Borrowing Policy

Borrowers

Borrowers must agree to return borrowed items promptly and to comply with the policies of Clark College Libraries and Clark College. Policy violations and failure to return items in good condition or pay fees will result in the loss of library privileges.

Cards are issued to individuals, not families or businesses.

Current Clark College students, faculty, and staff

A current Clark College Library card or a valid Clark College ID is required to borrow library items, including course reserves that are restricted to building-use only. Current Clark College students, faculty, and staff may either use a college ID (must be scannable) or obtain a library card at a Clark College Libraries Check Out Desk by presenting picture identification and confirmation of their current mailing address, regardless of residence.

Emeritus

Faculty and staff who retire with the status of emeritus receive borrowing privileges upon verification of emeritus status and completion of a library registration form. Emeritus library privileges include: borrowing of Clark College library items, Summit items, and off-site research database access. Emeriti are subject to employee borrowing policies.

Community members

Other residents of community college service district 14 who are age 16 or older are eligible for a Clark College Library card with valid picture identification along with proof of current residence and birth date. Stricter limits on number of items checked out may be imposed for persons in temporary residences. Community patron cards must be renewed in person and proof of residence verified each quarter. Continued borrowing privileges are contingent on promptly returning all materials borrowed in good condition. Some services and resources are limited to Clark College students enrolled in credit classes, current faculty, and staff.

Orbis Cascade/Summit visitors

Visiting patrons from other Orbis Cascade Alliance or institutions which have established a reciprocal borrowing agreement with Clark College may check out materials which are available for loan in the combined Summit catalog. Patrons must present picture and/or institutional identification and also be verified to be in good standing at their home institutions. Some local collection variations apply.

Clark College departments

Clark College departments may establish records for the purpose of borrowing materials if financial responsibility is established and authorized borrowers are properly designated.

Responsibilities

• Clark College Library cards or valid Clark College IDs must be presented for check out. A fee may be charged for replacement of cards or refusal to present the card at check out.
• Lost or stolen cards must be reported immediately to help prevent fraudulent use. Report name and address changes promptly.
• Know due dates. Cardholders must return or renew items in order to avoid fines and/or suspension of borrowing privileges.
• Cardholders are responsible for the physical condition of any items checked out on their card. Do not lend your library card to anyone, including family members.

Privacy of borrower accounts

See Privacy of Circulation Records

Limits

All borrowers are limited to a total of 25 items out at any time, including audiovisual, course reserve, interlibrary loan and Summit borrowing. Only three audiovisual items total per borrower are permitted. Exceptions may be made for instructional use in Clark College classes.

Videos and DVDs owned by the library are circulated to students, staff, and community patrons. However priority use is given to faculty and staff who are requesting the item for instructional use during Clark College classes. Cannell Library does not rent or loan videos or DVDs for off-campus use by other agencies, including interlibrary loan.

Faculty and staff are responsible for obtaining public performance rights for special campus showings of library or personally owned videos or DVDs.

Students are permitted to check out one of each type of equipment as needed: laptop with power adapter, headphones, calculator, etc.

Clark College students have priority use of items placed on course reserve for classes. Course reserve item limits are two items out at one time. Course reserve items have a 3-hour, in-library use only limit for community patrons or Orbis Cascade/Summit adopted visitors. Exceptions can be made for course reserve items placed on course reserve for use by distance education classes from other institutions taught on the Clark College campuses.

Community patrons and Orbis Cascade/Summit adopted patrons are not allowed to check out telecourses or equipment (even for use in the building).

Reference librarians can limit the number of items in a subject area that may be checked out by any one person during check out.

Reference books, periodicals, specified DVDs or videorecordings, and certain other designated items do not check out of the library. Exceptions can be made by the reference librarian on duty for Clark College employees in special circumstances. Loan periods will be extremely limited for these items.

