Circulation information

Who may use the library:

This is a service offered to the students, faculty and staff with valid LAU identification. Alumni, guests and friends of the library are welcome with appropriate identification.

Loan period:

Books, CDs, diskettes, videos and films can be checked out of the library according to set rules and regulations:

A $54.00 deposit ($27.00 refundable at the end of the academic year) is required of LAU alumni as a subscription fee. Inter-library loan agreements must be signed between the LAU libraries and other libraries if there is mutual interest in that.

Renewals, returns and reservations:

• Materials may be renewed twice if no other borrower has requested them. Users can renew their books online without going through the library and without restamping the new date. Yet they are held responsible for the new date due (see table above).
• All eligible borrowers can reserve a book already on loan either online or personally at the Circulation Desk.
• When a requested book is returned to the library, a special form will be mailed to the requester informing him of the book’s availability.

Fines and lost book charges:

Fines are $0.50/day/item for circulated books. Users who have overdue materials or outstanding fines will lose borrowing privileges until cleared. Users will be charged the replacement cost plus half the book cost as handling and processing fee.

Overdue payment is currently and automatically recorded by the Banner system in the Business Office. No money transactions are settled at the Circulation Desk anymore.

Reserve:

Material for course assignments and certain other heavily used items, i.e. books, photocopies, documents, etc., are held at the circulation desk. They may be used in the library only. Request for such material should be by instructor’s name or course title. It is worth noting that material for all university courses are also available online through e-Reserve.

N.B.: If a faculty member requests an item on loan to be put on the reserve shelf for class use, this loan can be recalled immediately regardless of its duration and its user.

Discipline:

Eating, drinking and smoking are not permitted in the library. There are severe penalties for theft or mutilation of library property. For your own protection, do not leave your property unattended while in the library. Chatting, conversation and group studying are not allowed in the library. Noise should be kept to a minimum in the reading areas. Mobile phones should be silenced before entering the library. Clearance must be obtained from the library before graduation or for inter-campus transfer.

Locating Materials:

All library holdings except periodicals have a shelf mark. Find the shelf mark by using the Library Catalog online. It is available on all library computers — especially the computers in the circulation area, which are dedicated to this task. Write the shelf mark on a special book slip (available next to the computers) and give the slip to the assistant at the circulation desk. Only graduate students and faculty are allowed direct access to the library stacks. Each student should use his/her ID to borrow library items. He/she is responsible for anything checked out under his/her name.

Special Materials:

• Women collection (Riyad Nassar Library only): This collection parallels the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World. It includes books, pamphlets, documents and flyers on women’s subjects in both English and Arabic. They are shelved separately and marked with a “W” at the top of the shelfmark. This method groups related materials for easy location and access by researchers on women’s issues. General borrowing rules apply to this collection.
• Children’s collection (Riyad Nassar Library only): This collection is used by the Nursing School and in Creative Dramatics, Children’s Literature, and other courses offered within the Education major. All library users may borrow items from this collection.
• Audio/Visual collection: It includes a variety of subjects related to many courses in business, pharmacy, education, sciences, history, politics, operas, theater, art, classical music, and cinema studies. Items from this collection may be borrowed on short loan basis (2 days).
• Closed circulation collection and research topics: Includes out-of-print, aged and rare books, as well as certain worn-out books on Lebanon that are out of print. Books in closed circulation are marked “C.C.” and may be used inside the library only. Research topics or graduate students’ projects are kept also in special cabinets and marked “RT” or “RP” They may be used inside the library only.
• Islamic art and architecture collection: It is meant to enrich the courses on design in general and on Islamic art and culture in particular. It covers the historical, theoretical, philosophical and practical aspects of such heritage.
• Practice teaching: Mainly used by student majoring in Education.

Photocopying:

The copy machines in the library are self-service and maintained by an outside vendor. A magnetic card should be purchased from a vending machine. It costs L.L. 5,000 and allows 100 copies. Color photocopying is also available; each copy costs L.L. 500.