Circulation FAQ

How long can I keep library material?

It depends on the type of material being checked out and your patron status.  The following chart indicates what you can check out from the Stephens-Burnett Library and how long you can keep it based on your patron status:

Patron Type/Material	Main Circulating Collection, Hudson Collection, New Arrivals	Juvenile and Juvenile Fiction	Lease Books & Gov. Docs.	Periodicals	Media
Undergraduate Student	21 Days	3 Days	14 Days	3 Days	3 Days
Graduate Student	42 Days	3 Days	14 Days	3 Days	3 Days
Faculty	115 Days	3 Days	14 Days	7 Days	14 Days
Staff and Families	21 Days	3 Days	14 Days	3 Days	7 Days
C-N Trustees	14 Days	3 Days	14 Days	NA	7 Days
Alumni, Parents, Local Pastors	14 Days	3 Days	14 Days	NA	7 Days
General Public	14 Days	3 Days	14 Days	NA	NA
UT Reciprocal Borrowers	21 Days	3 Days	Lease Books -NA / Gov Docs 14 Days	NA	NA
Government Documents Patrons	NA	NA	Lease Books -NA / Gov Docs 14 Days	NA	NA

Patron Type/Material	Media Reserves	Reserves – 1 Hour	Reserves – 1 Day	Reserves – 3 Day	Reserves – 7 Day
Undergraduate Student	1 Day	1 Hour	1 Day	3 Days	7 Days
Graduate Student	1 Day	1 Hour	1 Day	3 Days	7 Days
Faculty	1 Day	1 Day	1 Day	1 Day	1 Day
Staff and Families	NA	1 Hour	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.
C-N Trustees	NA	1 Hour	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.
Alumni, Parents, Local Pastors	NA	1 Hour	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.
General Public	NA	1 Hour	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.
UT Reciprocal Borrowers	NA	1 Hour	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.	1 Hrs.
Government Documents Patrons	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA

Can I renew library materials?

It depends on the type of material and your patron status.

Patron Type/Material	Main Circulating Collection, Hudson Collection, New Arrivals	Juvenile and Juvenile Fiction	Lease Books	Periodicals	Gov. Docs.
Undergraduate Student	Once for 21 days	Once for 3 days	Once for 14 days	No	Twice for 14 days
Graduate Student	Once for 42 days	Once for 3 days	Once for 14 days	No	Twice for 14 days
Faculty	1st time for 60 days 2nd – 5th for 30 days	Once for 3 days	Twice for 14 days each	No	Twice for 14 days
Staff and Families	Once for 21 days	Once for 3 days	Twice for 14 days each	Once for 3 days	Twice for 14 days
C-N Trustees	Twice for 14 days each	Once for 3 days	Twice for 14 days each	NA	Twice for 14 days
Alumni, Parents, Local Pastors	Once for 14 days	Once for 3 days	Once for 14 days	NA	Twice for 14 days
General Public	Once for 14 days	Once for 3 days	Once for 14 days	NA	Twice for 14 days
UT Reciprocal Borrowers	Once for 7 days	Once for 3 days	NA	NA	Twice for 14 days
Government Documents Patrons	NA	NA	NA	NA	Twice for 14 days

Patron Type/Material	Media	Media Reserves	Reserves – 1hr	Reserves – 1, 3, and 7 day
Undergraduate Student	Once for 3 days	No	Once for 1hr.	No
Graduate Student	Once for 3 days	No	Once for 1hr.	No
Faculty	Twice for 14 days each	No	No	No
Staff and Families	NA	NA	Once for 1hr.	Once for 1 hr.
C-N Trustees	NA	NA	Once for 1hr.	Once for 1 hr.
Alumni, Parents, Local Pastors	NA	NA	Once for 1hr.	Once for 1 hr.
General Public	NA	NA	Once for 1hr.	Once for 1 hr.
UT Reciprocal Borrowers	NA	NA	Once for 1hr.	Once for 1 hr.
Government Documents Patrons	NA	NA	NA	NA

Can I renew library materials myself?

Yes, you can renew items through the “My Library Acct” link on the online catalog.

Are there any types of library materials that I cannot check out?

Yes, there are some material types that do not usually check out to anyone.  These include materials from the following locations:

• Government Documents microform
• Government Documents maps
• Special Collections materials (College, Baptist, and Appalachian)
• Reference materials including bibliographies, indexes, atlas cases, and dictionary stands
• Materials in storage
• Periodicals on microform
• Newspapers
• Items in Technical Services

In addition, there are some restrictions placed on some categories of patrons:

• Media can be checked out to students, faculty, staff and families, and trustees only.
• Undergraduate limit – 5
• Graduate Student limit – 10
• Faculty limit – no limit
• Staff, families, trustees - 3
• Periodicals can be checked out to students, faculty, staff and families only.
• Lease books cannot be checked out to UT students, UT faculty, or Government Documents patrons.
• Government Documents patrons can check out government documents only.

