Lending Code
   effective: March 1, 2008

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Accessing Your Library Account Borrower's Responsibilities Charges, Overdue Materials, Penalties,     and Assessments Eligible Borrowers Loan Periods Notices

Overdue Fees Policies and Procedures Recalls Renewals Return of Library Materials Sanctions

ELIGIBLE BORROWERS

• All current students, faculty, and staff of Penn State with a valid Penn State ID+ card.
  
  
• Alumni: Members of the Penn State Alumni Association
  
  
• Visitors: Residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and other borrowers who have received permission from the University Libraries and have been issued a library card.

BORROWER'S RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Borrowers agree to abide by the rules and regulations of the University Libraries policies.
   
   
2. Borrowers are required to present a valid library card (Penn State ID+ or non-affiliated card) for checkout of material.
   
   
3. Borrowers are financially responsible for all materials charged out on their cards. Borrowers should report a lost or stolen card to library staff at once to minimize responsibility for its unauthorized use.
   
   
4. Borrowers should note time and date that material is due. Overdue notices are sent as a courtesy. Failure to receive notification does not relieve the borrower of the obligation to return materials when they are due or justify a reduction in fines.
   
   
5. Borrowers expecting to be away for more than ten days should return or renew all library materials, supply a temporary address where they may be reached, and make arrangements to return any recalled item on or before its new due date.

ACCESSING YOUR LIBRARY ACCOUNT

• All borrowers: Go to http://www.libraries.psu.edu/, and click on "My Library Account."
  
  
• Faculty, staff, and students: To access a list of materials on your interlibrary loan account, go to https://ill.libraries.psu.edu/.

LOAN PERIODS

Materials are due on days when the library is open, including weekends, semester breaks, and other days when classes are not in session.

All loaned materials are subject to recall as described below in Recalls.

Regular Loans

Undergraduate students, alumni, and visitors: 4 weeks.
Faculty, staff, graduate students, and University scholars: Semester.

Course Reserves

All borrowers: Limited loan period.
     Must return to the Course Reserves desk.
     Subject to hourly overdue fees.

Videos

All borrowers: 7 days and are subject to daily overdue fees.
Faculty: May place videos on Course Reserve.
All borrowers: MediaTech collection may be scheduled for specific viewing dates. For more information see MediaTech.

Special Permission Loans

Special Permission loans are for materials that do not usually circulate, such as bound volumes of periodicals and reference books.
All borrowers: Limited loan period.
     Must return to the lending desk from which it was borrowed.
     Subject to daily overdue fees.

E-ZBorrow

Materials borrowed through the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc. (PALCI).
Faculty, staff, and students: 4 weeks.

RECALLS

• All materials are subject to recall.
  
  
• Materials needed for Course Reserve are immediately recalled.
  
  
• Materials requested by other borrowers are subject to recall after the current borrower has had them for 7 days.
  
  
• Borrowers have an additional 10 days of use after the first recall notice.
  
  
• Recalled items must be returned to a lending desk on or before the new due date.
  
  
• Materials are subject to daily overdue fees.

RENEWALS

Number of renewals:

• Undergraduate students, graduate students, University scholars, alumni, and visitors: 2 renewals.
  
  
• Faculty and staff: Unlimited renewals on regular loans.

The following items have limited renewals:

• Videos: 2 renewals.
• E-ZBorrow materials: 1 renewal.

The following items cannot be renewed:

• Items which have recalls or holds on them.
• Course reserves.
• Special Permission items.

To renew library materials:

• Go to http://www.libraries.psu.edu/, and click on "My Library Account."
• Phone or in person: Call or stop by your local Penn State library lending desk.

NOTICES

• Faculty, staff, and students: The Libraries' notices will be sent via Penn State e-mail through your Penn State Access Account. For more information, see Access Accounts at http://css.its.psu.edu/accounts/access.html.
  
  
• Alumni and visitors: E-mail or paper notices mailed (verify notice method at a lending desk).
  
  
• All borrowers: Address changes should be reported to the Libraries immediately, either in person or on the Web at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/ (click on "My Library Account," then on "Update Address" link).

RETURN OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

• Materials on regular loan may be returned to any University Libraries location.
  
