Borrowing Library Materials

Procedure Administrator: Associate Provost Authority: N.J.S.A. 18A-64-8

Effective Date: June 4, 1998, June 9, 1998; February 2, 2011; October 4, 2011; November 2, 2022

Index Cross-References:

Procedure File Number: 4134

Approved By: Dr. Harvey Kesselman, President

I.              PROCEDURE:

A.           Eligible Borrowers

·         Students and current and retired employees of Stockton University.

·         Alumni may apply for borrowing privileges at the Library or the Office of Alumni Relations.

·         Guests who are residents of the state of New Jersey and sixteen years of age or older may apply for a Community Borrower card.

·         Virtual Academic Libraries Environment (VALE) borrowers who are current faculty, staff, and students in good standing from VALE participating libraries must obtain a signed VALE Reciprocal Borrowing Application Form from their home institution’s library.

·         New Jersey Academic Libraries Network (NJALN) borrowers who are current faculty, staff, and students from NJALN libraries.

B.           Borrower Identification

Eligible Borrowers must present proper identification to the Circulation staff to borrow items from the Library. Proper identification is a valid Stockton ID card, a Stockton Alumni ID card, or a Community Borrower’s card. Non-Stockton users may apply for a Community Borrower card at the Circulation desk.

All Eligible Borrowers will have their own accounts in the Library’s online library system (OLS) that contain their names, institutional or library identification numbers, contact information, items charged out, overdue items, lost items, and fees associated with unresolved financial obligations, if any.

C.           Borrower Responsibilities

Eligible Borrowers are responsible for the following:

·         All items checked out to their account and the resulting fines if items are held past due dates.

·         Items lost, stolen, or damaged and the resulting fines.

·         Notifying the Library of changes to contact information in their account.

·         Notifying the Library if a Community Borrower card is lost or stolen.

D.           Loan Periods

Loan periods and the renewal of library materials on loan are determined by item type and borrower category. Items such as reference materials, periodicals, microforms, and archival materials are non-circulating unless special permission is granted by a librarian. The Library may temporarily suspend its loan and renewal procedure for special circumstances (e.g. inventory). Reasonable notice will be provided to borrowers to limit inconvenience. All materials are subject to recall.

1.      Stockton students:

·         Currently-enrolled students may borrow an unlimited number of books and documents for a period of three weeks. These materials may be renewed in person, by telephone, or online, unless they are required by another user.

·         Reserve materials may be used by students for the time period specified by the instructor, up to ten days.

·         Circulating media may be borrowed for five days and may be renewed once in person, by telephone, or online, unless they are required by another user.

·         Media Reserve may be used by students for the time period specified by the instructor, up to five days.

2.      Faculty / Staff:

Faculty and staff may borrow:

·         An unlimited number of books and documents for a semester loan. Items are not renewable beyond a two-year period.

·         Five items each from the circulating media collections for a period of five days. These items may be renewed once in person, by telephone, or online, unless they are required by another user.

·         Ten periodicals and up to five reference books for a 24-hour loan with the approval of a librarian.

3.      Adjunct Faculty:

Adjunct faculty have the same borrowing privileges as full-time faculty and staff when they are currently teaching. When adjunct faculty are not scheduled to teach, they may apply for a Community Borrower card. Materials are not automatically renewed at the end of each semester unless the adjunct faculty’s program indicates they are scheduled to teach the following semester.

4.      Alumni:

Alumni may borrow up to ten books, documents and/or circulating media. Books, audio books and documents circulate for a three-week loan period; circulating media has a five-day loan period unless the material is required by another user.

Alumni may renew books, audio books and documents twice in person, by telephone, or online unless they are required by another user. Circulating media may be renewed once unless required by another user.

5.      Guests, NJALN, and VALE Borrowers:

Guests and NJALN borrowers may borrow up to a total of five books and/or documents for a three-week loan period unless the material is required by another user.

Guests and NJALN borrowers may renew books and documents twice in person, by telephone, or online unless they are required by another user.

The VALE reciprocal borrowing policy defers to those policies of the home lending library. For Stockton, students receive a three-week loan with unlimited renewals, and faculty/staff receive a semester loan with unlimited renewals. All loans are subject to recall.

E.           Recalled Items

The Library may recall any item checked out to any Eligible Borrower. Recalling an item usually shortens its loan period. Items needed for course reserve are subject to immediate recall.

F.            Holds

Eligible Borrowers may place a hold on an item to ensure use. Eligible Borrowers also may request Library staff to retrieve items from the stacks to be held at the Circulation Desk for pick-up.

G.          Overdue and Lost Items

An overdue item is a library item that is not returned to the Library by its due date or recall date. After 28 days of overdue status, the status of an overdue item changes to “lost.”

H.           Fines, Charges, and Payments

Library fines and charges are determined by a combination of type of loan and borrower category. Fines, charges, and payment instructions are listed on the Library homepage.

Charges for lost or damaged items are payable by cash or check at the Library circulation desk.

I.              Suspension of Borrowing Privileges

The Library suspends borrowing privileges when circulating or reserve materials are overdue for more than 28 days. Unpaid fines and charges may result in blocking a student from requesting transcripts, or receiving a diploma. Faculty, staff, and current adjunct faculty are exempt from this provision.

Review History: