Prairie View A & M University
John B. Coleman Library

General Library Information

General Information: The library is open 7 AM-12 midnight M-TH; 8 AM-5 PM F-Sat; 1 PM–12 midnight Sun during the Fall and Spring semesters. Hours change during exams and university holidays. Check the library doors or the library website at http://www.tamu.edu/pvamu/library for changes to the library’s hours. Food and drink are not permitted and cell phones should be turned off or put on “vibrate” in the library.

Ask questions and get help at the Reference Information Department, on your right as you enter the Library: Reference Librarians are available to help you find books, articles, information, or answer other questions. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and guides in all subjects are located here Books located on the first floor of the library, other than in Reserves behind the Circulation counter, cannot be checked out. A typewriter and a change machine are also available here. Library employees do not give change. You can also phone in questions at 936-261-1535 or E-mail your questions to askalibrarian@pvamu.edu.

Books you can check out are listed in the catalog as “Stacks” and located upstairs (check the map by the 1st Floor elevators for the exact floor location). The call numbers are divided as follows:

Check out books and other materials at the Circulation counter, located on your left as you enter the building: Get your library barcode on your PVAMU ID here! Your PV ID card must be updated every semester or summer session with a fee receipt from the Cashier’s Office or an Account Summary printed from PantherTracks. Students may check out up to 25 books at a time for 3 week periods. Books may be renewed in person or by phone by calling 936-261-1542. Books can be returned after hours through the book drop located outside by the side doors. Books and articles the library does not have on hand can be ordered using Interlibrary Loan through the library website, and may be picked up at the Circulation desk upon receipt.

Internet Access Computers: There are 26 computers on the 1st Floor for student research use. Each computer is numbered so that students can pick up their print-outs from the large gray sorting mailboxes with numbered slots on top of the Reference Counter in the Reference Department. Word processing, PowerPoint documents and spreadsheets can be printed, but any editing must be done in the Computer Lab upstairs (Room 210).

Lost and Found is located on the left side of the 1st Floor Circulation Counter.

Magazines, Journals, Newspapers and other materials are located in Periodicals/Government Documents room (far right as you enter): The library keeps ~2 years of journal issues on these shelves. Bond (older) issues are located upstairs by call number. However, most articles are found in databases accessible online via the library’s home page at http://www.tamu.edu/pvamu/library. Materials issued by the U.S. Government federal government are also housed in this area. Daily newspapers, microfilm, and microfiche are also available here.

Phones/Restrooms: Restrooms are on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th floors behind the stairs. Phones for student use are located by the stairs on the 1st floor.

Photocopiers: The 1st Floor has 3 photocopiers for student use. Activate your Panther Bucks (PVAMU ID) to allow you to use the 2 photocopiers that are card-operated. There is only 1 coin operated photocopier in the Library located in Periodicals.

Remote Research Access: All Prairie View faculty, staff, and students may access the library’s online databases from off-campus. Instructions are available by clicking on “Off Campus Access to Resources” on the top left header of the library’s home page.

Reserves (far right side of the Circulation Desk): If your professor has placed a book, article, folder, newspaper, video or DVD in the library for your use, go to the Circulation Desk to obtain the item. You must have your updated PV ID card to check out reserve materials. Reserve materials normally check out for two hours and cannot be renewed. You will be fined if the item is returned late.

Special 4th Floor Gallery: The library’s 4th floor is devoted to space for special permanent exhibits, including the Wilhelmina Fitzgerald Delco Exhibit and the African Art Collection.

Special Collections/Archives (Room 505): Hours 8 AM–5 PM M-F. The Special Collections/Archives Department is on the 5th floor. Appointments are preferred. Patrons should provide advanced notice to the staff to provide time for locating materials.Materials include rare books, Black Heritage of the West, Blacks in the Military, PVAMU master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, and the T.K. Lawless Collection. Materials cannot be checked out. PVAMU ID requested. Call 936-261-1540 for more details.