Instructional Resources

4. LIBRARY SERVICES

4.1  Library Schedule

In consultation with the library faculty a schedule which specifies the times during which the library is open to the public will be developed and publicized by the Director of Instructional Resources.

4.2  Library Circulation

The library will provide for easy physical access and orderly circulation of materials through procedures that insure:

  1. That the borrower is able to obtain needed materials in a reasonably short period of time from the collection or through interlibrary loan.
  2. That library materials are shelved promptly and correctly.
  3. That relatively little material becomes unavailable because of delinquent borrowers or due to theft.
  4. That the circulation records accurately reflect who has what materials and when it is due.
  5. That meaningful circulation statistics are recorded and summarized.

4.2.1  Reserve Collection

Livingston Lord Library will provide a "reserve system" to provide equitable access to heavily used materials.

The library maintains the right to recall circulation materials for use in the "reserve collection" and to establish reserve check-out periods consistent with intensity of use.

4.3  Faculty Library Privileges

Normally all open stack materials may be checked out by Tri-College faculty for a semester. Periodicals are checked out on a short term basis. Reference materials and materials from other controlled collections may be checked out with the permission of a librarian. Faculty will be regularly notified of overdue materials. Faculty are responsible for materials they borrow and will be billed for replacement costs for materials not returned or renewed. Faculty from PALS libraries other than Tri-College may also borrow materials but are limited to privileges listed under 4.4.

4.4  Student and Staff Library Privileges

The MSU Library will lend circulating library materials to registered students and staff of PALS libraries. The PALS online circulation system will be used to verify registration at the time of a circulation transaction.

  1. Borrowers may charge out circulating materials for the loan period in effect for those materials.
  2. Library materials will not be recalled (for an individual borrower) before their due dates unless they have been renewed. Materials for reserves, special learning stations, etc. may be recalled at any time.
  3. Library materials (except for CMC materials) may be renewed unless another patron has placed a "hold" on them.
  4. Periodicals may not be borrowed (except for Tri-College faculty) for out of building use; reference materials may, upon approval of a librarian, be borrowed for a brief period of time.
  5. Penalties may be assessed for materials returned after the date due.
  6. The length of the loan periods, due dates, and a schedule of penalties for late returns will be established by the Circulation Librarian in consultation with the library faculty and administration.
  7. The Circulation Librarian will request that "holds" be placed on student records, as necessary, to insure the return of library materials or the payment of penalties.

4.5  Special Borrowers

Librarians and Circulation Department Classified Staff may issue borrower?s cards to members of the Fargo-Moorhead area adult community whose special needs may require access to the resources of an academic library. Cards are issued at the circulation desk upon the presentation of valid identification such as a driver?s license. In the absence of appropriate identification, needs may be discussed with the librarian on duty. Holders of special borrower?s cards are subject to the rules and regulations governing student circulation.

Cards will not be issued to persons with outstanding library penalties or overdue materials or to high school students or those under 18. However, local area high school students, who have exhausted the resources of their high school and the Fargo/Moorhead area public libraries and who present a completed Student Referral Slip, may be issued short term cards.

4.6  Patrons with Disabilities

Patrons with disabilities, upon identifying themselves, will be provided with such additional services as are available to provide them with reasonable access to materials and services.

4.7  Interlibrary Loan

Livingston Lord Library will offer interlibrary lending services to MSU patrons with active circulation identification. Different patron classes may have varying privileges. Interlibrary loans are available through Tri-College, MINITEX and MINITEX-PALS Direct Borrowing Service as well as the traditional services stated in the American Library Association Code. It may be necessary to recover charges made by a lending library from the patron.

The library reserves the right not to lend certain materials. It also reserves the right to charge interlibrary loan fees to recover the cost of services provided.

Normally, lending is restricted to the Upper Midwest region. The library makes every effort to borrow requested materials not a part of the collection through interlibrary loan services.

4.8  Confidentiality of Records

A library user?s name or information sufficient to identify a user together with the subject about which the user requested information shall not be made available upon request by any person other than the user pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 13.40 Library Data, 1984.

4.9  Archives Collection

The objective of the Archives Collections policy is to establish conditions that will permit patrons maximum access to the materials while also preserving their contents.

The following rules are established to meet the above objective:

  1. To better preserve some of the materials, it will occasionally be necessary to require patrons to use copies of the original documents.
  2. Some materials are restricted, and may not be used unless permission is obtained from the donor or the office in which the documents originated. These restrictions were stipulated at the time of donation and are usually lifted after a specified time limit.
  3. Patrons may obtain copies of the originals for their private use, unless the items are restricted or copying will damage them. If copying is allowed, then the Archives will charge the patron a small fee to recover costs.
  4. Patrons should be aware that, in quoting from documents or using copies of documents from the Archives, it is their responsibility to abide by provisions of the State and Federal copyright, privacy, and public information statutes.
  5. Materials are ordinarily used only in the Archives area. However, it is possible to borrow documents from the Archives, with the permission of the Archivist. If such permission is granted, the patron will sign out the item(s) and will be responsible for their return, in good condition, on the specified date.
  6. The Archives is open to public use at posted hours. Special arrangements may also be made with the Archivist to obtain access to the collections at other times.
  7. Patrons are required to cite the appropriate collection(s) and acknowledge Moorhead State University, when subsequently citing documents and other materials used at the Archives. A format for this citation will be given to the patron when he or she comes to the Archives.

In other matters, policy decisions will be made by the Archivist, consistent with the above rules, and the objectives of the Library and University.

4.10  Check Cashing

  1. In order to cash any check a person must provide adequate identification acceptable to the responsible library personnel.
  2. Under NO circumstances shall a TWO-PARTY CHECK be accepted. That is, checks must be written as payable directly to Moorhead State University Library.

4.11  Telephone Messages

Generally, we do not page or search out persons in the library for the purpose of transmitting a message to them. However, a note may be placed on the exit door.

4.12  Staff Telephone Privileges

Local calls are permitted for necessary personal business.

4.13  Commercial Database Searching

Normally, commercial database searching will be by appointment with an authorized librarian. If an authorized librarian is unavailable, the patron who wishes to have a database search done will be asked to complete a database search request form. The patron should contact the search librarian to arrange a search appointment time.

MSU student and faculty searching will be funded by the library up to a maximum cost of $40 (forty dollars) per search. The patron shall pay for any remaining amount. Searching for non-MSU student and faculty patrons will be done on a cost recovery basis.

Database searching shall be at the discretion of the search librarian.