Library Services
The following is for information only - please make sure that you are familiar with and abide by the Library Regulations.
Please show consideration for other library users especially with regard to noise levels. The buildings are fairly open plan and, as such, noise carries some considerable distance. Please respect other library users by keeping your voice low and by switching off your mobile phone and personal stereo as you come in. Please only use your mobile phone in the clearly marked 'phone zones'. Eating, drinking and smoking are not allowed in the library.
The Library sends automatic notices to your College email address, eg to remind you when your books are due for renewal, if they are already overdue or if an item you have reserved is ready for collection. Please make sure you check your College email account regularly or set it up so that emails are automatically redirected to your usual email. There is a Knowledgebase article which tells you how to do this.
|
Request for extra loan allocation (for final dissertation) Renewals, including automated telephone renewals |
Joining the Library
You are eligible to join the library free of charge if you are:
-
A student registered on a St. Martin’s course
-
Academic or support staff at St. Martin’s College
-
A student registered on a St. Martin’s franchised course at another institution
-
A student or member of academic staff eligible under a reciprocal borrowing scheme
-
A student on the Graduate Trainee Programme
-
A member of staff at Royal Lancaster Infirmary (pilot scheme)
-
an NHS nursing or midwifery mentor for SMC students who is on the 'live' NMC register (pilot scheme)
Members of the public and College alumni may join and borrow from the library upon payment of a fee.
If you are registered for an undergraduate course, you will normally be automatically registered with the library and can collect your library card from the library during or after Welcome Week. Students taking other courses should visit their library to have their photo taken and card issued. Students studying by distance learning should contact their home library to request their library card. Students based at Tower Hamlets should automatically be sent a library card.
If you are a member of staff, please visit your site library to complete a registration form. Please provide a passport-size photo. If you are a member of staff based at London, please download and complete the staff registration form below and send it with a passport photo to one of the college libraries at Ambleside, Carlisle or Lancaster. A library card will be posted to you.
Registration forms may be downloaded here in Word format:
Honorary and visiting research fellows registration form
External borrowers registration form ( for members of the public, staff or students from other institutions joining under a reciprocal scheme, alumni students and Graduate Trainee Programme students)
If you lose or damage your library card, you will be charged £5 for a replacement.
Borrowers must inform the Registry of any change in permanent address which will then be automatically passed on to the library.
Your borrower number
Your borrower number is the small number under the barcode on your library card. (If you have a student library card, the bigger number on your card is your College reference number.)
Your PIN
Notification of your PIN (Personal Identification Number) should have been sent to your College email account. If you wish to renew your loans or place a request using the library catalogue you must enter both your library barcode number and your PIN.
You can change your PIN by logging into My Account on the Library Catalogue and clicking the 'Change Your PIN' link.
If you have a query about PINs please contact the library.
Borrowing resources
You must produce your library card every time you want to borrow. Each library member is responsible for all transactions made using his/her library membership card. Lost cards should be reported as soon as possible. Cards should not be lent to other users. Books, AV material and Teaching Practice Resources can all be borrowed as part of the borrowing entitlement. Journals are Reference only.
Borrowing entitlement
At any one time you can have on loan the following number of items:
|
Main Collection |
Teaching Practice |
Short loan |
|---|---|---|---|
Students |
12 |
30 |
5 |
Staff and |
20 |
30 |
5 |
External borrowers, reciprocal scheme members and GTP students |
3 |
3 |
0 |
CHELPS members |
4 in total |
0 |
|
Request for extra loan allocation (for final dissertation)
If you are undertaking your final dissertation you can request an extra loan allocation for a limited period of time. You need to complete a Request for extra loan allocation form which you can download here (in pdf format) and print out or collect from the library. Your tutor needs to give their approval, by signing the form and giving the completion date of your assignment(s).
Please return the form to the library. LIS staff may be able to advise you on alternative sources of information.
If your request is accepted you will be allowed to borrow 3 extra books until the date specified.
Please be aware that you will only be allowed to borrow extra books until the specified date.
Loan Periods
Loan length |
Where |
How it's marked |
|---|---|---|
Fixed loan periods during the day and overnight |
Short loan collection |
Blue tape |
7 day loan |
Main collection and Teaching practice |
Red tape |
|
4 weeks |
Main collection |
Dewey numbered classification |
|
6 weeks |
Teaching practice collection |
Dewey numbered classification |
Short Loan Collection
The Short Loan Collection is a collection of items such as core texts which are heavily in demand. We are running a pilot whereby you can book items in the Short Loan Collection in advance.
