Five College Library Repository Collection (formerly Five College Library Depository)

The Five College Library Repository Collection (FCLRC) is a set of lesser-used materials drawn from the libraries of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst for which the libraries have adopted a long-term shared retention agreement. The FCLRC also serves needs of Affiliate Members and may accept contributions to enhance the collection from them (the FCLRC is not presently accepting offers of unbound materials from Affliate Members). All materials in the FCLRC are listed in the Joint Online Library Catalog.

• Faculty members, staff members, students and community users with a valid Five College library card may request journal articles via an online article request form.
• Faculty members, staff members and students affiliated with a Five College library may request books directly through the "Request Item" function of the Joint Online Library Catalog.
• Anyone else may request items via the Interlibrary Loan services of the person's primary library.  Journals and serials from the FCLRC may circulate only to Five College libraries or the libraries of Affiliate members.

On-site access to materials FCLRC is also possible at the FCLRC facilities by appointment. Please use the contact information below to make arrangements.

For more detailed access information, please consult our access instructions.

For more information about the policies of FCLRC refer to links on the left side of this page.
For more information about the FCLRC Affiliates program, including how to join as an Affiliate or details of policies governing Affliates, contact Neal Abraham, Executive Director, Five Colleges, Incorporated nabraham@fivecolleges.edu.
Hours
Operating hours of the current FCLRC facility: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, observing Five Colleges, Incorporated holidays (e.g., New Year's Day, MLK Birthday, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas -- for details see the Five College Holiday Calendar elswhere on the FCI website).
Location
Current location of the FCLRC facility:  west end of Military Road, off Route 116 at The Notch, South Amherst, MA. Click here for map and directions.  Materials are stored in compact shelving in a climate controlled area of a former Strategic Air Command Bunker currently owned by Amherst College.
Contact Information 
bunker@fivecolleges.edu, (413) 542-2865; or view the directory.

Where is the FC Repository? Can patrons go there to retrieve materials?

If a patron looks something up in the catalog that is stored at the FC Repository, there will be a link to request that item.  So a patron does not have to go there to get the item.  It will take 2-3 business days to arrive here.  If they do want to go look at the things at the FC Repository they can, however they may want to call ahead.

Can a patron from Westfield check out a journal titled, "Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute" from the FC Repository?

What is his status? He could still be a student but live in Westfield. If he is a community member they unfortunately can not take out items from the FC Repository.

How do you get books from the FC Depository?

If you are looking at an item record for a book that is held at the FC Repository just click on the "Request Item" feature you would use to request any book in the 5-College catalog. If you are looking at an item record for a journal that is in the FC Repository a link should show up to request an article. When something is requested it then gets sent over from the FC Repository to the Library for pickup. This takes about 2-3 business days.

Do you know what or where the FC Depository is?

The FC Repository is an off site storage facility where we have sent some of our collection that is not frequently used. If a patron wants a book that is in the FC Repository just request the item like you would for any 5-College book. If they want a journal article send them to the LC Desk for help requesting this. It may be a bit tricky and they need to fill out an online form. It is the same as the 5-College delivery system where the book they want will be delivered in a few business days to the Lower Level hold shelf.