The Public Services Department includes the User Services areas of Circulation, Interlibrary Loan, Reserves, and the Music Listening Room, Collection Development, Library Instruction, and Reference. Suggestions for improving Library services can be made to the Dean of Library Services.
Answers to questions about the Library, our resources, and/or our services may be found through our Ask Us option, which will either allow you to chat with a librarian or search our FAQ. If these options are not available or do not answer your questions, you can submit them to us through the Ask a Librarian form.
| Name | Email Address | Phone Number | Office |
| Mr. John Upchurch | jupchurch@jsu.edu | 256-782-5252 | 8th Floor |
This department includes the following areas of systems:
The Circulation Desk is located in the lobby of the Library. Patrons can check circulating materials in and out at the Circulation Desk. See the Circulation section of the Houston Cole Library Policy and Procedures Manual for more information.
This link opens in a new window| Name | Title | Email Address | Phone Number | Office |
| Mr. Jamarcus Houston | Public Services Assistant | jhouston16@jsu.edu | 256-782-5758 | Circulation |
| Ms. Terre King | Public Services Assistant | tnking@jsu.edu | 256-782-8490 | Circulation |
| Ms. Sandi Maroney | Public Services Assistant | smaroney@jsu.edu | 256-782-5758 | Circulation |
| Ms. Tiffany Onkst | Public Services Assistant | tonkst@jsu.edu | 256-782-8490 | Reserves |
| Ms. Linda Reeves | Public Services Assistant | lreeves@jsu.edu | 256-782-8494 | Media Lab |
| Ms. Kelli Schultz | Public Services Assistant | kschultz@jsu.edu | 256-782-5758 | Circulation |
Complete details about these services can be found at the Circulation section of the User Services Guide.
Responsibility for administration of the Houston Cole Library's collection development program and for implementation of its goals and policies rests with the subject specialists. Our librarians work together to ensure that our collection meets the guidelines established in our Collection Management and Development Policy.
Collection development includes selecting resources, providing instructional and reference assistance in the use of these materials, evaluating the current collections, planning for future growth, and preserving library resources. In addition, our collections are re-assessed periodically following our Collection Assessment Guidelines.
Go to the Subject Specialists page for complete listing.
| Name | Title | Email Address | Phone Number | Office |
| Ms. Paula Barnett-Ellis | Health/Sciences Librarian | pbarnett@jsu.edu | 256-782-5249 | 9th Floor |
| Ms. Karlie Johnson | History & Geography Librarian | kljohnson@jsu.edu | 256-782-5253 | 3rd Floor |
| Ms. Laurie Heathcock | Education Librarian | lheathcock@jsu.edu | 256-782-5245 | 5th Floor |
| Ms. Laura Pitts | General Works and Literature Librarian | lepitts@jsu.edu | 256-782-5247 | 7th Floor |
| Ms. Kimberly Westbrooks | Business and Social Sciences Librarian | kwestbrooks1@jsu.edu | 256-782-5244 | 4th Floor |
| Ms. Hanrong Wang | Law, Military Science, and Technology Librarian | hwang@jsu.edu | 256-782-5251 | 10th Floor |
| VACANT | Fine Arts, Communication, and Language Librarian | 256-782-5246 | 6th Floor |
The Library provides services to the University's distance learning community. These services include instruction, reference, use of the Library's catalog, access to the library's Web-based indexes and full-text articles, and document delivery. All Library personnel assist with the providing of resources and services to our distance education students. However, the primary contact distance education students should use is our Distance Education/Electronic Resources Manager. See the Distance Education Services section of the Houston Cole Library Policy and Procedures Manual.
This link opens in a new window| Name | Email Address | Phone Number | Office |
| Ms. Yingqi Tang | tang@jsu.edu | 256-782-5757 | Technical Services, Basement |
See the Library Access for Off-Campus Users Guide for more information.
The Government Documents Department is located in the Technical Services area in the basement of the Library. This department is responsible for selecting, acquiring, and cataloging U.S. Government depository documents, maintaiing the collection, and seeing that the Library adheres to all Federal Depository Library rules and regulations. See the Government Documents section of the Houston Cole Library Policy and Procedures Manual for more information.
This link opens in a new window
| Name | Title | Email Address | Phone Number | Office |
| Ms. Allison Boswell | Electronic Resources/Documents Librarian | amboswell@jsu.edu | 256-782-8137 | 4th Floor |
The Library offers Library Instruction to all individual users, classes, or groups that request these services. Go to the Library Instruction page for complete details. See the Library Orientation and Bibliographic Instruction section of the Houston Cole Library Policy and Procedures Manual (linked below) for more information.
