The Association of College Research Libraries (ACRL) gave a 2021 Excellence in Academic Libraries Award to the Tulsa Community College (TCC) Library department.

ACRL has nearly 10,000 members who are librarians and interested individuals in the United States.

Kara J. Malenfant, ACRL interim executive director, stated that the selected award recipients demonstrated strength and innovation in the face of a global health crisis, a clear commitment to student success and equity, and engagement with their local and campus communities.

When TCC switched all classes online due to safety and health precautions in response to COVID-19 in March 2020, the library created the Hotspot at Home and Student Laptop Loan programs.  According to TCC Library Annual Report 2019/2020, 218 hotspot devices are available for students to borrow for home use each semester. TCC Library partners with TCC Foundation to fund the devices and WI-FI service distributions.

As a direct response to the pandemic, TCC Library purchased 165 laptops, which are available for students to loan for a semester-long term.

The TCC Library spaces were redesigned according to social distancing rules by summer 2020. The computers were placed six feet apart, keyboards were covered with protective plastics, and hand sanitizing stations appeared throughout the space.

Because many TCC classes became online or blended in 2020, the college’s librarians gave online consultations to students how to use the library website. Other TCC departments later borrowed the library’s experience with the chat service platform to help students.

The library also installed an Online Student Library Guide on the TCC’s Blackboard.

Think Tank rooms were built in three of four TCC Library locations. The rooms are the high-tech design spaces to fit 10 or less people for indoor and online conferences. The Think Tanks have white board walls, mobile tablets and chairs, Epson BrightLink LCD projectors, Polycom sound stations, and PC stations.

The library has worked in partnership with other college departments for years. For example, in 2016, jointly with Student Life, the library organized a program “Canines and Coffee.” Snacks and coffee were offered to students at the library’s locations to ease the stress of the final weeks during each semester.

Other library events, which impacted the college community, were the Banned Books Weeks, Blind Date with a Book events, and Tulsa 1921 Massacre information displays.

For more information about TCC Library services, visit https://library.tulsacc.edu.