DALTON STATE COLLEGE

DERRELL C. ROBERTS LIBRARY

Circulation Policy

The Roberts Library strives to provide an accurate and efficient process for circulating materials.  It is also the Library’s goal that all patrons have access to materials in the collections.  Students, faculty, staff, and community users may borrow materials for specified loan periods.   Some materials may be limited in their circulation specifics.

Eligible Patron Groups

Students:  Currently enrolled Dalton State College students.

Faculty/Staff:  All current Dalton State College employees.

Emeritus/Retired Faculty:  Emeritus and Retired DSC faculty can establish current circulation accounts that extend to circulating government documents, books, and the GALILEO password.

Community:  Local residents age 18 and over and alumni of Dalton State College—anyone with a local address who is not a student or employee of DSC. 

Universal Borrowers:  Currently enrolled University System of Georgia students and employees.

Loan Periods & Limits

Students:  Circulating Books (10 items)—1 semester; Periodicals—In Library use only; Course Reserves—Loaned according to faculty requirements; Audiovisuals (4 items) —7 days.

Faculty/Staff:  Circulating Books (10 items) —1 semester; Periodicals—In Library use only - Exceptions can be made for a 24-hour period by the reference librarian on duty; Audiovisuals—7 days; AV equipment-5 days.

Community:  Circulating Books (5 books at a time)—30 days; Periodicals—In Library use only; Audiovisuals—In Library use only.

Universal Borrowers:  Circulating books (50 books in total from ALL USG Libraries) – 4 weeks, all other materials are In-Library use only.

Printed reference materials are marked “REF” above their call numbers and do not circulate.  Archives, Bandy Center, Dalton Room materials, bound periodicals and microform do not circulate.  Items placed on “Course Reserve” by a faculty member are labeled as such and housed at the Circulation Desk temporarily.  Circulation options for Course Reserves are typically In-Library use only but may be specified differently by Faculty. When a subject is assigned for a large number of students and the Library has limited circulating resources on the topic, the materials may be temporarily placed on Course Reserve for In-Library use.  If a faculty member regularly uses a video for a class, he/she may notify the library and we will place the video on “Course Reserve” so it will available as needed for all class sessions.

If a student or faculty member needs an item and it is checked out, they may request the material(s) through the GIL Express or Interlibrary Loan services.  GIL Express is the resource-sharing service offered at all libraries within the University System of Georgia.  Patrons may place their own requests for books in the GIL Universal Catalog.  Books are then shipped to the Roberts Library—free of charge.

The Interlibrary Loan service allows librarians to request books, periodical articles, and other materials for patrons from any U.S. library.  Patrons may search Worldcat to locate items in U.S. libraries.

Due Dates

Students:  All books are due by the the end of the semester. The due date for all books will be the first day of finals. All AV materials are due 7 days from the date of check out. There will be a grace period of 1 week before fees are charged. If an item is not returned by the end of the grace period, there will be a processing fee and a replacement cost charged to the borrower. Fees remain on patron records and his/her account will be blocked until the item is returned in good condition (within one month of the due date) and or the full fee amount has been paid. The due dates will be clearly posted throughout the library and email reminders sent out as well. Reminders will be posted on social media accounts and the campus master calendar.

Faculty/Staff:  All books are due by the end of the semester. The due date for all books will be the Monday of finals.  All AV materials are due 7 days from the date of check out. There will be a grace period of 1 week before fees are charged. If an item is not returned by the end of the grace period, there will be a processing fee and a replacement cost charged to the borrower. The due dates will be clearly posted throughout the library and email reminders sent at the end of the semester. Reminders will be posted on social media accounts as well as the campus master calendar.

Community:  Community users must return materials by their due date. An email reminder will be sent to the patron.  There will be a grace period of 1 week before fees are charged. If an item is not returned by the due date, there will be a processing fee and a replacement cost charged to the borrower. 

Fines

There will be a grace period of 1 week before fees are charged.  If an item is not returned by the due date, there will be a processing fee and a replacement cost charged to the borrower.  Fees remain on patron records and his/her account will be blocked until the item is returned in good condition (within one month of the due date) and or the full fee amount has been paid. The following fees are charged per item:

Circulating Books:  If an item is not returned at the end of the semester, there will be a processing fee and a replacement cost charged to the borrower. The processing fee for a book is $20.00.  The default lost item replacement fee is $75.00, but could be more depending on the title.  

Laptops and AV Equipment: The fine will be $50.00 per day per item.  If the item is lost, there will be a processing fee and a replacement cost charged to the borrower.  The processing fee is $50.00 and the lost item replacement fee will be $250.00, but could be more depending on the item.

Reserves:  The fine will be $10.00 per day per item.  The maximum fine per reserve item is $70.00.

Fines may be waived by a Roberts Library staff member for extenuating circumstances, such as the death of an immediate family member, unusual hardship, or error by the Library staff.

Policy Draft Revision October 29, 2018

Approved by Faculty Senate January 17, 2019