Borrowing Policy
It is an individual's responsibility to return materials in a timely fashion. When library materials become overdue, the library will send an overdue notice as a courtesy reminder. Materials not returned by the billing date will be billed at the Stephens College Accounting Office and will appear on your monthly statement. We encourage students not to check out materials for friends. Whomever the material is charged to is responsible for any fines.
The due date for books is typically 30 days from the day of check out. Reserve materials circulate for 2, 4, 24 or 48 hours and most are for library use only.
Renewing Books
If a longer loan period is need, materials may be renewed. The loan will be extended to the next due date. Books may be renewed through your online account. You can also call, email, or stop by the library to renew.
*Please note that materials received though Interlibrary Loan may be renewed only upon consent of the lending library.
Non-Stephens Books -- MOBIUS, Arthur, and Interlibrary Loans
Borrowing materials from another academic library is a privilege, not a right. Borrowers must abide by the rules, guidelines and policies of the lending library. Abuse of this privilege may result in a library revoking your circulation privileges.
Any transaction a borrower makes at another library is that borrower's responsibility.
Borrowers requesting books via Interlibrary Loan are bound by the policies of the lending institution.
Overdue and Billing Procedures
When library materials become overdue, the library staff identifies the overdue material, checks the library stacks to make sure it hasn’t been returned, and sends two overdue notices, a billing warning, and then a billing notice to the borrower. Non-receipt of overdue and billing notices does not exempt users from fines or replacement costs, as all library notices are sent to official Stephens email accounts.
An overdue notice will notify a borrower that their items are overdue and serve as a reminder to return them as soon as possible.
A billing warning will serve as a borrower’s final notice to return materials and warn them of impending charges. (If items are not returned within a week of the billing warning, borrowers will be charged replacement fees as well as a $10 processing fee per item.)
The billing warning notifies borrowers of the amount they are charged per item and notifies Accounting of the charges. All replacement fees and overdue fines are charged to a student's My Stephens/PowerCampus account and will appear on the monthly statement.
If items are returned after the billing charge, but within 60 days, the fees will be waived. If the items are returned after 60 days of the billing charge, no refund is issued.
Replacement fees for MOBIUS and ILL books are set by the loaning institution and are non-negotiable.
Questions
If you have any questions regarding the overdue policy or procedure, please contact us at (573) 876-7182 or library@stephens.edu.
Circulation Policy
Members of the Stephens College community may place requests for library materials not available at Hugh Stephens Library. This includes: undergraduate and graduate students; current and retired faculty, staff and administrators.
Patrons should first check the Stephens and MOBIUS catalogs for the library books they seek. You will get the materials you need much quicker if you submit your requests through those catalogs first. The turn around time for these are generally three business days. For journal articles, patrons should thoroughly check all of the online databases on the library's website before submitting interlibrary loan requests.
Requests for borrowing materials may be submitted in a number of different ways. The easiest way is through the library databases, using the “Request It!” button. You can also fill out the the ILL request form manually or email us at library@stephens.edu. Please provide as much citation information as possible. If you need assistance finding materials or filling out the forms please contact the library at (573) 876-7182.
Standard interlibrary loan may take some time. Books will generally take 1 to 2 weeks as they are shipped through the postal mail. Journal articles vary—they may arrive rapidly if they are not from an obscure journal and if the lending library will send them electronically. Allow at least two weeks for dissertations.
Stephens' students who want to borrow current textbooks for classes they are taking may request the books through the Stephens or MOBIUS catalogs. However, if the textbook is not available through these catalogs, Stephens College Library has a policy not to obtain current textbook editions through standard Interlibrary Loan. Instead, please consult with a librarian about other options including getting an older edition, or perhaps finding the current edition elsewhere.
Some materials may not be available through interlibrary loan. It is the lending library's prerogative to refuse to fill a request. All due dates are set by the lending library. The ability for renewal of an item is also set by the lending library.