Fines are currently charged at 50p per hour or part of an hour to a maximum of £25 and accrue overnight - ie, if the book is overdue and you have not returned it by the time the library closes, the fines will increase hourly until you return it.
Booking times
Monday-Thursday |
10am-4pm and 4pm-10 am the following day. |
Friday |
10am - 4pm and 4pm - 2pm Saturday |
Saturday |
2pm -10am the following Monday |
How to make a booking
-
look up the item you want on the catalogue and click on Show Copies. This will tell you if there is a copy in the Short Loan Collection.
-
click on Request next to the title.
-
log on to your account using your borrower number and your PIN.
-
click next to Place a Short Loan booking.
-
select the site at which you wish to book the item and click on Submit Site
-
use the dropdown menu to select the day and time slot for which you wish to book the item and click on Submit Booking
-
your booking will be confirmed.
-
please remember to make a note of the date and time of your booking. If you forget when you have booked an item, you can remind yourself using My Account on the library web site.
-
when your booking slot has arrived, take the item from the Short Loan Collection to the issue desk to be issued
To cancel a booking
If you no longer wish to book the item, it will help other students if you cancel your booking. To cancel a booking
-
click on Your Loans on the LIS web site (or My Account if you are using the catalogue)
-
enter your borrower number and PIN.
-
go to Short Loan Bookings
-
click on
then on Cancel Bookings
Important points
-
Items in Short Loan can be booked up to 14 days in advance.
-
You can place 1 booking per title and have up to 5 active bookings.
-
Short loan items cannot be moved between sites.
-
Items not collected 2 hours within of the start of the booking slot will be available to other borrowers
-
If you want to renew a Short Loan item, you must bring the item into the library before the due time. You cannot renew items yourself.
-
Students with special needs who have arranged extended loans can ask at the issue desk to book an item over two time slots and can borrow items over two slots.
We will be evaluating the pilot to see whether this is a viable service for the future.
Postal Loans
The following students are entitled to use the postal loan service which enables you to ask the library to post books to you :
-
students on a distance learning course
-
students based at Tower Hamlets or on the European Teacher Programme
-
part time students
-
students on a placement of more than four weeks. You need to register in advance of your placement. Please complete an application form available from the library (or download and print it out here), have it signed by a tutor and hand it in at your campus library. Please allow five days for your application to be processed. You only need complete one form for each academic year, providing you give us the dates of all your placements for the year.
Distance learning, part time students and students at the London sites do not need to complete a form.
To request a postal loan, look up your book on the library catalogue, click on Request and follow the instructions, choosing Postal Loan as your collection site.
Books will be sent to your term time address, unless you request otherwise. Books sent by post must be returned if they are reserved by another user. Please note you will have to pay the postage yourself if you return a book by post (please ask for a free Certificate of Posting from the post office).
Checking your loans
You can check what you have out and when items are due back at anytime from Your Loans on the library web site (or My Account from the library catalogue). There is a link to this on the index on every page.
Renewals
You can renew an item (except a Short Loan one) in person, by phone*, fax or email (see Site Information for contact details) or from the My Account option on the Library catalogue. You cannot renew an item if someone else has reserved it.
*To renew your loans over the telephone, please phone 0845 602 6124 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). The system gives you a set of spoken options, and you respond by pressing an appropriate button on your phone to select one of the menu options. You need to be using a touch tone phone. You will need your library borrower number and your PIN.
Fines will be incurred if the item is overdue when it is renewed, and must be paid promptly. It is in the interest of all borrowers to check the new due date for the return of the item and to note this on the date label. LIS does not accept responsibility for fines incurred through failure to do this. Outstanding charges may prevent further renewals.
External Borrowers may only renew items three times. At least one of the three renewals must be done by bringing the item to the issue desk.
Recalled items
All items borrowed from the library can be recalled after seven days if they are requested by another reader, and should be returned as soon as possible.
Overdue Loans
Borrowers are responsible for noting the due date as stamped on loans by the LIS staff at the time of issue. You will be sent a pre-return notice to remind you to return or renew loans.
