron. Lost materials are billed at the purchase price of the materials plus a processing fee of $5 per item for book jacket covers, spine labels, barcodes, date due pockets and cards, and cataloging service fees. When the overdue library materials are billed, students will be blocked from receiving a financial aid refund, an official College transcript, or charging items in the bookstore until the library materials have been returned. Students and community patrons who have overdue library materials and unpaid replacement charges on overdue books will not be allowed to check out additional items until materials have been returned or the replacement costs have been paid. Unreturned library materials in the Commonwealth of Virginia is considered a theft of public property and constitutes a misdemeanor (Code of Virginia, §42.1-74) . As required by the Commonwealth of Virginia, unpaid debts for overdue library materials will be submitted to the Virginia Department of Taxation under the Set-Off Debt Collection Program, with the debts deducted from the individual’s state income tax refund or lottery winnings. To avoid having overdue materials, call 276.523.7468 to renew library materials.