This link opens in a new windowProfessors can use the Library Space Request Form to schedule a class instruction session.
| Name | Title | Email Address | Phone Number | Office |
| Mr. John Upchurch | Head of Public Services | jupchurch@jsu.edu | 256-782-5252 | 8th Floor |
| Name | Title | |
| Karlie Johnson, Chair | History, Anthropology and Geography Librarian | kljohnson@jsu.edu |
| Jodi Poe, Ad Hoc Member | Head of Technical Services | jpoe@jsu.edu |
| John Upchurch, Ad Hoc Member | Head of Public Services | jupchurch@jsu.edu |
| Paula Barnett-Ellis | Health/Sciences Librarian | pbarnett@jsu.edu |
| Laura Pitts | Literature Librarian | lepitts@jsu.edu |
| Yingqi Tang | Distance Education/Electronic Resources Manager | tang@jsu.edu |
Interlibrary Loan and Universal Borrowing are services provided to JSU students, faculty, and staff. These services request materials from, or supplies materials to, another library.
Complete details about these services can be found at the Interlibrary Loan and Universal Borrowing section of the User Services Guide.
The George E. Whitesel Multimedia Lab is located on the 6th floor of the Library. The Lab houses the majority of the University's musical albums, tapes, and audio CD's.
| Name | Title | Email Address | Phone Number | Office |
| Ms. Linda Reeves | Public Services Assistant | lreeves@jsu.edu | 256-782-8494 | Media Lab | 6th Floor |
Complete details about these services can be found at the George E. Whitesel Multimedia Lab section of the User Services Guide.
See the Multimedia Lab section of the Houston Cole Library Policy and Procedures Manual for more information.
This link opens in a new windowWelcome to the Reference Department!
Our mission is to help you use our resources to find the information you need. Librarians can advise you about research options. There are a number of ways to contact us. See our FAQ and Ask Us area for more information about contacting us or to ask us questions. See our Research Assistance page for guidance with research projects.
Members of the department promote resources to faculty through outreach to departments, classes, and individuals. Librarians also engage in collaborative efforts with faculty to integrate library resources across the curriculum.
Houston Cole Library provides reference and research services. Our reference librarians are here to assist you in your research for information on various subjects. You can reach us by:
All the above services are available at following hours:
You may also want to contact our subject specialists concerning about finding information in your subject area:
| Name/ Title |
Specialized Areas | Email Address | Phone Number* | Office |
| Ms. Paula Barnett-Ellis Health/Sciences Librarian |
Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Nursing, Physics, Psychology, and Sciences | pbarnett@jsu.edu | 5249 | 9th Floor |
| Ms. Allison Boswell Electronic Resources/Documents Librarian |
Government Information and Scholarly Communications | amboswell@jsu.edu | 8137 | 4th Floor |
| Ms. Karlie Johnson History & Geography Librarian |
Anthropology, Genealogy, Geography, History, Philosophy, and Physical & Earth Sciences | kljohnson@jsu.edu | 5253 | 3rd Floor |
| Ms. Laurie Heathcock Education Librarian |
Education and Kinesiology, | lheathcock@jsu.edu | 5245 | 5th Floor |
| Ms. Laura Pitts Literature Librarian |
English and Literature | lepitts@jsu.edu | 5247 | 7th Floor |
| Ms. Kim Westbrooks Business and Social Sciences Librarian |
Accounting, business, Criminal Justice, Economics, Emergency Management, Finance, Management, Marketing, Political Science, Social Sciences, Social Work, and Sociology | kwestbrooks1@jsu.edu | 5244 | 4th Floor |
| Ms. Hanrong Wang Law, Military Science, and Technology Librarian |
Family & Consumer Science, Law, Library Science, Military Science, and Technology | hwang@jsu.edu | 5251 | 10th Floor |
| VACANT Fine Arts, Communication, and Language Librarian |
Art, Communication, Drama, Foreign Languages, Music, and Religion | 5246 | 6th Floor |
*All telephone numbers begin with 256.782.
See our Hours and Calendar page for the operating hours and closing of the Library.
The Houston Cole Library maintains a collection of course related, high-demand, high-risk, and librarian discretionary materials that are segregated, often temporarily, from the general collection and usually assigned restrictive loan periods so as to assure greater availability to library patrons, who may have need of the materials within a limited time period. The more information you have about the material the easier it is for the library staff to find the particular reserve item(s) that you need. You will need the professor's name, course number, and course title. See the Reserve section of the Houston Cole Library Policy and Procedures Manual for more information.
This link opens in a new windowInstructors, please use our Request to Place Materials on Course Reserves Form when you need materials to be placed on reserves.
| Name | Title | Email Address | Phone Number | Office |
| Ms. Tiffany Onkst | Public Services Assistant | Reserves | tonkst@jsu.edu | 256-782-8490 | Reserves | Lobby |
| Ms. Terre King | Public Services Assistant | tnking@jsu.edu | 256-782-8490 | Reserves | Lobby |
Complete details about these services can be found at the Course Reserves section of the User Services Guide.
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Houston Cole Library Telephone (Circulation): 256-782-5758 FAX: 256-782-5872 |