Pearl River Community College serves a six-county district in south Mississippi through the main campus located in Poplarville and branch campuses in Hattiesburg and Waveland.  The Learning Resources program for the college is provided through the Garvin H. Johnston Library, which includes the Learning Lab and Media Services on the Poplarville campus, and the Libraries at Forrest County and Hancock Centers.

The Garvin H. Johnston Library provides book, periodicals, indexes (both print and computer based), and microform materials which supplement the college's educational programs.  The current building was first occupied in August of 1968 with the Periodicals Room, Microform Reading Room, and CCN classroom constructed in 1973.  In the fall of 1991 the Learning Lab addition of 5, 000 square feet was occupied.  The online public access catalog is SIRSI Corporation's iLink. Internet access is also provided.

 Map                                                                           Email: library@prcc.edu
 

The Forrest County Center Library was established in August of 1995 with the employment of the first librarian.  The Library provides books, periodicals, indexes, audiovisual software and hardware, and computer software and hardware for the students and staff on the campus.  Internet access is also provided through the Library.

                                                                                  Email:  fcclibrary@prcc.edu

At the Hancock Center, which opened in January 2005, the library collection is housed in the conference room.  Students have access to the Library's resources in the Center's computer lab as well as in the conference room including the online catalog, online databases, MAGNOLIA, MELO, and other research tools listed on the Library's web site.  The Public Services/Distance Education Librarian conducts orientations for the Center's faculty and students and provides packets to the participants.  Brochures are also provided by the library and are available for distribution in the center's office and conference room.  Books and materials are interlibrary loaned among the campuses or from outside sources when not owned by the college.  The college also has a formal agreement with the Hancock County Public Library System for the students to use materials and services provided by the library.

The combined holdings of the district libraries include over 54,000 books; 17,000 online books; 7,000 bound periodicals; subscriptions to over 180 magazines and scholarly journals; 4,300 rolls of microfilm; 3,000 volumes of microfiche; and 6,400 audiovisual and computer programs.  Access to the holdings can be found through iLink, the online catalog.

Because adequate library and learning resources are essential to teaching and learning, Pearl River Community College ensures that they are available to all faculty members and enrolled students wherever the programs or courses are located and however they are delivered.  The college also provides those services to local patrons who are residents of the district.  The Garvin H. Johnston Library and other learning resources programs meet the stated purpose and objectives of the college and strive to meet the standards and guidelines of the American Library Association, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the State Board of Community and Junior Colleges.

Students are encouraged to make the College Libraries the center of their academic life by using them as resource centers as well as study and reading centers.  Since college is no longer confined to the classroom and to the textbook, the learning resources department takes an active supporting role to supplement classroom activities.  The entire faculty has a part in the selection and use of materials provided in the college library and learning laboratory.

History.