Is there a limit on the number of items I can check out?

For those materials that can be checked out, the following restrictions apply:

• C-N students & faculty – no limit (except for media)
• Staff and families – 10
• Trustees – 5
• Alumni, parents, and pastors – 5
• Government Documents patrons – 10
• General Public – 3
• UT students and faculty – 10

What is a “hold”?

If an item that you want is already checked out, you can request to have the item held for you when it is returned.  You can place a hold through the “My Library Acct” link on the online catalog page.  You will be notified by email when it is available.  You will not be able to place a hold on one hour reserves, 1 day reserves, and media reserves.

Is there a limit to the number of items I can place on hold?

It depends on your patron classification.  The following restrictions apply:

• Staff and families – 10
• Trustees – 5
• Alumni, parents, and pastors – 5
• Government Documents patrons – 10
• General Public – 3
• UT students and faculty – 10
• Faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students – 400 (essentially no limit)

If I place a hold on an item, how long will it be held?

3 day reserves – 30 hours
7 day reserves – 2 days
Juvenile and JF – 30 hours (1 day for faculty)
Periodicals – 30 hours (2 days for faculty)
Other circulating books – 3 days
Media – 30 hours (3 days for faculty)

What is a “recall”?

If you have something checked out that someone else has placed a hold on, you will receive a recall notice asking you to return the item if you no longer need it.

If I receive a recall notice because someone has placed a hold on an item that I have checked out, when do I have to return it?

Unless you are a graduate student, you can keep the book for the entire length of the loan period (until it’s due).  However, if you no longer need the item, returning it would be appreciated.  You will not be able to renew any material that has been recalled.  If you are a graduate student and you receive a recall notice, you will be allowed to keep the item for a minimum of 30 days.  However, after 30 days, you will need to return the recalled item within 7 days or you will begin accruing overdue fines.

What are the fines for overdue items?

The maximum fine for any type of material is $10.  The fines are calculated as follows:

Material Type	Fines	Grace Period
1 hour reserves	$.25 per hour	20 minutes
1 day reserves	$1 per day	none
3 day reserves	$1 per day	none
7 day reserves	$1 per day	none
Periodicals	$1 per day	1 day
Circulating Books	$.25 per day	1 day
Juvenile	$1 per day	1 day
Media	$1 per day	1 day
Media reserves	$1 per day	none
Lease books	$.25 per day	1 day
Gov. Docs.	NA	NA

Please note that overdue notices will be sent only via campus e-mail whenever possible.  The library considers overdue notices to be a courtesy; ultimately, the borrower is responsible for returning items by the corresponding due date.

If I lose an item, how much is the replacement cost?

Most items purchased and added to the system after August 1, 2006 include the purchase price as part of the record.  For those items, you will be charged the original purchase price, a $10 processing fee per item to cover ordering, shipping, and cataloging of a replacement, plus the maximum $10 per item overdue fine that will have accrued.  For items that do not include the original purchase price as part of the record, you will be charged the following default item costs along with the processing fee and fines:

Material Type	Default item cost
Reserves (except media)	$50
Media	$100
Juvenile and Juvenile Fiction	$25
Periodicals	$50
Circulating Books	$50
Non-circulating material under special circumstances	$100

Are there any circumstances under which I will be prohibited from checking out any library materials?

Under certain circumstances the system will block you from additional check-outs.  If your patron classification is that of alumni, parent, pastor, general public, or UT reciprocal borrower, the system will block you if you have more than $12 in outstanding fines.  You will also be blocked if you have been sent a certain number of overdue notices as shown in the table below:

Patron Type	Blocked after this number of overdue notices sent
Faculty	9 (not blocked)
Undergraduate	2
Graduate Student	3
Staff & Families	6
Trustees	7 (blocked only if there is a recall on an unreturned item)
Alumni, parents, pastors	3
Government Documents patrons	5
General Public	2
UT reciprocal borrowers	2

Is there a limit to the number of interlibrary loans I can place?

It depends on your patron classification.  ILL service is not available for Government Documents patrons, the general public, or UT reciprocal borrowers.  For other patron classifications the following limitations apply:

• Faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students – no limit
• Staff and families – 5
• Trustees – 5
• Alumni, parents, and pastors – 5

How long can I keep materials borrowed through interlibrary loan?

You will be able to keep the material for two weeks.  If you need it longer than two weeks, you should request an extension through our interlibrary loan department.

Are fines assessed for overdue interlibrary loan materials?

Yes; fines accrue at $1.50 per day.