As students prepare to head back to campus, Georgia Highlands College’s library system is hard at work to provide additional resources to help enhance the numerous education options being offered.

GHC will have in-person, remote, and hybrid options available for classes this fall, and students who want to start may still apply by August 14 for fall classes.

One area in particular that GHC’s libraries will be utilizing this fall is computer technology, which is expected to see an uptick in use as students engage in the wide-ranging class formats.

“It has always been deeply engrained in the field of library and information science to provide tools, knowledge and technology to support student learning in all modalities,” Dean of Libraries and College Testing Julius Fleschner said. “At GHC, the libraries have paid a great deal of attention to our physical layout to make it as conducive to student learning as possible.”

Fleschner explained that in addition to the well-known resources provided by GHC’s libraries, such as books or periodicals, access to computers and laptop rentals will help students this semester have the tools they need for a successful semester at GHC.

Beyond expanding resources, the libraries are also implementing safety measures for the fall semester, including a new “Grab and Go” system.

“Students will use our Grab and Go system to request books. Essentially, they will make a digital request and we will have it processed for them to pick up in a couple days,” Fleschner said. “Students can also request research help via library chat on our website or in a D2L discussion forum. To help educate our community about these changes, a video tutorial will be emailed out to all students and GHC employees.”

Fleschner said the libraries’ efforts have been very successful and have resulted in more engagement from students and faculty thanks to resources such as Kanopy, an on-demand video streaming service.

“One great thing that happened since the rapid shift to remote instruction is that our online resources have seen an increase in usage,” Fleschner said.

“All of this work could not happen without dedicated individuals in the libraries. Everyone has taken this moment as an opportunity to rethink what we do, how we do it, and why it gets done,” Fleschner said. “This has led us to develop new and innovative tools to reach our patrons.”

Students can learn more about the library services by visiting “My GHC Library” in D2L. For more information on GHC’s return to campus this fall, please visit chargeahead.highlands.edu