Need help with finding sources, searching databases, formatting citations, or deciding on a paper topic? The NCC Librarians are here for you.
Both the Mack Library (Bethlehem) and ESSA Library (Monroe) are open if you'd like to visit in person, or you can chat online with a Librarian no matter where you are! Go to the Library's home page and click on the orange "Ask the Librarian" tab to start chatting. 
To find out when we're open, take a look at the Library's hours.
For more ways to reach us, and answers to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), click here. You can also send an e-mail question to askthelibrarian@northampton.edu, or set up a private appointment with a Librarian by using the "Book A Librarian" request form.
We look forward to hearing from you!
This Research Guide will help you find Library resources that discuss the U.S. Constitution and its history, including books, journals, online subscription databases and websites.
A survey of Constitutional law emphasizing civil rights and individual liberties, this course will provide students with a general understanding of the major issues in Constitutional law, including the structure of the U.S. government; the separation of powers between branches of the federal government; federalism and states' rights; and the balance of the interests of the government with that of the individual in a diverse society.
To download and view a map of each NCC campus, click here.
Library to Go pickup at the Bethlehem campus is located at the Circulation Desk in Mack Library, on the 4th Floor of College Center (building number 3 on this map).
Library to Go pickup at the Monroe campus is located at the service desk in the ESSA Library, which is in Keystone Hall (building number 2 on this map).
NCC Bethlehem campus
3835 Green Pond Road
Bethlehem, PA 18020
Directions
From North, East or West: Find your best route to Route 22. Take the Route 191 exit. At end of the ramp, turn RIGHT onto Route 191 North. One-tenth of a mile from the exit ramp, turn RIGHT onto Brodhead Road (before the Brodhead Road stoplight). Follow Brodhead Road until you come to a stop sign, turn RIGHT onto Hecktown Road. Proceed past the Hecktown Road entrance and turn left onto Green Pond Road. The Green Pond Road entrance to the campus will be on your RIGHT. The entrance to the Gates Center will be on your LEFT.
From the South: Take Interstate 78 to Route 33 North. Go to second exit, William Penn Highway, and turn LEFT. Pass Farmersville Elementary School on left, Municipal Building on right. Take the first RIGHT after the Municipal Building onto Oakland Road. Stay on Oakland Road until you see the entrance to the College on your RIGHT.
2411 Route 715
Tannersville, PA 18372
Directions
From Interstate 80: Take Exit 299 for Tannersville. Go SOUTH on Route 715 for one mile. The College entrance is on the RIGHT at Warner Road, just past Railroad Avenue.
From Tannersville & Route 611: Take Route 611 to Route 715 South. Go SOUTH on Route 715 for one mile. The College entrance is on the RIGHT at Warner Road, just past Railroad Avenue.
From points west of Tannersville: Take Route 715 NORTH toward Tannersville. The College entrance is on the LEFT at Warner Road, one mile before Interstate 80.
Handy Supreme Court Answer Book by Before adjourning for its summer recess in 2023, the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court handed down several momentous decisions that reverse prior rulings on affirmative action, freedom of religion and speech, and limits on the power of the executive branch to control the federal government's budgetary functions.
In two cases where the organization Students for Fair Admissions sued Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, respectively, the Court ruled that affirmative action practices intended to help students of color gain entrance into college are unconstitutional, because they violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Justice Clarence Thomas -- the second African American ever to serve on the Court and a beneficiary of affirmative action policies himself -- shared in his concurring opinion his belief that taking race into consideration during college admissions actually places a stigma on minority students, rather than helping them.
In another case of interest to college students and recent graduates, the Court ruled that Joe Biden had overstepped his authority as President when he offered millions of students relief from student loan debt, without getting the approval of Congress. Unless a new law can be passed that will allow Biden's plan to take effect, people with outstanding student loans will be expected to start making payments in October 2023.
The Court's decision involving the First Amendment, which guarantees the rights to free speech and free exercise of religion, is unusual because the original lawsuit it is based on arose from a hypothetical scenario, not a real situation where someone suffered actual harm. A web designer in Colorado was planning to expand her business to include wedding websites, but wanted to make it clear to customers that she would refuse to work for LGBTQ+ clients because her religious beliefs oppose gay marriage. The woman was concerned that a state law in Colorado -- meant to prevent discrimination -- would force her to accept gay clients and build wedding websites that supported gay marriage, thus violating her right to free speech (or the freedom not to speak, as the case may be). But, unlike most other cases that reach the Supreme Court, this case was not based on an actual incident of discrimination -- the web designer had not had any requests from gay customers, and never refused service to anyone on that basis.
For more information on these and other recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, visit these websites:
Good news!
Even though both NCC Libraries are open again, you can still borrow books and other materials remotely by using our Library to Go service. You can choose quick pickup on campus, or free delivery to your home.
Use Library to Go PLUS to request:
This Research Guide was updated February 12, 2024 by Anne Bittner.
