The Learning Resource Center and George A. Piendak Library

The George A. Piendak Library and Learning Resource Center (LRC) maintains an expanding collection of culinary, hospitality management, general educational and recreational books, audiovisual materials and periodicals (both print and electronic). The LRC has computerized circulation, cataloging and processing systems, which allow materials to be circulated more effectively. Our library is a member of several interlibrary loan programs, including the Maryland Interlibrary Consortium and the Maryland Interlibrary Loan Organization.

Click here to download a .pdf with futher information about the Maryland Interlibrary Consortium.

Click here to visit the library's homepage.

This program uses an online SHARC electronic card catalog system and enables BIC to have access to the holdings of private and state libraries throughout Maryland and the United States. The library receives approximately 120 serial titles and has more than 16,000 volumes on its shelves, as well as over 1000 AV (filmstrip/video/DVD) materials. Access to the Internet through the computer lab is available, and students have access to the following in-house online databases for their research:

EBSCO Research Databases: Databases on this site include Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, Health Source, ERIC, Hospitality and Tourism Complete.
National Newspapers Database: Provides full text coverage and indexing to current and retrospective articles in the Baltimore sun, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and others
Britannica Online: The world's most authoritative encyclopedia, with a wealth of information on a variety of topics
Hoover's Online: Provides company and business/industry information.
Lexis/Nexis Academic: An index for a wide variety of news, business, legal and reference information.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center: Database that provides the pros and cons of current social issues such as AIDS, censorship, eating disorders, gun control, etc.

Students also have remote access to all of the Maryland Digital Library (MDL) databases to which BIC subscribes. Accessing these databases "off campus" can be achieved by logging in to the MDL homepage with your last name and 14-digit bar code, which can be found on the back of your school ID. (This bar code also enables you to check out books from the LRC.) Databases that are available through MDL are the Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, ERIC, Health Source (Academic and Consumer Editions), Hospitality and Tourism Complete and National Newspapers. Please let the LRC staff know if you have any questions - they will be glad to offer their assistance in the utilization of library resources.

Library Hours:
Monday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.