If you do not return or renew your loans you will be charged fines. You will be sent 3 overdue loan reminders by email 7, 14 and 21 days after the due date. When the third overdue letter is sent you will be stopped from borrowing until the overdue items are renewed or returned. Your computer access may also be stopped. If you have not returned the loans a week after this you will be invoiced for the item and an additional admin charge of £5 will be levied. If the item is still not returned or paid for the invoice will be passed to the Finance Department for debt recovery action and may incur legal costs.
Fines
Fines are accrued automatically by the late return of resources at the following rates:
| Loan Period | Fine |
|---|---|
Short Loan Collection - fixed loan periods during the day and overnight |
50p per hour (or part thereof). Fines accrue overnight. |
7 day loan |
20p per day |
4 week loan |
10p per day |
6 week loan |
10p per day |
The maximum fine charged on any one item is £10 for a 7 Day, 4 Week or 6 Week Loan item and £25 for a Short Loan item. Borrowers who are unable to return books due to illness or other serious problems should inform the Library as soon as possible. When a maximum total fine of £20 has been reached or if any fine remains unpaid for 90 days, your borrowing rights will be withdrawn until the matter is resolved.
You can pay your fines and charges by cash, cheque (payable to St Martin's College) or credit or debit card (either at the library desk or by telephone). We accept all cards, except American Express.
Borrowers remain responsible for items borrowed on their library card until they are discharged by LIS staff. To safeguard themselves, borrowers should wait until LIS staff confirm that a loan has been discharged and the borrower is informed of any fine outstanding. LIS will not accept responsibility for books left on the counter.
Requesting (reserving) items
If an item you require is in stock, but on loan to another user, or if it is available in another St Martin's College library, you can request it yourself on the library catalogue - look up the book and click on Request. You will then need to log in using your borrower number and your PIN. You will be asked from which site you wish to collect your request. The item will be recalled for you and you will be notified by email when it is ready for collection, or you can check My Account. Certain categories of students are allowed to request postal loans.
You can place a maximum of 5 requests - if you require more than five, please prioritise, as only 5 will be requested for you at any one time. Extenal borrowers can have a maximum of one request.
We aim to retrieve items as soon as possible, but please be aware that a borrower is entitled to have an item on loan until the date stamped in the front when originally borrowed. This could mean it is not due back for a maximum of four weeks (or six weeks if it is from the Teaching Practice collection). Please check this when requesting an item, as this will reduce unnecessary recalls being sent and avoid frustration over essay deadlines, etc.
Please note that when the item is ready to collect, you will be notified via your college email account. You can check to see if a requested book is waiting for you by checking My Account . You can also ring the library prior to a visit to check if the item is available.
Requested items are held at the service desk for one week, after which time they will be reshelved or kept for the next person on the waiting list if there is one. If you request an item and then find you no longer need it, please let us know, as there may be a waiting list.
Inter Site Loans
If a book or journal article is available at another St Martin's Library Site, you can self-reserve it on the catalogue in the same way as for reservations. If you want a journal article, please complete an Intersite Journal Article Request form, and a photocopy of the article will be obtained for you. You will have to pay the photocopy costs. Intersite loans will normally take two to three days.
Photocopying
Photocopiers are available in all the site libraries. The machines are activated by your library card which is also your photocopying card. If you are not a St Martin's College student, please ask at the Service desk about photocopying.
You can recredit your card at the machine in Lancaster or at the Service desks at Carlisle and Ambleside.
Copyright - Each borrower is personally responsible for complying with the copyright regulations governing the use of the library photocopier and interlibrary loans. LIS does not accept responsibility if any user has action taken against them by the CLA for breach of copyright. Notices are displayed beside the photocopiers explaining what material may legally be copied under the Library's licence and which works are excluded. If in doubt, please consult a member of the LIS staff for further information or check the Copyright Regulations.
Suspension of borrowing rights
The borrowing rights of any library member will be automatically suspended when they accumulate £20 worth of fines or any single fine remains unpaid for 90 days. In addition, LIS may suspend the borrowing rights of any reader who fails to respond to requests for the return of library materials, who fails to discharge outstanding fines, who attempts to steal or deface library materials or who acts in a manner which adversely affects other users of the library.
Repeated activation of the library security system may result in the suspension of borrowing rights or the removal of right of access to the library and its services and facilities.
Key cards
Ambleside Key cards which are returned late or which are lost
by the borrower attract the following charges:
After 24 hours - £5.00
Lost card - £20.00 to cover replacement costs