Services and Facilities

Circulation Policies

The first time you register for classes at SWBTS, you will be issued a seven-digit ID number and an ID card that has that number. Please have your ID card ready for the circulation worker to scan when you need to check out materials.

Your account is protected. We are not allowed to divulge information about your account to another patron. You may obtain information about your account through the Information Gateway on the library's computer terminals, or you may ask a circulation worker for assistance.

What items may you borrow from the library? First, remember that you only have one account. What you check out at Roberts Library and what you check out from Bowld Library is cumulative.

A master's student may check out the following:

  1. 30 books from regular shelving (28-day loan period)
  2. 2 class reserve books (4-hour loan period)
  3. 5 audio cassettes (4-hour loan period)
  4. 3 CD's (4-hour loan period)
  5. 3 phonodisks (4-hour loan period)
  6. 3 videos or DVD's (4-hour loan period)
  7. 2 keys (4-hour loan period)
  8. 5 octavos (28-day loan period) It is permissible, however, to check out more than five octavos if you need them for a class or SWBTS ensemble. We are not allowed to let you check out octavos for use in your church. For instance, you may not charge thirty octavos so that a church choir can sing a particular piece. This also applies to orchestral parts and other scores.
  9. No periodicals may be checked out. They must be used in the library. (Lost periodicals may be impossible to replace.)
  10. No reference books may be checked out. They too must be used in the Library. (Reference books may be expensive or impossible to replace. Moreover, we consider them to be books in high demand.)
  11. No treasure books may be checked out. (Almost all are impossible to replace.)

A doctoral student may check out the following:

  1. 60 books from regular shelving (28-day loan period)
  2. The remaining is the same as what a master's student may check out.

There are certain conditions that may prevent us from letting a patron check out items from Bowld Library, two of which are:

  1. Exceeding the book limit
  2. Exceeding $25.00 in fines or accumulated overdues

Please return library items on time. Fines can accumulate rapidly, especially if you have many items overdue.

Books and other items from regular shelving can accumulate fines at $.20/day when kept past the due date. Reserve items, including recordings and videotapes, accumulate a $.10/hour fine when overdue. You may pay fines at the Bowld Library Circulation Desk or at the Serials Department of Roberts Library.

If you see that you will need a regularly-shelved item for more than 28 days, you may bring the item to the Circulation Desk and be given a renewal if no one has placed a hold on that item. (Bowld Library may only renew items belonging to Bowld Library. If you have items from Roberts Library that need renewal, they must be taken to Roberts Library.)

If you are unable to come to the Library, you may have items renewed by faxing or mailing us the ID numbers and the call numbers on the items. Please also state the reason that you are unable to come to the Library in person, and give the information on your student ID. Bowld Library cannot renew items with the information given over the telephone. (If you choose to fax, be sure to indicate that the information is for Bowld Library, since the fax actually goes to Roberts Library.)

Bowld Music Library
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
P. O. Box 22000-D4
Fort Worth, TX 76122-0390
FAX: 817-923-1921 ext. 2810

When you return books, be sure to place them in the book drop at the Circulation Desk or hand them to a circulation staff member. Please do not leave books that you have checked out on a book truck, otherwise fines may be incurred.

If you have checked out a score that has several parts in the back pocket of the score, be sure that you turn in all those parts with the score. If one part is lost, the whole score may have to be replaced.

If you lose an item, the computer automatically assigns a $75.00 fine to your account. ($50.00 is the lost book fee and $25.00 is the cataloging fee.) The actual charge may be higher if the lost item is worth more than $50.00. If an item stays overdue on your account for 90 days or longer, the computer will assume that the item is lost and charge you the $75.00 fine. If you then return the item, the $75.00 fine will be taken off your account and replaced with an overdue fine.

There are many times in which you will need or want to use a book without checking it out, especially in the case of periodicals and reference books. When you pull books off the shelf without checking them out, please do not shelve them yourself. Leave them on one of the book trucks provided. If you misshelve a book, an indefinite amount of time may pass before that book is found. This can create frustration for the next patron that may need the misshelved book.

Placing A Hold on Items That Are Checked Out

The option of placing holds on books or other items may be beneficial for you when you need something that is currently checked out. To have a hold placed on a book or other item, just come to the Circulation Desk with the call number of the item and your ID card. When the item is turned in, you will be notified and given one week to check out the item before it is made available to other patrons

Complaints

In the case that have you a complaint concerning Bowld Library, please tell someone at the Circulation Desk. If the complaint is of a serious nature, you may tell Jason Runnels, Assistant Music Librarian, or Dr. Fang-Lan Hsieh, Music Librarian.

If you have a reference question, or if you are having difficulty getting started with research, feel free to consult one of the circulation staff members. If the circulation staff is unable to help, Dr. Hsieh can assist you.

When an item is listed in the computer as available, but is not on the shelf, please tell a circulation staff member. It may be that the item is not yet shelved.

All items from behind the Circulation Desk, unless otherwise noted, have a four-hour loan period. If an item from behind the Circulation Desk is checked out within four hours of closing, the item is due ten minutes before the Library closing.

Reserve Items

Professors place high-demand books on Class Reserve for one semester at a time. When you need to check out an item on reserve, present the call number and your ID card to a circulation worker.