The cost involved in borrowing interlibrary loan materials is not passed on to our patrons. There is no charge for the loan of books or for copies of journal articles received through standard interlibrary loan. However, individuals are responsible for books or other materials borrowed through interlibrary loan and are expected to return their library materials in a timely manner. The loaning institution sets the replacement costs and any other processing fees for overdue or lost materials. These fees are non-negotiable.
Information for Institutional Borrowers
ILL requests may be submitted through OCLC, ALA forms, or via e-mail.
Non-circulating items include: reference or reserve materials, visual materials, audio materials, single issues of journals, bound journals, newspapers, microforms, curriculum kits, and senior or graduate theses.
Requests for journal articles available only through our online databases will not be filled.
Stephens College Library only loans to libraries in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The initial loan period is 37 days. Renewals are possible as long as no one else has placed a “hold” on the item. The first renewal period is 30 days. Additional renewals are at the discretion of the librarians.
Interlibrary Loan Policy
Many faculty members place materials on reserve for student use. This system allows everyone in a class equal access through use of short-term checkout periods.
Reserves are available for check out at the circulation desk of Stephens Library. Loan periods are set by the professor at 2-hour or 4-hour “In Library Use Only” items; or 24-hour or 48-hour loan items which a student may take out of the library. Reserve material loans are restricted to currently enrolled students.
As reserves are short-term checkouts, borrowers are responsible for observing the length of checkout time allotted, and whether the item is "In Library Use Only" or whether the item may leave the library. Book bands on each item will show this information.
Reserve Information For Faculty
To place an item(s) on reserve, please contact the library and drop off the materials at the library’s front desk.
The library will work with faculty members to give extended checkout periods for items they have placed on reserve for student use, but may need to check out themselves for classroom use. Those faculty members may get a reminder notice if a course reserve item they still hold has become overdue.
The library will not replace faculty member’s personal copies, nor departmental copies, of books, documents, kits or media items, that have been lost or damaged while on reserve, for a cost greater than $150 per item.
Copyright Compliance
Items appropriate for reserves include Stephens Library materials or legally acquired materials from a faculty member’s personal collection. Stephens Library cannot place on Reserve books or other items that have been borrowed through MOBIUS or Interlibrary Loan. Libraries are bound by certain restrictions and prohibitions in regard to reserve materials. We may need to consult with a faculty member to seek out appropriate work-arounds so that the materials are copyright compliant in a reserve setting.
Each faculty member is responsible for checking for Fair Use, or obtaining copyright permission if necessary. If copyright permission is needed for a reserve item and the faculty member did not obtain permission, then the library will obtain permission. Those costs will be billed back to the faculty member’s department’s printing/copying account.
Please contact the library if a sample form letter is needed to obtain copyright permission from a publisher or a copyright owner/holder, or a Fair Use checklist to see if the project falls under Fair Use.
The library accepts photocopied copyrighted materials for reserve purposes according to copyright Fair Use guidelines. Copying should not substitute for the purchase of books, publishers’ reprints or periodicals. Educational use is not automatically Fair Use. It may be considered infringing on copyright if the use substantially interferes with the copyright owners/holders right to profit from their creative endeavor.
Examples of photocopied materials requiring permission:
Repetitive Copying: The classroom or reserve use of photocopied materials in multiple courses OR in successive years will normally require advance permission from the owner of the copyright.
Consumable Works: The duplication of works that are consumed in the classroom, such as standardized tests and booklets, answer sheets, exercises, and workbooks, normally requires permission from the copyright owner.
Course packs: require proof of copyright permission to place on reserve initially, and subsequent permissions are needed for each of the various materials for successive placement on reserve in the future.
Copying shall not be used to re-create or replace anthologies, compilations or collective works.
Remember that the library will work with any faculty or staff member to acquire copyright compliant reserve materials, so don’t hesitate to ask for assitance.
Course Reserves Policy
This policy intends to provide guidance with respect to collection development at the Hugh Stephens Library.
The Stephens College community, as served by the Hugh Stephens Library, includes students, faculty and staff, with students being the primary service community.
