Library Regulations
| Category | General Regulations |
|---|---|
| Type | Policy |
| Approved by | Council |
| Date Policy Took Effect | |
| Last Approved Revision | |
| Sponsor | Professor Gareth Jones - Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International) |
| Responsible Officer | |
| Review Date |
Policy Content
1. General
(a) These regulations apply to the Library of the University which includes the Central Library, the Hocken Collections, the Science, Medical, and Dental Libraries in Dunedin, and the Sir Robert Stout Law Library, and any collection of material belonging to the Library which is housed in any other part of the University.
(b) Admission to the Library and to the use of its material is conditional upon the observance of these regulations and of such directions as may from time to time be given by the University Librarian.
(c) 'Material' in these regulations includes all printed, manuscript, pictorial, archival, audiovisual, microform and electronic resources provided by the Library.
(d) University email accounts will generally be used for routine communication with library patrons.
2. Eligibility
a) The following shall be eligible to use the Library for reading, reference, and borrowing:
- students and staff of the University
- members of the University Council
- graduates and retired University staff living in the Dunedin area
- approved academic visitors
- staff and students of associated organisations where there is a written memorandum of understanding relating to Library use between the University and the organisation
- persons wishing to use the Library for research purposes whose applications have been approved by the University Librarian.
(b) Members of the general public, unless approved under regulation 2(a), may use the Library for reading and reference only. Where licences permit, public access to electronic resources is provided in the Library.
(c) At times of peak usage, the University Librarian may be required to restrict usage to current students and staff.
3. Borrowing
(a) A current University of Otago ID card or Library ID card is required to borrow any material from the Library. Entitlement to use the University Library as a result of an official agreement must be supported by presentation of a photographic ID card from the home organisation.
(b) No material shall be removed from the Library until its loan has been properly recorded.
(c) Material held in the Library comprises, for the purposes of use and borrowing, the following categories:
- 'not for loan' material, which may not be borrowed except with the express permission of the University Librarian
- books from the open access collection
- restricted loan material, including course reserves, theses, journals, audiovisual materials
- material received on interlibrary loan that shall be lent according to the policies of the owning library
- material from the Hocken Collections and special collections which shall be used within the Collections' consultation areas.
(d) Books from the open access collection are subject to early recall if requested by another borrower. The loan period for restricted loan materials may be reduced if the material is in demand.
(e) Persons who have borrowed any material may apply for renewal of the loan on the expiry of the permitted period and renewal may be granted if the material is not requested by any other borrower.
(f) At the discretion of the University Librarian, members of the academic staff and doctoral students may borrow books from the open access collection for a period of 12 weeks in the first instance. Other postgraduate students and final year Honours students may borrow material for a period of 42 days in the first instance. All such material is subject to the early recall provision of regulation 3(d).
(g) It shall be in the power of the University Librarian to limit the period for which certain specified items of material may be taken out of the Library, to restrict the number of items that may be borrowed at any time by any borrower, or to grant special loan privileges to meet unusual circumstances.
(h) Material may not be passed from a borrower to another person including other registered borrowers. The person recorded as the borrower of material shall be held responsible for the return of the material, undamaged, to the Library by the due date.
4. Fines and Fees
(a) Borrowers who fail to renew or return any borrowed material shall be liable to a fine assessed according to a schedule agreed to by the Library Services Committee.
(b) The fine shall be payable for each day or period (or part day or part period) the material is overdue until it has been checked-in at the Library.
(c) Non-payment of fines totalling more than an amount agreed to by the Library Services Committee will result in suspension of borrowing rights until payment of the outstanding amount is received. A borrower who repeatedly fails to return material by the due date may have borrowing rights suspended. Outstanding monies owing to the Library will result in the withholding by the Council of the final award of any qualification for which the student is a candidate.
(d) Borrowers shall be held responsible for any loss of, or damage to, material while it is on loan to them and shall be required to pay the cost of replacement or repair as determined by the University Librarian, together with an administrative charge. Such loss or damage must be reported immediately to the Library from which it was borrowed.
5. Conduct
(a) No noisy or disruptive behaviour is permitted in the Library. Such behaviour includes conversation that disturbs other Library users and the audible use of noise-generating equipment including cell phones. Cell phones must be muted and be used only for sending and receiving text messages.
(b) Eating and drinking are not permitted in the Library, except that water in non-spill bottles is permitted. In the Hocken Collections and special collections areas of the Library no food or drink is permitted.
(c) Bags may not be taken into the Hocken Collections and special collections areas of the Library.
(d) Study spaces may not be reserved for more than twenty minutes. The Library does not accept responsibility for any personal belongings left in the Library.
(e) Every person who uses a copying machine in the Library shall observe the limits required by the Copyright Act 1994.
Note: For the convenience of users Copyright Warning notices are placed close to the copying machines in all libraries.
Staff wishing to make multiple copies for use in course instruction must ensure such copying complies with the guidelines set out by CLL (New Zealand) Ltd and available in the brochure Copyright on Campus.
