Faculty and Staff Use of the Library
Return to the Contents of the Operational Guidelines and Procedures
- Borrower Eligibility
- Borrower Responsibilities
- Circulation of Materials
- Library Fees
- Library Fee Appeal Process
- Accepted Payment Types
- Library Computer Lab Use
- Reserve Materials
- Interlibrary Loan
- TexShare Cards
- Security Gate
All current Collin College faculty and staff are eligible for library privileges. Faculty and staff must present a current Collin College Faculty/Staff ID card at the library Circulation Desk to be entered into the library system. Upon leaving the employ of Collin College, faculty and staff are eligible for community patron cards if they reside in Collin County.
Note: New faculty and staff must show verification of Collin employment at the Circulation Desk if library materials are needed prior to the issuance of a Faculty or Staff ID.
- Student Reserve materials (laptops, calculators, study room, etc.) are typically unavailable to faculty and staff.
- The borrower is responsible for returning materials on time and in good condition.
- As a courtesy, the library will attempt to send overdue notices in a timely manner by contacting the patron through their Collin email address.
- The borrower is responsible for reporting damaged or lost items at the Circulation Desk.
- The borrower must pay the cost of the damaged or lost items.
- The library cannot accept replacement materials purchased by individuals.
- The borrower is responsible for notifying the Circulation Department of a lost or stolen library card.
- The borrower is responsible for notifying the Circulation Department of a change of name, physical address, home campus, telephone number or e-mail.
- The borrower is responsible for personal materials and equipment left unattended in the library.
CIRCULATION OF MATERIALS
Checkout Procedures
- Faculty/staff must present a Collin College Faculty & Staff ID Library Card for all circulation transactions.
- Faculty/staff with overdue, damaged or lost items are denied permission to check out
materials.
- One courtesy check out will be given to a faculty member with overdue material, after which all overdue items must be returned before further checkouts.
- Periodicals and reference materials do not circulate and are to be used in the library.
Due dates exclude holidays and other days when Collin College campuses are closed. The library reserves the right to recall any materials.
| Checkout Limits by Material Type | Loan Period | |
| Audio Books | 5 | 6 weeks |
| Music CDs | 5 | 6 weeks |
| Books | 20 | 6 weeks |
| Blu-ray/DVD | 3 | 7 days |
| Games-Kits | 2 | 7 days |
|
Total items checked out: 30
|
||
Items may be renewed if there are no overdue materials or library account blocks. See details and restrictions below.
- Two (2) renewals are allowed per item. Renewal of Circulating Books and Music CDs
may be done by phone, online or in person.
- The following materials cannot be renewed by phone or online: Reserves and Blu-ray/DVD.
- Overdue materials may be renewed in person if others have not placed a hold request
on the item.
- Items must be presented for renewal if overdue.
Some circulating items may be placed on hold and transferred to another campus. Circulating materials may be returned at any campus.
- Items are held for 3 days at the requested campus.
- The patron is notified by a courtesy e-mail and/or text message.
- The libraries do not have a materials booking system and cannot guarantee the availability of materials for dates in the future.
- The following materials cannot be placed on hold or transferred to another campus,
due to the high demand and/or a short checkout period.
- Games-Kits
- Makerspace Kits
- Course Reserves
- Study Rooms
- Laptops
- TI Graphing Calculators
- Textbooks
A librarian will evaluate the damaged material for possible repair.
- If the material is damaged beyond repair, the employee will be charged the replacement
cost of the material.
- The Library cannot accept replacement materials purchased by individuals.
- Items judged damaged beyond repair will be given to the employee if the replacement charges are paid at the time of return. If charges are not paid at the time of return, charges will be applied to the patron’s library account and the item will not be returned to the patron, but discarded.
Lost Materials
When materials are lost, the employee will be charged the replacement cost of the
material.
- The library cannot accept replacement materials purchased by individuals.
- No refund is given after payment of a lost item is received, even if the patron later finds the item.
