About the Library

Library Map – Text Description

The Spartanburg (Giles) Campus Library is housed in the Library Learning Resource Building (LIB) on the first floor. Directly to the right of the front entrance to the building is a Book Return where you can return items any time, even when the library is closed. 

Once you enter the building, you’ll be in a canteen area with some soft seating and tables to your left. The double-doors to the library are straight ahead about 34 feet. The restrooms and water fountain are further to the left beyond the canteen area. 

The Library itself is a big, open space, roughly shaped like a square, but it has two large alcoves. One to the right and behind the front door and one straight ahead in the back of the library.  

When you first enter the library through the front doors, you pass through security sensors. 

Immediately to the right, about 6 feet from the front door, is the “free item” cart. This cart will often have books, magazines, and miscellaneous items that can be taken for free. These items do not have to be returned.  

To the left of the ‘free item’ cart, there is a table with 2 community patron computers. These computers are set aside for non-SCC community members who have a library card. Community members must check in at the front circulation desk to use these computers, and please note that these computers do not allow printing.  

As you move further into the right-side of the library, the community patron computer table is the bottom-right table in a 10-table grid, that has 2 tables in each row and 5 rows. Most of these tables are available for studying, etc. There are three tables that are set up for specific activities. The table directly behind the community patron table (4th row of the grid, right-side) has coloring supplies. The table to the left of that one (4th row of grid, left side) has a chess board. The table directly behind the chess board (3rd row of the grid, left side) has a puzzle.   

To the right of this grid of tables, there is a large alcove with groups of soft seating. This alcove is known as the Art Gallery area because the side wall of the alcove closest to the front door is used to display art exhibits. 

There are additional groups of soft seating and tables beyond the table-grid, wrapping around to the left along the far right-wall of the library. There are also a couple of rocking chairs towards the back along the right wall.  

To the left of the chess and puzzle tables, there are half-height bookshelves. The first shelf (closest to the door) houses the library’s Magazines/Periodicals. These cannot be checked out but can be used in the library. On the left-end of this shelf (closest to the door), there is a cart with games that can be played in the library. The second shelf houses Graphic Novels. And the following 6 shelves contain Popular Fiction (leisure reading). The last shelf (furthest from the door) houses the Audio Visual (AV) collection, which is mostly made up of DVDs (popular and academic), but does also include a few books on CD, CD-ROMs, and music CDs. 

From the front door, about 12 feet in and to the left in a small alcove, you'll find the New Books section, which features mainly non-fiction books. 

Continuing past the New Book section on the left, about 28 feet from the front door is the front desk, also called the circulation desk. In addition to checking out and returning materials, Course Reserve materials and textbooks are kept at this desk. 

As you continue to walk along the left wall, past the front circulation desk, there is (from front to back) a hallway to the back staff area of the library (no public access), two offices for library staff, one group study room, a hallway with additional staff offices (no public access), a large study room/conference room, the library instruction classroom (computer lab), 3 small study rooms, and 2 group study rooms. In total, there are 7 study rooms for students to use. Study rooms are checked out at the front desk with your college ID (the doors remain locked when not in use). Staff will then let you into the study room. 

From the front door, straight ahead about 12 feet, is a round display table with new fiction books.  

On the right-side of the new fiction display table, there is a “welcome whiteboard” that highlights services and events in the library (changes every week or two). This is a double-sided whiteboard, and on the backside is a question or prompt that anyone may respond to by writing on the whiteboard (changes every week or two).  

As you walk around the new fiction book display and white board, continuing straight ahead into the library, you will find a circle of computers for student use. The computers are on 4 long tables that are broken up into quarters of a circle with walking pathways in between. As you reach the bottom of the circle (closest to the front door), on the end of the table on your left, is a copy machine named LIB131_Copier (also scans and prints in both black and white and color), as well as the library’s color printer named Library_Color. For both printers, you scan your ID card to release your print job. 

In the middle of the circle of computers, about 34 feet beyond the new fiction book display, is a smaller circular desk called the Information or Reference desk. A library staff member often sits at this desk to assist with questions about computers, printers, using library materials, research, etc. Sometimes there will be no one at this desk, in which case, you’ll find assistance at the front circulation desk. On the back half of the circular Information/Reference desk there are two black and white printers named Library_Laser. When you print to Library_Laser, you can release your print job from either black and white printer by scanning your ID card. 

In addition, there is a flatbed scanner hooked up to a computer on the back-right quadrant of the large circular computer tables, on the left side of this table closest to the front door. 

Behind the Information/Reference desk are wooden tables with additional computers for student use as well as tables for studying. There is an Apple Mac computer in this area; you cannot log on to the Apple Mac computer with your SCC login information and will need to see a library staff member to use this device.  

Behind these tables and computers, further into the library, are full-height bookshelves that contain most of the library's physical books. From the left wall, the first 10 shelves from the left are the “Stacks Circulating” section, which is the library’s main academic collection (mostly non-fiction). The next shelf is the Reference section (these books cannot be checked out), and the last shelf is the Children’s Literature section (children’s books).  

These full-height bookshelves make up the majority of the large alcove at the back of the library. The left-side of this alcove houses the last 5 study rooms mentioned earlier. The right-side of this alcove features 2 Study Cubbies that are small, cube-like rooms where students can study privately while in the library. These Cubbies are first-come, first-served, and do not need to be checked out. There is a 3rd Study Cubby, just outside the right-side of the alcove (around the corner). 

The back wall of the alcove is the “Whisper Zone.” The “Whisper Zone” is a quiet study area, so please avoid talking so that others can concentrate. The “Whisper Zone” has traditional wooden carrel desks as well as “study pod” chairs. On the far left-side of the back wall, the study carrel has 2 Digital Magnifiers available for use.