Loan periods

• Books and CDs from unrestricted Clark College Library collections: 21 days
• Videos and DVDs from Clark College collections: 6 days
• Course reserve items: instructors may choose either 3-hour, restricted to use inside the building, 3 day, or 7 day loan periods.
• Summit books: 6 weeks
• Summit audiovisual items: 6 days

Renewals

Most books from unrestricted Clark College Libraries collections can usually be renewed twice, provided there are no requests on them, they are not billed, and the patron's record has not expired. Exceptions may be made for Clark College faculty and administrators by circulation work leaders.

Course reserve items can not be renewed. There are no renewals of videos or DVDs except for faculty who are using the item in a class - provided the item is not booked by another instructor. Returning an item and immediately checking it out again to circumvent the no renewals policy is also prohibited.

Summit item renewal limits are established by the lending library and cannot be altered by Clark College circulation staff. There are no renewals for Summit items.

Clark College patrons are strongly encouraged to renew items online. Library staff will process telephone and e-mail renewal requests, but patrons are also informed of the online procedure for future renewals.

Requests and recalls

All Clark College Libraries circulating items are subject to recall at any time. Recalls are primarily used to retrieve items for placement on library course reserve.

All borrowers are limited to a maximum of 25 active hold requests. Requests can be placed on Clark College materials from unrestricted collections online from on or off campus - even if the item is available. Summit items may only be requested by students currently enrolled in credit classes and by current or retired employees. Staff can make arrangements for specific video items to be delivered to the Information Commons at CTC for students to check out there.

Phone requests to retrieve items from the stacks will be accepted and searched within one hour providing there is staff available. Printing and paging of requests is done twice daily generally mid-morning and early evening during weekdays and once on weekend days when Cannell Library is open.

Items will be delivered by courier for pick up to either the Information Commons at CTC or Cannell Library according to what the requester specifies. Items must be picked up at either Cannell Library or the Information Commons when the building is open. The campus libraries do not mail out books off campus or through campus mail to individuals.

Borrowers will be notified by e-mail when items are ready for checkout. Students will be notified via their Clark College student e-mail account. Items from the Clark College Libraries will be held seven days after a patron notice is sent. However short loan items from Summit such as videos and DVDs can only be held for two days before they are returned. When the library is closed for quarter break, appointments can be made to pick up requested items by calling the Cannell Library circulation department.

Staff may offer to hold books on a “special hold” shelf for up to three days if a patron does not have their library card with them or has a block that needs to be resolved. Staff should put a note on the materials indicating: date/time/patron’s name and the initials of the staff person taking the special hold request. If unclaimed at the end of that time, the items will be returned to shelves.

Cannell Library usually does not hold periodicals, reference, or any restricted collections on the special hold shelf. Exceptions might be made in special cases, but not for over 24 hours.

Clark College Libraries will not function as a pick-up point between people. Items left for others to retrieve will be put in lost and found and given to Security.

Booking videos for classroom use

Instructors should book library videos and DVDs in advance for use in the classroom. They may book items for the entire quarter at the beginning of that quarter to reduce scheduling conflicts. Requests for video bookings may be made up to three days before the anticipated show date, but faculty are encouraged to remember that by that time the video they wish to book may not be available and the circulation department will be unable to change that. Booking is available online from the library web page. Requests are limited to three videos and/or DVDs per day.

Faculty members have the option of picking up Cannell Library videos and DVDs at the Check Out Desk or receiving them through campus mail at their mail stop. Requests for delivery to a mail stop should be made at least seven week days prior to the use date to allow for transit. Otherwise, faculty must pick up items from the Check Out Desk.

For faculty members located at the CTC or Clark College at WSU-V, requests must be made at least 10 weekdays before the show date, or the videos will not be able to reach them via the courier.

Faculty may return videos and DVDs to the Check Out Desk, to one of our two book drops (located at the front entrance of Cannell Library and near the North Gaiser Hall Green parking lot), or through campus mail to mail stop LIB 112 using a specially marked bag.

Return

Items borrowed from all Orbis Cascade Alliance libraries may also be returned to a Clark College Libraries location, unless specified otherwise.

Outside return boxes can be used even during quarter breaks when buildings are closed.

When classes are in session, Cannell Library staff retrieve items in the outside return boxes in the morning and mid-afternoon on weekdays. On weekends during the session and weekdays during quarter breaks, staff retrieves items once each day.

