Library

Borrowing from the Library

How much you can borrow How to borrow Conditions of loan Renewals Return of borrowed items

Notices Penalties and charges for overdue items Special Borrowing by members of the public Library/University ID Card Borrowing from other university libraries Materials not for loan

 

How much you can borrow and for how long

Borrower categories	No. of items	Loan period
Staff, research higher degree students	50 items	60 days
Course-work postgraduates (including masters by coursework, graduate diplomas and honours)	25 items	28 days
Undergraduates	15 items	14 days
Individual Special Borrowers	15 items	14 days

Flexible Library Services borrowers

Undergraduates registered with Flexible Library Services have an extra 7 days added to their loan period to allow for delivery and return of loan items.

Restricted collection loans

This includes materials identified as being in high demand and available only on short-term loan. The loan period and conditions are the same for all categories of borrower.

Length of loan	How many items	Type of material
2 hours	2 items	Reserve material in high demand
1 day	2 items	Items in fairly high demand
3 days	3 items	Material in moderate demand

Reserve collection loans

The Reserve collections are short-term loan collections of materials in heavy demand. They include books and articles from the course reading lists and prescribed texts.
Reserve items can normally be borrowed for two hours during the day, and can be borrowed overnight from 2 hours prior to closing time. The Launceston and Clinical Reserve collections also contain some 1 day loan items.
It is very important to return Reserve items on time to the library from which they have been borrowed as other students are directly disadvantaged by late return. There are penalties for late return.

How to borrow

Take the items and your ID card to the Desk where we will process the loan. At the Morris Miller Library, the Launceston Campus Library, and the Cradle Coast Campus Library you may prefer to use the Self Check terminal. 
When you borrow an item at the Desk or the Self Check terminal, you will be issued with a date due receipt.  Please retain this receipt for your information.

You also can see the items you have on loan by going to the Library Catalogue and selecting My Account. To log into My Account, use your student/staff number and Library PIN.  Your Library PIN can be obtained at any of our libraries, over the phone, or by email. You can also renew items by logging into My Account.

Conditions of loan

The following loan conditions apply to all borrowers.
Requests: Items on loan may be requested for you to borrow when they are returned.
Recalls: All borrowed items are subject to recall if required by another borrower or for the Reserve Collection.  Recalled items must be returned by the date specified in the recall notice. Penalties for overdue recalled items accumulate at a faster rate than for normal items.

Renewals: If no request or recall has been placed on an item by another borrower you may renew your loan. Renewals can be made in person, by telephone or from the Library Catalogue using My Account.  Items held in General collections can be renewed four times if not overdue or requested by another borrower. Reserve items can be renewed once by phone to the Library from which they have been borrowed.

Return of borrowed items

You can return most items to any library service point and they should be placed in the appropriate return chute.  Reserve items however must be returned to the library from which they were borrowed. An after-hours return chute is available in most libraries. Non-reserve items may also be returned to the Polytechnic Library in Devonport.

Please note that the return chute of both the Art Library and the Clinical Library are only accessible when the building is open. The Music Library does not have an after-hours return chute.

Materials not for loan

We do not lend items that are rare, reference, deposit copies or official University records.
Serials are not normally lent, however, in some libraries bound volumes of serials are available for 1-3 day loan to University staff, research postgraduates and PhD students.

Loan system penalties

Items must be renewed or returned by the due date. The library imposes fines for overdue items.
It is the borrower's responsibility to note the due date and return the items on time. Responsibility for all material issued rests with the person named on the ID card unless the card's loss was reported to the library prior to the date the material was borrowed.
All overdue notices are sent to the borrowers official email address (check with the Advanced IT Support Desk if you want to redirect your email).  The borrower is responsible for noting the due date and returning the items on time.

While an item is overdue, penalties are calculated as follows:

Loan type	Fine rate
Normal	$5 per item initial fine after a period of 5 days and $1 per day thereafter
Reserve	$5 per item initial fine after a period of 30 minutes and $1 per hour thereafter
1 day	$5 per item initial fine after a period of 1 hour and $1 per hour thereafter
3 days	$5 per item initial fine after a period of 1 day and $1 per day thereafter
Recalls	$5 per item initial fine after the expiry of the recall date and $1 per day thereafter

 

The maximum fine for each item shall not exceed $30. In addition to any fines, replacement costs are payable for long overdue, lost and damaged items.
Unauthorised removal of library material that has not been formally issued, and the mutilation or damage of library material are treated as serious offences. Ordinance 79 (Library Ordinance) , Ordinance 9 (Student Discipline) and Rule 101 (Library Rules) apply.

Notices

Library notices (including reminder, overdue, and hold request notices) are sent by e-mail to student and staff members' University e-mail addresses.