Circulation Policy

Brown Library at Sterling College

Borrower Eligibility

Students, faculty, and staff of Sterling College are eligible borrowers. The public may also use the library during hours designated on the front door, but must fill out a borrower registration card at the front desk.

Borrowing Privileges

• Books              90 days
• A-V                   7 days

• Books              30 days
• A-V                 7 days

• Books              30 day
• A-V                   7 days

Recalls

If requested by another patron, an item may be recalled after 7 days.

Renewals

An item may be renewed in several ways:  by contacting the library staff at the front desk, by phone, or by email.  Renewals should be requested on or before the due date.

An extended loan period of up to 90 days may be granted to juniors and seniors working on their SARPs (Senior Applied Research Projects).

Overdue Notices

Unlike most other libraries, no late fees are charged for overdue items.  However, timely return of books and other items is encouraged.  A borrower is expected to keep track of her/his checked-out items and is responsible for the replacement cost of anything that is lost or severely damaged.  More on this in the next section.

As a courtesy, the library sends out overdue notices on a monthly basis to student and public borrowers.

For students, the third notice will be a letter stating that the books are considered lost and are being charged to her/his account.

For the public, the third notice will be a bill and a letter stating that borrowing privileges are suspended until the overdue items are returned or paid for.

Faculty and staff will receive a list of checked-out items at the end of each term.  They will take an inventory and return any items that they are no longer using.

Lost or Damaged Items

Books and other items that have been lost or severely damaged are to be replaced by the borrower.  Replacement cost will be determined by the librarian.  An attempt will be made to find a low-priced used book, including shipping, that is in good condition.  However, note that at times the full list price will be the only option and some books can be very expensive.

The Business Office will no longer give refunds for books that have been returned after being charged to an account.

Non-Circulating Materials

The following library materials are for in-library use only:

• Reference Collection
• Periodicals/Journals
• Senior Applied Research Projects
• CNS Special Collection in Seminar Room

Exceptions may be made for use by Faculty for classroom sessions.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

For books, periodical articles, and audio-visual materials that are not available in our collection, a borrower may fill out an interlibrary loan request form, one form per request.  Forms are located in a pocket on the bulletin board behind the front desk.  If a borrower has a print-out of citations, she/he may “cut and paste” them to the forms.  A borrower may also submit an ILL request electronically via the library home page.

The loan period for items received through interlibrary loan varies according to the policy of the lending library.  Materials are to be returned, or renewed if allowed, on or before the due date.

Policies regarding overdue or lost items, including charges, are determined by the lending library.

VCAL Reciprocal Borrowing

All faculty who are members at institutions of the Vermont Consortium of Academic Libraries (VCAL) may apply for borrowing privileges at Sterling College.

Applicants must present a picture ID as well as the “VCAL Faculty Reciprocal Borrowing” form or card obtained from their academic library.

Reciprocal borrowing is limited to a maximum of 5 books from the general circulating collections of the Sterling College Library.  No other materials (e.g. audio-visual media, periodicals, reference books) are covered under this agreement.

Faculty may borrow books for 30 days.  Renewal is possible as long as a book has not been requested by another patron or is not needed for the course reserve shelves.  A book may be recalled if it has been requested by a member of the Sterling community.

Overdue notices will be sent either by email or by post directly to the borrower.

Books that are not returned after two notices will be considered lost and will be billed at the current list price for a replacement copy.  The home library of the delinquent borrower shall ultimately be responsible for payment of lost books to the lending library.

The VCAL faculty reciprocal borrowing authorization is good for up to one academic year and expires on May 30 of the academic year issued.

Adopted by the Library Committee:  11/7/2006?Amended by the Library Committee:  12/9/2008