Information Commons staff retrieve items once each day, Monday through Thursday. During quarter breaks, the Information Commons staff retrieve items on Monday and Thursday mornings.

Fees and fines

State law makes it a misdemeanor for anyone to intentionally injure, deface, or destroy any library property. Persons who publicly state they have intentionally damaged or retained library materials will be considered violators and will lose borrowing privileges at Clark College Libraries. Violators may be prosecuted, subject to fines and/or lose library privileges permanently.

A person is responsible for any items checked out with their cards until they are returned in good condition to the book return boxes or Check Out Desk. The cardholder is responsible whether courtesy reminder notices are received or not. Charges are referred to a collection agency for reimbursement.

Grades, transcripts, registration, student aid payments, and Clark College employee paychecks will be blocked when items are billed or fees charged. Library borrowing privileges will also be curtailed or suspended. All items must be returned and/or fines paid before a library block is removed.

Students whose records are blocked must return or pay fees in order to register for classes. Department supervisors or deans may be notified if instructors have fees and have not responded to notices or other contacts to resolve borrowing issues.

Fines

Daily fines are not charged for late materials belonging to Clark College. However, hourly course reserves, equipment and study room keys  do incur a $5 per hour fee to a maximum of $50 when returned late.

Items are considered lost when the patron does not respond to library notices or contacts. When Summit, Interlibrary Loan and non-hourly course reserve materials are seven days overdue, a $15 billing fine is added to the patron's account. When books and CDs are 28 days overdue, a $15 billing fine is added to the patron's account.

Charges for lost or damaged items

Items that are returned damaged are billed immediately. Charges depend on the type of material and extent of damage. The cost of repair or binding will be charged for damaged print materials that are repairable. There is a minimum charge of $10 for any item that is damaged while in circulation and subsequently repaired and returned to the collection.

There are designated replacement charges (see chart) for lost or damaged materials. The charge billed for lost or damaged items may be more than the average replacement cost listed if the actual price paid is determined to be higher. Clark College Libraries will not accept a substitute in lieu of payment for lost or damaged items. Replacement costs are intended to include some of the costs of cataloging and processing.

Payment of fees for damaged or overdue item(s) does not constitute purchase of items, which remain Washington State property. Damaged books can not be purchased from the library.

Replacement charges

Appeals and claims returned

Patrons who question a bill or fee should discuss policy and options with the Circulation Work Leader at the Check Out Desk. Unresolved issues are referred to the Access Services Manager. The Library Director handles final appeals concerning fees.

If any items are reported returned by the patron but not found immediately by the staff, the situation must be resolved before any more materials may be borrowed. An exception is made only for course reserves which are used in the library. Blocks may be temporarily removed while items are in claims returned status. After one month, if the claims returned materials item(s) aren’t located by the library staff, they are considered lost and a second bill is sent. A claims returned report is generated weekly and staff searches shelves at least weekly.

Summit items reported as returned but not found by staff are searched weekly and the lending library and other Orbis Cascade Alliance libraries are contacted for assistance. A note is put on the patron record and borrowing can continue for one month. If items are not found by then, borrowing is suspended and the borrower must then pay charges to clear their record.

Payments and refunds

Only authorized circulation personnel can adjust or waive charges and delete messages from patron records. Student assistants are not authorized to make exceptions to circulation policy.

Refunds are given for Clark College library items returned in good condition within six months of the payment date. No refunds will be given for overdue fees or when reimbursement has already been paid to another lending agency. Billing fines for items are non-refundable, including Summit items.

Audiovisual equipment

• Audio and visual equipment is intended for use with library course reserve materials or Clark College curriculum-related materials only.
• Media equipment must be used in the library. Headphones may only be used inside the building or in the LibLab on the second floor at Cannell Library.
• Individuals or groups of two should use the equipment along the railing on the second floor of the Cannell Library.
• Video players and computers provided for the group study rooms are intended for group viewing of curriculum-related materials only.

Computer equipment

See Computer Equipment Policy