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Circulation
Policies 
The Circulation Department is part of Access
Services. All Worcester State College students, faculty (full-time and adjunct), administrators and staff members may
charge out library materials with a valid WSC OneCard ID. You must present your ID card to
check out any item. Students may borrow material only during the semester
for which they are registered for courses.
Do not loan your card. You are responsible for all materials that are charged on
your card. If you lose your card, notify the
One Card Office in order to avoid unauthorized
use of the card.
Fines:
A fine of 10 ¢ per book is charged for each day that the book is
overdue. Fines are not calculated for days when the Library is closed, and fines do not
exceed the cost of the book. Patrons are liable for the replacement cost for lost
materials plus a $10 nonrefundable processing fee. If the material is returned
within six months of the payment, a refund for the replacement cost (minus the
processing charge) can be made.
Note: Students having overdue materials or fines will have their borrowing
privileges suspended two weeks after the fine notice. It is College policy that students
(including former students) owing money to the Library will not be permitted to register
for classes or to be issued a transcript. Accounts must be paid in full
before we can clear you with the Registrar.
Holds:
Any Library user may request an item already checked out to be held for them upon its
return. You will be notified when the material has been returned and it will be held for
you for one week. You may also place a hold through the online catalog for any
items that are charged out - the system will not allow a hold to be placed on an
item whose status reads "not charged."
If you cannot find a
book on the shelf and the status in the catalog is listed as "not
charged," please see a staff member at the Circulation Desk. The staff
member can run a trace on the book to try and find it within the
library. If we cannot locate the book for you, you may place a request for it
through the Interlibrary Loan Service, also located at
the Circulation Desk.
Reserve
Materials:
Faculty often place additional required materials on reserve at the Circulation Desk.
Loan periods are determined by the professor and items can circulate either for 24 hours,
3 days, or be restricted to use only within the Library for a 2-hour period. Fines for
overdue reserves are 50 ¢ per hour or fraction thereof that the Library is open,
including those only used within the Library. There is no limit on fines for reserve
materials. Reserve materials cannot be renewed, and items must be left at the
Circulation Desk for a 24-hour period before the same person can check them out again.
A separate policy for reserve items is available.
Non-Print:
Non-print items such as videos, cassette tapes and audio compact discs are housed in
the IMS (Instructional Media Services) in room L-203 across from the Circulation
Desk. Length of circulation periods varies depending on format. For regulations, fines,
and non-print reserves, consult with the staff in the IMS. A copy
of the IMS policy is also available online.
Renewals:
Most library material circulates for 28 days. Items can be renewed
once if not being held
for another borrower. Fines must be paid before items can be renewed. There is a
one-time
renewal of 14 days from the original due date and you can make the renewal in
person with the items. Or, if you have a home computer, you can now renew material
using the Web version of the catalog by clicking on the "request" button.
There is an online web page that explains the simple renewal
process.
Special Borrowing
Cards:
There are two categories for special borrowers due to our participation in
several consortia.
WILL is a walk-in interlibrary loan arrangement with other Massachusetts state academic
libraries such as UMass Medical, Fitchburg State, Quinsig etc. Students need to have a valid,
current college ID.
WACL is
now ARC - the Academic Research Collaborative - and is
administered by the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System. There is a
separate ARC flyer in Adobe® PDF
format describing the new policies and procedures for borrowing material
from the Worcester area academic libraries.
Borrowers in the above categories are expected to comply with all regulations of the
participating libraries. The cards are not transferable, and do not include borrowing
privileges for non-print materials or the use of interlibrary loan services.
Confidentiality
(WSC Library Privacy)
The Circulation Department of the Worcester
State College Library recognizes and respects the privacy of its patrons,
whether students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni or other borrowers.
In a library setting, a user's right to privacy includes the
freedom to inquire about any information without having their
records open to others. Records are maintained solely for the purpose of protecting the material in
the Library's collections. Unless fines or other exceptions occur, when a borrowed item is returned to us, all
records are cleared and no history is maintained, either by item or by
borrower.
Furthermore, it is Library policy that we do not
give out any information about patrons or the materials they have checked
out or materials consulted. Law prohibits the staff from giving out any
information regarding a person's library account to ANY other person
regardless of their status or identity, without a subpoena, search
warrant, or court order.
The Library at Worcester State College
supports and adheres to the American Library Association's "Policy
on the Confidentiality of Library Records," adopted January 20,
1971 and revised July 4,1975, and July 2, 1986.
Patriot Act (Privacy in
Libraries)
- USA PATRIOT Act
and
Intellectual Freedom
-
FAQs and full
text of the Act with summaries and brief overviews
-
Brochure (PDF) What You Should Know About the USA PATRIOT Act
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