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Houston-Galveston Essentials

Help for Houston/Galveston Extension Students

SMU’s Library Catalog: http://libcat.smu.edu
Bridwell Library’s Web Page: http://smu.edu/bridwell

Bridwell Public Services

The Reference Librarians can help you find appropriate resources, provide instruction for using various databases, and help with crafting a research project or employing appropriate style guides and notations for papers, etc. Call 214.768.4046 or try our new IM Reference interface. For information out of office hours, please check out the various guides available at http://bridwellguides.smu.edu

The Circulation Staff can help you with any issues arising with your library account. Call 214.768.1866 or view Library Services for more information.

There is a shipping service for Houston/Galveston students needing Bridwell Library circulating materials. We pay the cost for delivery via UPS ground to your home. A pre-paid return slip is included in each shipment and you are responsible for getting the items back prior to the date due. To request materials, complete the online form.

Online Resources

SMU provides hundreds of online databases to enrolled students. Access is established by entering the 14-digit barcode number from your SMU ID card.

Please be certain to obtain an SMU ID card when you visit the Dallas campus so you may gain access to these resources.

All databases are accessed through the Library Catalog, either via the Online Resources link (browse by subject, Philosophy and Religion), or by doing a Basic title search for a specific resource. Some (but not all) online databases that provide either partial or complete full-text results for religious and theological topics include:

  • Academic Search Complete
  • ATLA Religion Database with ATLAserials
  • Encyclopedias: Encyclopedia Judaica, Encyclopedia of Islam, Encyclopedia of Religion, Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, Encyclopedia of American Religions, Encyclopedia Mythica, Encyclopedia of Religious and Spiritual Development
  • JStor
  • Past Masters: includes works of Anselm, Aquinas, Augustine, Calvin, Francis of Assisi, and Luther

Library Options in Houston

TexShare

Bridwell Library can provide you with a TexShare card, which allows you borrowing privileges at participating libraries throughout Texas. Get one in person, or contact Clyde Putman (cputman@smu.edu) and he will create the card and mail it to you. More information about TexShare and a list of participating libraries may be found at http://www.texshare.edu.

NOTE: It is always wise to contact the library you intend to visit to confirm that they are a TexShare library and to learn what their policies are. A primary TexShare library in Houston is the Houston Baptist University Library.

Please note that Rice University does not participate in the TexShare program, although they allow Perkins students to use materials in house. The Cardinal Beran Library at the University of St. Thomas lacks an adequate number of staff to offer services to non-UST library users.

Another way to find the books you need is the online database, WorldCat. This catalog contains most titles in existence and it tells you which institutions own them. Each bibliographic record features a link called “libraries worldwide that own this item.” By clicking on that link, you can find the libraries in your vicinity that own the item you seek. There is also a free public version of this database called www.worldcat.org.