uni library - fines

melancholly

i have to say, i've never checked a book out when using it - but it is a fair point.... saves checking online if it's in and then going to the library not to find it - which is frustrating. i have frequently found books and issues of journals missing though, and bothered people in that area of the library to see if they had it so that i didn't report a book missing which was just being used on a table.... definitely worth thinking about!

DrFluffy

Thankfully, the medical libraries here are quite small in the great scheme of things, so you can usually locate a book being used but not checked out and borrow it for a while/go photocopy what you need from it and give it back.

bestpud

The_One_Who wrote: »

Short loan, or 24 hour or 4 hour loans should be checked out, even if only in use in the library. That is my personal view. These are the most wanted books and those which people want more urgently. If it was a book in the main catalogue then they can place a hold on it.

Actually, yes, when you talk specifically of short term loans, I can see where you are coming from. More so the 4 hour imo as someone could hold it in the library nearly all day I guess?

And a 24 hour loan, they could hold for a lot longer if they use it in the library before checking out.

We only have 4 hour or 2 week loans at my library and the short term section is tiny (small area with shelves round the edge and a few tables in the middle), so if someone had it, a quick glance round would be enough to see iyswim. To remove it from that area they'd have to check it out.

The_One_Who

bestpud wrote: »

Actually, yes, when you talk specifically of short term loans, I can see where you are coming from. More so the 4 hour imo as someone could hold it in the library nearly all day I guess?

And a 24 hour loan, they could hold for a lot longer if they use it in the library before checking out.

We only have 4 hour or 2 week loans at my library and the short term section is tiny (small area with shelves round the edge and a few tables in the middle), so if someone had it, a quick glance round would be enough to see iyswim. To remove it from that area they'd have to check it out.

Yes, they can keep a four hour book out for nearly the whole day. Our short loan section is pretty big, with quite a lot of computers for working at. The computers in the short loan section do have a five hour limit on them, but I guess there's nothing stopping you moving to the next computer along after your time is up.

Keeping the four hour book all day is just greedy. If you want it that much you can check it out after 4pm and then you get to have it overnight until 10am the next day. That's what I do.

bestpud

The_One_Who wrote: »

Yes, they can keep a four hour book out for nearly the whole day. Our short loan section is pretty big, with quite a lot of computers for working at. The computers in the short loan section do have a five hour limit on them, but I guess there's nothing stopping you moving to the next computer along after your time is up.

Keeping the four hour book all day is just greedy. If you want it that much you can check it out after 4pm and then you get to have it overnight until 10am the next day. That's what I do.

I think I'd ask personally, either the staff or the person with the book.

On a slightly different note, there is always a big queue just before the last closing before the holidays because people can then take the books for the whole holiday period.

The down side of this is that the library opens before people have to get the books back, so towards the end of holiday periods, anyone who goes there thinking they can use one of these books will find they are not due back in for a good few weeks!

Summer is the worst time as the books can be out from the end of July to the beginning of October - even though the uni starts back in mid September and many people want to work on dissertations over the summer.

This year, the books taken out after mid July are not due back until October 14th!!! And we are not able to recall them before that date either - well we can recall them but that is the earliest they will have to bring them back! This is for all the loans and it's mad imo.

The_One_Who

bestpud wrote: »

I think I'd ask personally, either the staff or the person with the book.

On a slightly different note, there is always a big queue just before the last closing before the holidays because people can then take the books for the whole holiday period.

The down side of this is that the library opens before people have to get the books back, so towards the end of holiday periods, anyone who goes there thinking they can use one of these books will find they are not due back in for a good few weeks!

Summer is the worst time as the books can be out from the end of July to the beginning of October - even though the uni starts back in mid September and many people want to work on dissertations over the summer.

This year, the books taken out after mid July are not due back until October 14th!!! And we are not able to recall them before that date either - well we can recall them but that is the earliest they will have to bring them back! This is for all the loans and it's mad imo.

I'd only ever ask someone if I knew them, or at least knew their face. And with the section being so large I'd be surprised if I actually found the person using the book.

There isn't a big queue in my university, but during exam time trying to find a book is a nightmare! The staff can't cope with the extreme turnover of books, especially at the weekends, so they pile up and pile up. On a Monday morning there are literally piles and piles of books returned. It's a never-ending task for the staff. And the students have no idea if the book will be on the shelf or in one of these piles.

If we take books out at the end of May then we will have it until the end of September, but it IS subject to recall. If someone recalls the book then the person will get an e-mail and a letter telling them so and giving them a week to return it. It happened to me during the summer. Twice.

I don't think your system is very good if you can't get a hold of the book throughout the summer! Next year I will be starting to write my dissertation and will need to have access to books. If I couldn't recall them then I could be stuffed. Especially since the final thing has to be in before Christmas.

GlasweJen

our uni caps the loan at £15 but if you owe more than £10 you can't check out any other books or use the private study rooms in the library.

lightisfading

If you look at it from the other side, if they DIDN'T charge high fees (especially for 24hr items) people wouldn't be as bothered to return them / would consider it 'worth' the cost to hang onto it for their work. 24hr items are in ridiculously high demand so it not being brought back say for 24 hours would mean another person who couldn't access the book they needed.