In most cases, the loan period for reserve items, either permanent reserve or class reserve, is four hours. If you check out a reserve item within four hours of closing, however, that item is due ten minutes before closing. If you check out a class reserve book within an hour of closing, it is due the next business day at 8:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m., if the next business day is a Saturday. It is important that you return reserve items on time. Remember, fines accumulate at $.10 an hour.

Anthem Browsing File

Perhaps at times you may need to peruse through multiple octavos. The Anthem Browsing File may prove to be convenient for those times. It contains one of most multiple octavos Bowld Library has cataloged and is organized to meet your needs quickly and efficiently.

Closing Procedures

Bowld Library closes the cash register 20 minutes before the actual closing time. The photocopier and computer terminals are turned off 10 minutes before closing time, so please check out the books you need before then. We will lock the entrance doors and turn off the lights 5 minutes before closing time.

For information on dates and times the Music Library is open, click here.

Policies Regarding the Photocopier

Bowld Library has one photocopier located on the First Floor. It is there to serve students and employees.

Vertical File

The Vertical File contains an alphabetically arranged collection of more than one thousand files with information about institutions, faculty, hymnology, composers, performers, periodicals, newsletters, and a number of subjects related to secular and church music. The files are for use in the library only. Please ask for assistance from the Circulation Desk, as the files are located in the cataloging department. With the approval of the Assistant Music Librarian or Dr. Hsieh, files may be borrowed for use in a class presentation.

The School of Church Music Computer Lab

The School of Church Music Computer Lab, open since January of 1997, is located on the top floor of Bowld Music Library. There are two computers, mini Macs, all of which contain current verions Finale and Garage Band. The lab also has a laser printer. 

The Computer Lab is under the administration of the School of Church Music, even though it is located in the Bowld Library. Lab assistance is available during posted times though the lab is open whenever the library is open.

Services Available at Roberts Library That Are Not Available at Bowld Library

  • Inter-Library Loans ? If Bowld Library does not have a particular book, score, journal, or other item that you need you may go to the Reference Desk at Roberts Library to pursue obtaining the item through ILL.
  • Chapel Tapes ? The Audio-Visual Learning Center has chapel tapes ready for patrons to check out.
  • Transparencies ? The Audio-Visual Learning Center, for a fee, will make transparencies for patrons.
  • Guest Reader Card ? The Reference Desk will issue this card free of charge to the spouse of each married student of SWBTS. Alumni of SWBTS may receive Guest Reader Cards for a discounted fee. Other patrons may also purchase Guest Reader Cards.
  • TexShare Card ? You may obtain a TexShare card from the Reference Desk. TexShare may entitle you to borrowing privileges at participating Texas libraries. You may visit TexShare's website at www.texshare.edu.

Telephone or Internet Access to Southwestern Seminary's Library Computer

Patrons can access the online catalog from off campus through the URL: ilink.swbts.edu. From there you can retrieve information about library holdings, as well as information about your personal account. You must know your student ID number and your PIN number to access this site.

Audio Recording Orders and Duplications

Bowld Library is responsible for accepting orders for duplications of videotapes and cassette tapes of recitals or concerts by SWBTS ensembles, students, guests, or faculty. All recitals and concerts of the School of Church Music are automatically audio taped, and in addition to audiotaping, all SWBTS ensemble concerts are automatically videotaped. However, if a student would like his or her recital videotaped, the student must take care of this through the Performance Office in the School of Church Music and then pay the Assistant Music Librarian at Bowld Library when placing the order. The Assistant Music Librarian at Bowld Library will contact the student when his or her cassette tapes or videotapes arrive at Bowld Library.

Please not that some recitals and concerts cannot be duplicated. We are not allowed to duplicate any recordings on which union instrumentalists play (e.g., Oratorio Chorus, when accompanied by the Forth Worth Chamber Orchestra.)

Price List

  • CDs $5.00 each (includes tape and dubbing)
  • DVDs $5.00 each
  • Video Tapes $5.00 for dubbing, plus $3.50 per tape, up to 4 copies (i.e. 1 copy = $8.50; 2 copies = $12.00; 3 copies = $15.50)
Dr. Fang-Lan Hsieh

The Music Librarian of Bowld Music Library is Dr. Fang-Lan Hsieh. Dr. Hsieh strives to make Bowld Music Library an exceptional place of study and research for the music student and the music scholar. She holds a PhD in musicology from Louisiana State University, a MM in music theory from the University of South Carolina, and a MLS (Master of Library Science) also from the University of South Carolina.

Important Phone Extensions and E-Mail Addresses

Seminary Phone # (817)923-1921
Circulation Desk ext. 2077

Dr. Fang-Lan Hsieh, Music Librarian
campus extension 2070
email address fhsieh@swbts.edu

Jason Runnels, Assistant Music Librarian
campus extension 2071
email address JRunnels@swbts.edu

Basic Location of Materials in the Library

1ST FLOOR:

  • Circulation Desk
  • Microfilm machine
  • Treasure Room
  • New Books Rack
  • Copy Machine
  • Reference Section
  • Listening stations
  • Music Scores

GROUND FLOOR (downstairs):

  • Literature on music books
  • Music instruction and study books 
  • Seminar Room
  • TV/VCR stations 
  • Doctoral Carrels

2ND FLOOR (upstairs):

  • Computer Lab
  • Study and Reading area

Established 1908 Fort Worth, Texas

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