You are here:  UHD 1999/2000 Catalog / University of Houston–Downtown / Academic Resources

• Library
• Computing Services
• The Technology Teaching and Learning Center (TTLC)
• Academic Support Center
• Multimedia Services

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Library

W.I. Dykes Library, located on the entire fifth floor of the One Main Street building, has holdings of more than 197,000 books, 33,000 bound periodical volumes, 110,000 microforms, and 1,800 current periodicals and serial subscriptions. An audio collection of over 5,000 recordings offers selections from classical, jazz, and literary materials. To supplement classroom instruction, a collection of audiovisual materials is available for faculty use. Video, compact disc, and audio cassette players are available for use in the library. The library’s Web site is http://www.dt.uh.edu/library/home.html.

Microfilm holdings include the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, and The Houston Post. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service microfiche collection is available from 1987 to 1996. This title is available on the Internet.

The library also houses the Texas Education Collection, including Texas State-adopted textbooks for K-12 and curriculum guides for HISD. This collection is supplemented by holdings in juvenile books.

Coin and card-operated machines are maintained for both print and microform sources. IBM Selectric typewriters are furnished free for student use in the library. A Kurzweil optical reader and three closed-circuit TVs that enlarge print are available for the visually impaired. Anyone with special physical or communication needs can ask for assistance at any library service desk or phone the library to schedule an appointment for special services.

Access to the library is available only by the front Main Street elevators or stairwell. Library seating accommodates 800 students. A study room is available for groups of three or more students. No food or drink is allowed in the library. There is a lounge outside the library where food is allowed.

The UHD Online Catalog lists the books and journals available in the W.I. Dykes Library and at most other University of Houston campus libraries. Access to the online catalog from a home computer or from the UHD computer lab supports research 24 hours per day. The catalog is available from the library’s Web page listed above (or from the link in this paragraph). The online catalog is part of the library’s electronic resources that include databases that may be searched to identify articles on a topic. The Houston Chronicle newspaper is available as a full-text computer database. Search results can be printed as well as downloaded to a floppy disk. The library network also provides access to the online catalogs of other libraries in the Houston area and to a wealth of multimedia Internet resources.

Reference librarians offer individual assistance at the Reference Desk in utilizing the online catalog or any print or electronic library resources. Tours and classes may be scheduled for group instruction. Research handbooks and library guides present additional information for the user.

The reference collection contains encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, directories, indexes and many other sources. The full-text of journal articles in electronic form can be found in Periodical Abstracts, ABI/Inform, and Project Muse on the Web. Reference materials in electronic format are being added to the library each semester. Many useful electronic resources can be accessed through links to the library’s Web page.

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Students, faculty, and staff have checkout privileges at local libraries through various library partnerships, which include Reciprocal Borrowing Program, Houston Area Research Consortium, and the Texas Higher Education card TexShare. Reference librarians will help match the most effective borrowing program with individual research needs. Another service is Interlibrary Loan: if the book or journal article needed by a student, faculty, or staff is not available at UH–Downtown, the library will borrow it from another library anywhere in the country at no charge.

A currently validated UH–Downtown identification card is used as the library card and must be presented when checking out materials. The card is obtained during registration and must be updated each semester. The library is open Monday through Saturday during full semesters, with abbreviated hours during the summer. For reference information call 713-221-8187; for circulation information call 713-221-8186.

Computing Services

The University of Houston–Downtown offers state-of-the-art computing equipment and software to its students, faculty, and staff. The primary academic computers are Compaq Proliant for PC support, Compaq Alpha for UNIX support and an IBM SP2 (scaleable parallel processing) for parallel and research computing. The 16,000-square-foot Academic Computing Lab houses more than 250 PCs and printers. In addition, this facility, which is available to any currently enrolled student, has three electronic classrooms, seminar room, and special devices to aid disabled students. Academic Computing teaches short courses, develops documentation and provides group and individual consulting to its constituents.

Special purpose labs are available to students. The Engineering Technology Department maintains several computer labs for engineering applications. The Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences has six computer classrooms of PCs for instruction in computer science, mathematics, and statistics. The Natural Sciences Department has a Science Learning Technology Center that contains a state-of-the-art electronic classroom. During 1999–2000, the department will develop a Science Education and Learning Center and a Science and Technology Demonstration Laboratory. The College of Business has a classroom for teaching word processing, keyboarding and computer information systems. The Academic Support Center offers learning support software for individual work in developing reading, writing and mathematics skills. There are over 15 specialized departmental computing labs serving subject specific needs.

The Technology Teaching and Learning Center (TTLC)

The Technology Teaching and Learning Center assists faculty to develop and implement interactive teaching and learning technologies which increase the effectiveness of their pedagogy. Offering a wide range of programs, tools and activities, the TTLC houses four electronic classrooms, a training/teleconference room, and an instructional television studio, control booth and editing suite, a faculty development area, a multimedia production lab, an emerging technologies showcase and an instructional technology library.

Academic Support Center

The Academic Support Center offers tutoring, computer equipment and software to assist students in reading, mathematics, writing and TASP. The center is located in 925-North and is open to all UH–Downtown students. Hours are structured to fit day and evening student’s schedules, and students may attend as often as they like.

Multimedia Services

Multimedia Services provides instructional support and media production services for students, faculty, and staff. Multimedia Services houses and distributes audiovisual equipment for classroom use and student activities. The staff assists in developing and producing audio, video, photographic and graphic presentations. The multimedia center contains a television studio, video and audio copying services, transparency making and lamination equipment, and an area for viewing videotapes. Multimedia Services is located in Room 930 South.