Academic Support Services

Textbooks

The Textbook Express at Messiah College stocks graduate school textbooks for rental and purchase. Go to www.shopmessiah.com to place an order for shipment to a home or office or to be held for pick-up at The Campus Store during regular business hours.

Questions regarding textbooks may also be directed to Aleisha Wildon at awildon@messiah.edu or at (717) 796-1800, ext. 3070.

Murray Library

A key facility in the College’s educational program is the Murray Library. It contains quiet places for individual and group study; more than 250,000 books, periodicals, online databases and journals, audio/visual media, and other media, as well as access to myriad web-based electronic resources. The library building houses the media center, including audiovisual production space, a film production studio, a computer laboratory, and the archives of the College and Brethren in Christ Church. Disability Services, the Learning Center, and the Writing Center moved into recently renovated space; now educational services to support student learning are located in one facility. Membership in various consortia expedites the loan of resources from other libraries.

Reference services are available from librarians; hours and contact information are listed on the library website. All students, residential and online, have access to online databases (including full-text articles, e-books, and streaming videos) and the library catalog. Students can access the library through the Messiah website. Most graduate courses also have direct links to the library in Canvas. Journal articles not available online can be requested through Interlibrary Loan and will be forwarded electronically to students. Books owned by the library will be mailed to a student’s home address. Students may also present their Messiah ID card at various Pennsylvania libraries to check out books from a local library. Students outside of Pennsylvania may visit their local college to see if they offer borrowing privileges. If in the area, students in online courses are always welcome to visit Messiah’s Murray Library to do research, check out materials, or place interlibrary loan requests in person.

Editing & Writing Support

Messiah College partners with Heartful Editor to provide editing support and writing coaching to graduate students. Heartful Editor’s team of caring and supportive academic coaches and editors strives to uphold the highest ethical standards in their work with students, blending ethics and compassion to build a responsible and productive editing and coaching experience.

Heartful Editor coaches and guides graduate students on writing and the mechanics of style, specifically the guidelines outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Edition) and the American Medical Association Manual of Style (AMA, 10th Edition). Their academic coaches and editors:

  • Read and review all documents for grammar, spelling, punctuation, consistency in formatting, and alignment with style guidelines.
  • Suggest alternative words or phrases, provide guidance on sentence structure, and advise on how to better organize ideas.
  • Provide graduate students with a thorough overview of areas that need attention and improvement.
  • Track all edits and changes for the client to review and accept or reject.
  • Format master’s theses and doctoral dissertations in alignment with Messiah College formatting standards.

To learn more about Heartful Editor or to schedule an appointment for editing or writing coaching, please visit www.heartfuleditor.com/contact. They will respond to your request within 24 hours.