Current Status of Library Services

Brief information about the current status of library operations are available at the library homepage. 

Information on campus operations more broadly can be found at the Trinity website.

Information about current hours and library access on holidays or during special events can be found here:

Visitors to the library building during the Fall 2021 semester will notice that some resources and services are now accessible by more familiar means. Some safeguards enacted as a response to TU policy related to the pandemic remain in place. 

--The library is no longer card-access only and will be unlocked during business hours. However, only Trinity students, staff, and faculty may enter. We remain closed to members of the general public.

--Masks must be worn at all times when using the library.

--Please respect all directional signage intended to help maintain appropriate social distancing protocols.  

--As of August 25, 2021, study rooms will be available and bookable through https://trinity.libcal.com/spaces.

--Current periodicals and newspapers are once again available in the current periodicals area of the library's 3rd floor.

--Visitors may once again browse materials on reserve behind the library's circulation desk.

If you have any questions about these or other changes to our current services and operations, please Contact Us. 

Students studying remotely:

Use the library's interlibrary loan service to request scanned copies of journal articles available in print in our library. In addition, you may request electronic delivery of chapters from books that are currently available from the library.  Fair use guidelines for educational use allow for one chapter or 20% of a book to be scanned, so be aware that we cannot scan and deliver multiple chapters from a single book. By acquiring a library card from your local public library, you will have access to that library's interlibrary loan service, which may be able to provide you with needed books to supplement what we are able to supply. We regret that we are unable to send physical items to you.

Students and faculty with access to campus:

If you are able, please come to the library to consult or scan pages from print journals or books. If you are unable to do so, you may use the library's interlibrary loan service to request scanned copies of journal articles available in print in our library. In addition, you may request electronic delivery of chapters from books that are currently available in print from the library. Fair use guidelines for educational use allow for one chapter or 20% of a book to be scanned, so be aware that we cannot scan and deliver multiple chapters. 

At the present time, requesting and receiving print materials from other libraries is a more challenging process than usual. If your immediate research needs involve print materials that are not available from the Coates Library, contact your library liaison for assistance. 

We continue to request, receive, and distribute materials received electronically via Interlibrary Loan. 

Special Collections and Archives is open by appointment only at this time. Appointments can be scheduled by emailing archives@trinity.edu. For more information visit the Special Collections and Archives webpage.

Students, faculty, and staff working on and off campus have full access to our collections of electronic databases, journals, ebooks, and streaming media available from the library website. 

While the links above will direct you to the full range of electronic journals and books available from the library, Google Scholar also has an option to link to many full-text articles:  

1.  Go to scholar.google.com
2.  Go to the Menu icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen. 
3.  Choose "Settings."
4.  Choose "Libraries"
5.  Search for and select "Elizabeth Huth Coates Library" and click "Save."

Coates Library is currently open to Trinity students, staff, and faculty only. San Antonio community members looking for federal depository documents are encouraged to utilize online government information resources until the library can safely reopen to the public.

Students and faculty using the VPN to access campus resources may have difficulty when using library databases and other research options.

Off-campus users of library resources should navigate through the proxy login process.  This happens automatically when you try to access a library database while off campus.  However, due to changes by ITS to help facilitate distance learning, a researcher using the VPN may not be able to navigate through the proxy login screen.  

Solution: when using the library webpage and resources, do not use VPN.