The library aims to provide a balanced collection with a strong emphasis on scholarship and relevance to the curriculum. It is the goal of the library to develop a current and applicable collection for each major discipline offered by the college.
Responsibility and Procedure for Selection
Responsibility for the selection of monographic materials lies primarily with the Liaison Librarians with assistance from the Library Director. Faculty are essential to the selection process, and are highly encouraged to request the purchase of materials that support instruction and student research. All library staff and other members of the Stephens College community may recommend titles. Student requests will be given special attention. All recommendations are forwarded to the Library Director for final approval and purchase.
The Library Director will consult with library staff and faculty to select databases. Electronic Resources may be recommended by library staff and faculty. New database subscriptions are limited by current and expected budgets, as well as relevance to the curriculum. Free subscriptions will be added if they are relevant and well-reviewed. Instructional Media to be used for the classroom, such as DVDs or streaming video, will be purchased within the constraints of the budget.
Selection Guidelines
In general, the library does not purchase textbooks or foreign language materials. Multiple copies will only be purchased of heavily used books. In the case of non-monograph materials, electronic formats are preferred.
Reference materials, when recommended by faculty, are acquired within the constraints of the budget. Monographs requested frequently through Interlibrary Loan are referred to for possible purchase and addition to the collection. If articles from the same journal are frequently requested, that journal will be considered for subscription.
The Library is unable to collect for faculty research. A dissertation that cannot be borrowed via interlibrary loan will be considered for purchase if it supports the curriculum and the needs of student research.
Additions to the Albert Schweitzer Collection are made from a gift fund established to support this collection.
Education materials are selected for the general collection and the Educational Resource Center (ERC).
All selection decisions will take into consideration the library's partnership with MOBIUS, a library consortium in the Missouri area of which Stephens College is a member. Specialized areas outside the realm of the curriculum, and specialized items outside the library's budget, will be borrowed from other institutions at patron request.
The Hugh Stephens Library abides by the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read statements. These may be viewed on the American Library Association’s website.
Replacement of Lost or Damaged Books
Materials that have been lost or damaged beyond repair will be replaced if they support the curriculum and the cost is reasonable.
Deselection
Deselection, or weeding, is essential to maintain an up-to-date collection in good physical condition. Librarians are responsible for evaluating the collection for items that are:
1) in poor condition
2) contain outdated or incorrect information
3) have been superseded by a newer format
4) have seen very little usage
Items that meet at least one of these four criteria will be evaluated to determine if it should be repaired, replaced, updated, or removed from the collection.
Database subscriptions may be cancelled if use is low or there is a dramatic change in licensing terms or cost.
Faculty will be notified when resources in their subject areas are targeted for withdrawal or cancellation.
MOBIUS also provides guidelines for the withdrawal of “last copy” or “limited copy” items. It is recommended that if fewer than three copies would be left in MOBIUS upon discarding an item, the library should consider retaining it. However, if it is otherwise decided to withdraw such items, the library will offer it to other MOBIUS libraries via the MOBIUS-USERS-L list serve. If after two weeks no other MOBIUS library requests such materials, items will be discarded. MOBIUS also states that they recognize it may not be desirable to retain last copies of items that are damaged or contain outdated or incorrect information. In such cases the “last copy” or “limited copy” procedure does not apply.
Withdrawn items will be offered free to the Stephens community, dependent on condition and potential interest. Remaining items will be given to Better World Books.
Collection Development Policy
Donated books and other materials to the Hugh Stephens Library will be accepted if they support the current and anticipated curriculum, are of interest to the general college community, are in a format currently collected by the library, and the gift comes free of restrictions by the donor.
Gifts where a copy already is in the collection will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Gift material that pertains to the history of the college (yearbooks, senior projects, etc.), are not retained in the library but are forwarded to the College Archives.
The library is under no obligation to accept or acknowledge gifts which are not prearranged, and reserves the right to utilize all donations to its best advantage.
Materials not retained will be disposed of at the discretion of the library, including the possibility of them given to book sales or of them recycled.