WOU: Circulation Policies - WOU Library and Media Services

Circulation policies

Borrowing
All WOU students, faculty, and staff may check out circulating materials from the Hamersly Library and the Technology Resource Center. They may also borrow circulating materials from Orbis Cascade Alliance member libraries, either by visiting member libraries in person or by requesting materials via Summit. Your WOU ID card validated for the current academic term serves as your library card and is required in order to check out materials. WOU alumni, spouses of WOU faculty, emeritus WOU faculty and staff, adult residents of Polk, Marion, Benton, and Linn counties, and Oregon Military Academy participants may register as Special borrowers to receive limited borrowing privileges. Photo ID and proof of address or affiliation is required. Ask at the checkout desk for further details.

Loan Periods

Top of page

Whenever you check out materials, you will receive a receipt listing the date that each item is due. We suggest that you retain each receipt as a reminder. You may also see due dates and renew items through My Library in the catalog. The Checkout Desk (503-838-8892) will give you due date information or will renew books over the phone. Additionally and as a courtesy, we will notify you via e-mail when materials you have checked out are overdue. The reminders do not substitute for your knowledge of the due dates. For students, staff, and faculty, the reminders are sent to your WOU email account. Community borrowers need to inform the Checkout Desk with any updated email information.

Standard Loan Periods	Students	Faculty	Community Borrowers
Books and documents	3 weeks (plus 2 renewals)	6 months (plus 2 renewals)	3 weeks
AV materials	3 days (no renewals)	1 week (or negotiable)	Do not circulate
Summit Loans	3 weeks (plus 1 renewal) or 3 days for selected materials		Not available
Periodicals (bound and unbound)	3 days (no renewals)	1 week (no renewals)	Do not circulate
Reference materials, microforms, newspapers	Do not circulate for all patrons
Print reserve materials	Loan period varies from two hours to seven days		Professors' reserves not available; WOU materials 2 hours
Online e-reserve materials	Available from any computer at any time		Not available off campus
K-12 curriculum materials	1 week (plus 1 renewal)		Do not circulate
State-adopted textbooks	Do not circulate for all patrons
Laptop computers and other equipment	4 hours		Do not circulate

We have established these standard loan periods in order to provide equitable access to materials in our collection for all patrons. If the standard loan period for a particular item does not meet your needs, please let us know. We consider making adjustments to loan periods on a case-by-case basis in order to accommodate special needs.

Renewals

Top of page

Borrowers can request renewals for books and Summit materials via My Library function in the catalog. Renewals may also be requested by calling (503) 838-8902 or by visiting the checkout desk in person. The system allows up to two renewals for most books. Summit materials may be renewed only once. Renewals will be denied if the book has been requested by another patron. Audiovisual materials, periodicals, and materials currently on reserve for a course cannot be renewed. To request renewal of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) items, call (503) 838-8884 at least three days before the item is due. We must contact the lending library to approve or deny ILL renewal requests. The purpose of our renewal policy is to provide equitable access to materials in our collection for all patrons. If you have a special need that our policies do not accommodate, please let us know and we will consider adjusting the loan period for the item(s) you require.

Returns

Top of page

Return materials to the book drop near the checkout desk or to one of the two marked book drops located outside the building. If you want a receipt, please return materials directly to a staff member at the checkout desk. The two outside book drops are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. One is located at the west entrance on Monmouth Avenue, and the other is in the parking lot near the east entrance. Books returned to the outside book drops after hours are checked in as of the date that the library was last open. For example, if you return a book to an outside book drop before we open on Wednesday morning, we will use Tuesday as the check in date.

Reserves

Top of page

Traditional materials (such as books and videos) placed on reserve for classes are held behind the checkout desk. Reserve items can be checked out for two hours, four hours, one day, three days, or seven days as determined by the faculty member who submitted the reserve request. Many items are now available through electronic reserves (eReserves) and may be accessed from computers inside the library, or elsewhere via the Internet, 24 hours per day. Use the Reserves Search in the catalog to locate and retrieve the information needed to obtain materials on reserve.

Overdue and Other Fines

Top of page

WOU circulating books	$.25 per item per day
WOU periodicals, AV materials	$.50 per item per day
Reserve materials and equipment (except laptop computers)	$.25 per item per hour
Summit loans	$.50 per item per day for first 10 days, then $1 per day thereafter
Interlibrary loans	$1 per item per day
Lost or damaged material (except laptop computers)	Up to $110 per item
Laptop computers	$5 per hour; lost or damaged $1,700

Fines are billed through the University's Business Office and can be paid at the Cashier's window in the WOU Administration building during regular business hours.

Appealing Charges

Top of page

If you think the library has made an error that resulted in a financial charge, or if you have a unique situation that made it difficult for you to return or renew materials on time, you may file an appeal. Charges may be upheld, reduced, or waived.

The following reasons are generally not regarded as valid for canceling or reducing charges:

Forgetting or not knowing due dates, amount of fines, or library policy
Disagreeing with fee structure or library policy
Loaning the item to a third party
Being too busy or out of town
Claiming that your need was greater than another’s or that you were not done with the item
Not receiving or not reading a courtesy overdue reminder
Transportation problems
Financial problems

Appeal forms are available electronically or at the Checkout Desk. Return the form to the Checkout Desk or attach it to an email addressed to pagell@wou.edu. Please file the appeal within 60 days of the charge notification from the WOU business office. The appeal decision will be made within two weeks of filing the form, and you will be notified by email.

Appeal decisions are made by the Public Services Librarian and library staff. The committee takes into consideration your appeal statement, applicable data from the library's circulation system, and previous communication you had with the library, as well as your historic record of library fines. If you wish, the initial decision may be appealed to the Dean of Library and Media Services.