COP 03-1301: Library Services Lending Policies

Purpose Statement

FSW Libraries provides borrowing privileges to students, staff, faculty, and citizens of its five-county service community.

Guidelines

Procedures

To borrow materials faculty and currently enrolled students must present a Florida SouthWestern State College ID Card (a.k.a. BUC Card) which serves as their de facto library card.

Community Patrons are eligible for a Community Library Card. Community Patrons are defined as residents of Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, or Glades counties who are not current faculty, staff, or students at FSW. Applicants for community patron cards must be at least eighteen years old and present either a current Florida driver’s license, voter’s registration card, or property tax receipt. Library cards are nontransferable. FSW Libraries must be notified about a lost or stolen card and contact information must be kept up-to-date. Community Patron cards are issued at no cost to the user. Community Patron Cards are valid for one year, and are eligible for annual renewal.

Renewals

Some library items are eligible to be renewed for two additional loan periods if

• The item is not overdue, and
• The account is in good standing, and
• No other patron has requested the item

Interlibrary Loans: The loan periods and renewal policies are determined by the lending library. Renewals may be processed in-person, online, and by phone 239-489-9220.

Holds

FSW library patrons in good standing may place a hold request for materials that are checked out to another patron or listed as available at any campus library location. Patrons will be notified when their hold requests are available for pick up at the circulation desk. Items are held for a period of 10 business days.

During the hold period, library staff will make two attempts to notify the patron. After 10 business days, hold materials will be returned to the shelf or made available to the next person in the hold queue.

Hold requests may not be placed for eReserve items.

Overdue/Lost/Damaged Items

Borrowers are personally responsible for the safety, proper use, and timely return of library materials they have checked out. If materials are not returned by the date due, library privileges may be suspended. If fees have accrued, due to loss or damage of an item, all fees must be paid in full. The borrower is financially responsible for lost or damaged materials. Assessment of damage is at the discretion of the professional library staff. 

At the discretion of the Assistant Vice President for Library Services, patrons who are excessively or repeatedly late in returning items may temporarily or permanently have borrowing privileges suspended.

When an item is 90 days overdue the item is declared lost. At that time a per-item material fee of $25 or the replacement cost of the item (whichever is greater) is billed to the borrower. At the time of billing, accounts are forwarded to the Office of Financial Services as a debt to the college. Failure to pay fees will prevent students from registering for future courses.

Once an item is declared lost, replacement of the missing will be assessed on an item-by-item basis for relevancy to the current college curriculum. In case the item is no longer in print, availability of the item will also be factored into the decision to replace or not replace.

Return of overdue items does not relieve the obligation to pay lost item fees. Paid fees are non-refundable. 

Questions and appeals regarding the payment of lost item fees should be directed to the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Library Services located in the Rush Library on the Lee Campus in Fort Myers.

Suspension of Borrowing Privileges

Library borrowing privileges may be suspended for any card holder who violates the Florida SouthWestern State College Code of Conduct or FSW Library Policies. Reasons for suspension include, but are not limited to, the misuse or non-return of library materials, abuse of computers, inappropriate web access, or inappropriate or disruptive behavior. Students reserve the right to appeal the loss of their library privileges to the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Library Services.

Course eReserve Policies and Procedures

Course reserves materials will be available for checkout in digital format only. Digitized course eReserve items are available to currently enrolled FSW students. Checkout periods for eReserve materials vary and are determined by the course instructor. Any FSW faculty member may place items on reserve.

Course eReserves materials are subject to copyright restrictions. The number of copies of digitized course reserve materials available for student access is contingent on the number of physical copies in the possession of FSW Libraries. Only the digital copy will be available for checkout.

FSW Library makes every effort to process course reserves materials in a timely manner, but cannot guarantee immediate access. To ensure prompt posting of reserve materials Instructors should submit hard copy materials for digitization at least one week prior to the date students are scheduled to begin accessing the material(s).

Interlibrary Loans

All FSW students, faculty, and staff may request materials from libraries outside of FSW through the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service. A limit of five items per day may be requested through ILL. Borrowers will be notified via email when ILL materials have arrived at an FSW Library. Return dates are set by the lending library and must be adhered to by the FSW borrower. The service is generally free of charge; however, lending costs may be assessed in certain circumstances if agreed to in advance by the borrower. ILL requests for college textbooks will not be accepted or filled. Interlibrary Loan borrowers are liable for any bills charged by the lending library.