The combined College collection of more than 400,000 units of print and non-print materials is "accessed" through joint union catalogs and is available to students at any of the campuses. Books, periodicals, videocassettes, and other resources are loaned among the campuses by intercampus mail couriers.
Open stacks and immediate access to materials are common to all campuses. Books, newspapers, pamphlets, documents, and other materials are selected primarily for support of the campus instructional programs, as well as for personal intellectual growth and the development of a cultural environment. Extensive use of compact discs and micro-forms for information storage and retrieval adds breadth and depth to the resources. Online searching of bibliographic databases is available at all campuses. Access to microcomputers is available at most campuses.
Library
Each campus library offers on-site access to a variety of books, periodicals and other materials and inter-campus-loan access to similar materials housed at the other campus libraries. Staff members provide reference assistance and instruction in the use of resources.
Regional consortia agreements enable patrons to use their NVCC ID cards to borrow library materials from the public libraries and other college libraries in Northern Virginia.
Learning Laboratory
Systems for individual use of self-instructional materials are common to all campus learning laboratories. Individualized instruction is offered through a variety of instructional systems, including electronic study carrels and computer-assisted instruction. Testing services for placement purposes, for classes, and in support of the Extended Learning Institute are administered in the learning laboratories. Trained staff members provide access, instruction, and tutorial assistance in foundation subjects. Both specialized and generalized learning laboratories are designed to support and complement the instructional programs on the individual campuses.
Audiovisual Services
Support for classroom instruction, community services, the library, and the learning laboratory is a function of Audiovisual Services. Audiovisual Services staff assist faculty in the technological aspects of instructional design, including reprographics and photography. Video and other mediated approaches to instruction are supported by Audiovisual Services.