Frequently Asked Questions

Who can visit the LRC?
The LRC is open to the general public. However if you wish to visit please call us at least 24 hours in advance at 301-447-1046. This will help expedite your entry thru security. You will not be granted admittance after 5PM (Monday-Thursday) or on the weekend unless you've called us in advance.
Who can check out materials directly from the LRC?
Only NETC personnel and students may borrow materials directly from the LRC. However we encourage you to borrow any of our circulating books, reports or other materials through interlibrary loan. You simply need to provide staff at your local library with a printout of the item record from our online catalog. This will include the title, author and other identifying information such as an ISBN or OCLC number. Your library will then obtain the item from the most readily available source. Owing to the unique nature of our collections we’re often the library most likely to fill these requests.
What type of books or materials does your LRC have?
The LRC has one of the most comprehensive collections in the United States of materials relating to the fire service and to emergency management. Our print collections include some 18,000 books and another nearly 6000 reports, proceedings and government documents. Students from the Executive Fire Officer program write major papers during each of their four years in the program and the LRC has over 6000 of their published papers (along with another 4000 EFO abstracts). We also have a large collection of DVD/VHS titles currently numbering more than 5700 items.
The LRC subscribes to several hundred professional journals and magazines and has over the past three decades indexed over 102,000 individual journal articles. This effort has made the LRC online catalog a unique guide to periodical literature with citations on fire, emergency response, natural disaster, and homeland security topics going back to the early 1970s and beyond. LRC staff continue to index nearly 5,000 newly published articles each year, from scores of professional journals, magazines and newsletters across the country and internationally.
How long do materials check out?
checkout periods by item type
Where is the LRC located?
We’re in Emmitsburg, Maryland, located in Building N on the campus of the National Emergency Training Center.
From Baltimore: I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) to I-70 West (towards Frederick) to Route 15 North to Emmitsburg. Left turn off Route 15 to South Seton Avenue. 2nd Right onto campus (tree-lined drive).
From Washington: I-495 (Washington Beltway) to I-270 North (towards Frederick) to Route 15 North to Emmitsburg. Left turn off Route 15 to South Seton Avenue. 2nd Right onto campus (tree-lined drive).
From Philadelphia and East: Pennsylvania Turnpike West to Harrisburg, Exit 236 (Route 15). Go South on Route 15 to Emmitsburg. Right turn off Route 15 to South Seton Avenue. 2nd Right onto campus (tree-lined drive).
From Pittsburgh and West: Pennsylvania Turnpike East to Harrisburg, Exit 236 (Route 15). Go South on Route 15 to Emmitsburg. Right turn off Route 15 to South Seton Avenue. 2nd Right onto campus (tree-lined drive).
What’s the LRC’s contact information
Mailing address: Learning Resource Center, 16825 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Email: netclrc@dhs.gov
Telephone: 301-447-1030
Toll-free: 800-638-1821
Fax: 301-447-3217
What are the LRC hours?
While classes are in session, the schedule of hours for the LRC is as follows:
Monday to Thursday. . .8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday. . . . . . . . .8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday. . . . . . . .4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday. . . . . . . . .12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Please refer to our calendar page http://www.lrc.fema.gov/hours.html to see the LRC weekend and special hours schedule which we update monthly based upon the class schedule. Be sure to note that our regular business hours typically change around the holidays.
What is the mission of the LRC?
Support the National Fire Academy and Emergency Management Institute’s instructional and research programs through ownership of or access to appropriate print and other resources. Provide assistance to FEMA and other DHS offices as well as to the general public in their search for useful information resources. Promote the better understanding of effective ways to use these resources by NETC students, faculty and the first responder community across the United States.
Can I search the LRC’s holdings on the internet?
Yes, you can search our online public access catalog at any time from our home page http://www.lrc.fema.gov/index.html by selecting the yellow button labeled “Search Card Catalog.”
How can I search for EFO papers?
After you select from our home page the yellow button labeled Search Card Catalog you’ll see a page with several search options including title keyword, general keyword or subject search. Selecting one of these options will bring up a subsequent page where you can enter your search terms. You can choose to limit your results to by selecting EFO Papers from the Document Types sub-menu below.
What EFO papers are available to borrow from the LRC?
The Executive Fire Officer research papers are written by individual students after they leave campus as part of their class assignment. These research papers are available for in-house use by library visitors, for checkout by NETC users and for loan to off-campus users via interlibrary loan.
Please note however that the LRC since 1996 only retains EFO papers that received a grade of 3.0 or better. All other papers are entered into the LRC catalog only with an abstract. If you’d like to get a copy of a paper for which the LRC has only retained an abstract you’ll need to contact the author directly.
Most EFO Papers published since FY98 are now available to download or read online in their entirety. You’ll see links in our online catalog citations to these papers as they are available in digits. There is a backlog in scanning current year papers so the most recent titles may still be unavailable online. View this Online Tutorial on how to find EFO Papers in our catalog. (Duration: 2 minutes)