  
• Special Permission and Course Reserve items must be returned to the specific lending desk from which the items were borrowed.
  
  
• If materials need to be returned by mail, contact the library for mailing instructions. For a list of library locations, see http://www.libraries.psu.edu/cclibraries.html.
  
  
• Mailing address to return materials to University Park Libraries:
  
       Penn State University Libraries
       Lending Services
       127 Paterno Library, Curtin Road
       University Park, PA 16802
  

CHARGES, OVERDUE MATERIALS, PENALTIES, AND ASSESSMENTS

The following fees have been established by the University Libraries, approved by the University Corporate Comptroller, and apply at all campus locations. All categories of borrowers are subject to library fines.

Replacement Library Cards:

Faculty, staff, and students: Contact the Penn State ID+ office.
Alumni and visitors: $5 (payable at a lending desk).

Replacement Bills:

Replacement bills are issued when borrowers fail to return borrowed materials. Each bill includes a replacement cost for the item, a $25 processing fee, plus an overdue fee when applicable (overdue fees follow).

Regular Loans:

Thirty days after an item's due date, the Libraries presume the material is lost and bill the borrower the cost of the item, a $25 processing fee, plus an overdue fee when applicable (overdue fees follow).

If the item is returned more than a month after the date billed, the borrower is responsible for the full $25 processing fee. The borrower is also responsible for any overdue fees regardless of the return date.

Borrowers may request refunds for fees paid to replace lost materials provided the materials are returned within 6 months after the date of the original bill. Fees paid through payroll deduction or collected as a result of action taken by a collection agency are not refundable.

Overdue Fees:

• Course Reserves: Two-hour and overnight Course Reserves are subject to a fine of $1/hour, to a maximum of $100. These fines begin to accrue the moment the material is due back in the Libraries. After 10 days, the Libraries presume the material is lost and bill the borrower the cost of the item, a $25 processing fee, plus the overdue fees.
  
  
• Videos: Videos are subject to a fine of $1/day, to a maximum of $30. These fines begin to accrue the moment the material is due back in the Libraries. After 30 days, the Libraries presume the material is lost and bill the borrower the cost of the item, a $25 processing fee, plus the overdue fees. Note: Borrowers are responsible for fines that accrue on videos that are renewed after their due date.
  
  
• Special Permission Loans: All special permission loans are subject to a fine of $3/day to a maximum of $15 (reached on the fifth calendar day late). These fines begin to accrue the moment the material is due back in the Libraries. After 30 days, the Libraries presume the material is lost and bill the borrower the cost of the item, a $25 processing fee, plus the overdue fees.
  
  
• Recalls: Recall fines on material requested by another borrower are $3/day to a maximum of $30 (reached on the tenth calendar day late). These fines begin to accrue the day after the recall due date (11 calendar days after the Libraries send the recall notice). After 30 days, the Libraries presume the material is lost and bill the borrower the cost of the item, a $25 processing fee, plus the overdue fees.

SANCTIONS

Unpaid fines and charges may result in one or more of the following actions:

• Students: Fees not paid before the end of the current semester will be charged to the student's Bursar account.
  
  
• Faculty, staff: If replacement costs for lost materials are not received within 6 months from notification that the money is due at the Libraries, payment will be payroll deducted. For all other fees, if payment is not received within 60 days, payment will be payroll deducted. The University Payroll Office reserves the right to charge additional fees for the payroll deduction process.
  
  
• Alumni and visitors: Fees assessed against a non-affiliated borrower's account that are not paid within 60 days will be remanded to a collection agency. Additional fees will be charged by University Libraries for this process. Note: When students and employees leave the University, they become alumni or visiting borrowers and are subject to the collection agency process.
  
  
• All borrowers:
  

• The University Libraries will suspend borrowing privileges if a borrower does not pay accumulated fees and fines.
  
  
• The Libraries reserve the right to initiate legal proceedings to recover library materials.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

• The lending code is subject to change without individual notice.
  
  
• You can obtain further information from your local Penn State library lending desk, or at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/tas/lending/.

Go to Lending Services
Go to Library Policies

The Pennsylvania State University ©2005
Last updated February 29, 2008.
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