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Jessie Ball duPont Library

Library Policies

A resource to library policies about materials and computer use.

Agreements with Other Libraries

Vanderbilt University

The University of the South has a reciprocal library use agreement with Vanderbilt University. Current faculty and students at the two institutions can use the facilities and check out materials from either library using their valid University ID. The agreement does NOT provide remote access to electronic resources.

Before visiting Vanderbilt, it is best to consult the Vanderbilt University Libraries'  Access and Use Policies as well as their Hours of Operation to ensure you plan your trip accordingly.  Hours of access for guests, including Sewanee users, are typically limited to daytime hours. If you have questions, please contact Vanderbilt at 615-322-7100, or the Circulation Desk at duPont Library at 931-598-1664 or reserves@sewanee.edu.

 

Appalachian Colleges Association (ACA)

The University of the South is part of a reciprocal use program for the benefit of patrons of other member schools in the ACA. Please inquire about this service at the Circulation Desk at duPont Library at 931-598-1664 or reserves@sewanee.edu.

ACA Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement

Appalachian College Association Bowen Central Library of Appalachia

Reciprocal Use Program

The Appalachian College Association (ACA) Bowen Central Library of Appalachia (BCLA) Reciprocal Use Program was created to permit faculty, staff, and students of participating ACA libraries to go in person to one or more other participating ACA libraries to borrow materials not available at the patron’s home institution library and/or utilize electronic resources. Use of electronic resources is subject to local campus policies. The user will pay any standard fee charged by the lending library for a special borrower’s card.

Interlibrary loan policies and procedures will be followed when the user does not go in person to the lending institution, but uses the resources of the borrowing institution to secure needed materials.

Use of Electronic Resources

In-person use of electronic resources will be subject to local campus policies. Use of electronic resources varies by institution. Please call the library ahead of time to find out their policies. If appropriate, a valid institutional identification card may be required.

Borrowing and Lending of Physical Materials

Patron Eligibility

Faculty, staff, and students of ACA institutions may request to borrow materials from any participating library. The lending library can withhold borrowing privileges from any patrons who do not comply with institutional policies and procedures. The lending library may choose not to lend to patrons from non-participating libraries.

Borrowers must present a valid form of photo identification, such as an institutional ID, as well as proof of current status in order to borrow materials. This proof of current status could include faculty or staff showing an entry in the campus directory or student showing a course schedule. The borrower’s home library is requested to provide verification if needed.

Loan periods

Loan periods and restrictions on the number and types of materials that can be borrowed at one time will be determined by the lending library. Renewals are at the discretion of the lending library. The lending library may set different loan periods for different types of materials and may determine which types of materials may be borrowed via this program.

Returns

The borrower is responsible for returning items to the lending library. Some items may be turned into the home library and it is requested that the home library return the item to the lending library according to ILL procedures whenever possible. The item is not considered to be returned until it is checked in at the lending library. The borrower will be responsible for any fines that accrue up until that point.

Fines and Fees
The borrower is responsible for any fines that accrue on materials not returned by their due date. The borrower is responsible for paying for materials that are lost or damaged. The lending library may request assistance from the home library to recover payment of fines and fees. Payment for lost, damaged, or non-returned materials may be requested from the home library if payment cannot be obtained from the borrower.
 
Participation
This program will operate on an opt-in basis with ACA institutions being able to join and depart at any time.
 
The BCLA is responsible for overseeing the general operation of the Reciprocal Use Program and will provide for a periodic review of its operation and practice, including a current list of participating institutions and contact information for each library
 
 
Approved: 4/9/15

EAST (Eastern Academic Scholars Trust

The Eastern Academic Scholars’ Trust (EAST) is the collaborative effort of a large group of academic and research libraries to document, protect, and provide long-term access to their print collections. EAST directly addresses the growing need for academic and research libraries to ensure that print books and journals of scholarly value are not inadvertently discarded as libraries undertake necessary weeding and deselection programs to free up space for other library services. By ensuring that scholarly content across the libraries is retained locally on behalf of all EAST members, faculty, students, and scholars can have confidence that they will have access to these resources and that unique and valuable scholarly content is protected in support of teaching, learning, research and scholarship.

The EAST retained titles are held as a light archive within their local circulating collections. The EAST Major Operating Policies, as approved by the then Executive Committee in June, 2016 and updated and approved by the membership in 2020 call for EAST member libraries to use their own institutional policies to fulfill requests from other EAST libraries for retained titles. The majority of the EAST membership as well as the EAST Monographs Working Group have strongly indicated their support for no-charge lending across the EAST member libraries. 

Oberlin Group

The primary purpose for the Oberlin Group is to provide a forum for member directors and staff to discuss issues of common concern, to share accomplishments and information on best practices in library operations and services, and to help members anticipate and adapt to the challenges of college library administration and liberal arts education. The Oberlin Group focuses on library and scholarly publishing issues and related services that support our liberal arts missions.  Cooperative interlibrary lending agreements, consortia contracts with vendors, and support for open access initiatives are all areas of recent activities.

TennShare

Tenn-Share is a nonprofit membership organization for libraries that serves as Tennessee’s only purchasing consortium for all library types. With over 600 academic, school, public and special library members, Tenn-Share negotiates discounts for critical library resources, operates the state’s interlibrary loan courier service Firefly, holds events and professional development opportunities for librarians, and generally works to help Tennessee libraries fulfill their missions.