If there is a dispute regarding the charges assessed, the employee may initiate the Library Fee Appeal Process, and the appeal will be considered by the Library Executive Directors. If materials deemed necessary for use by the academic division are lost or damaged, and a dispute regarding the charges arises, an Academic Dean will be consulted.
LIBRARY FEE APPEAL PROCESS
Library patrons have the option of appealing the Library fees by filling out a Fee Appeal Form online. Unless more information is needed, the decision on whether or not Library fees are adjusted or waived will be emailed to the library patron within 5 business days.
Patrons are strongly encouraged to first attempt to resolve the issue by speaking with the Circulation Supervisor before submitting this appeal form.
Conditions for Fee Forgiveness
Fees for overdue materials may be forgiven under the following circumstances, provided the patron can demonstrate a reasonable cause related to a significant life event such as:
- Medical Illness or Injury
- Illness, injury, or medical conditions that result in a patron's inability to return materials by the due date.
- Hospitalization:
- Hospital stays that significantly hinder a patron's ability to access library services or return materials on time.
- Family Emergencies:
- Family emergencies (e.g., death or critical illness of a close family member) that disrupt the patron's ability to return materials.
- Other Life Events:
- Natural disasters, theft, or other major life disruptions that directly prevent the timely return of materials. Please note: Financial hardship alone is not considered a sufficient reason for fee forgiveness.
Process for Requesting Fee Forgiveness
Step 1: Submit a Request
- Patrons wishing to request fee forgiveness should submit a request to the Circulation Department or Library Director through the online Library Fee Appeal Form.
- Appeals must be made within 30 days after the semester ends.
- The request should include a brief description of the life event and its impact on the patron’s ability to return materials on time.
Step 2: Review of Request
- All requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Library Director or Head of Circulation.
- The library staff may reach out to the patron for additional clarification if necessary.
- Unless more information is needed, the decision on whether or not Library fees are adjusted or waived will be made within 5 business days.
Step 3: Decision and Information
Fees are only forgiven by the Library Director or the Head of Circulation of the campus library where the fee originated, based on the information provided and the nature of the life event. Staff members are not authorized to grant fee forgiveness without prior approval.
- Once the decision has been made, the patron will be notified of the outcome in writing via email.
- If the fee forgiveness is granted, the patron's account will be updated accordingly, and future overdue materials will be subject to the standard fee policy unless otherwise stated.
This procedure ensures that all Collin College library patrons are treated fairly and with empathy during difficult times. We are committed to providing access to library resources and services while recognizing the challenges life events can bring.
ACCEPTED PAYMENT TYPES
Patrons can make payments at the Bursar’s (Cashier) Office after coordinating with the library.
The Bursar’s (Cashier) Office’s accepted payment methods include:
- Cash (in-person)
- Check (please contact the Bursar’s (Cashier) Office to confirm accepted check types)
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- Contactless options such as Apple Pay and Google Pay
To view billed library fees, please sign in to your library account. To pay library fees online, please use the payment portal. Alternatively, contact the library directly for assistance with online payment options.
All faculty/staff who are currently employed by Collin College have full access to the library computer lab. Faculty and Staff must contact the Help Desk for Library computer lab access. The Library computers are accessed by way of Logon ID and password obtained through the Help Desk. Library lab computers automatically log off after two hours, but users are eligible to log back on if others are not waiting. When the computer logs a user off, it erases all work on the hard drive of the computer. All work should be saved to a USB thumb drive instead of the computer hard drive.
Printing is free to Collin College faculty and staff.
For further information see Computer and Internet Use.
RESERVE MATERIALS
Faculty members may place course materials on reserve, locally at each Library Circulation
Desk, for student use. Faculty members must complete and sign a “Library Reserve Processing
Form” for each semester of the academic year that an item is placed in the Reserve
Collection. The form <online form> is available at the Circulation Desk and on the library’s website. All Reserve material
submissions must comply with current copyright laws. For more information regarding
copyright laws, please visit the Library Services page in CougarWeb and choose "Services for Faculty," and then "Copyright Resources."
Collin College faculty are responsible for gaining copyright permissions from the copyright holder for the materials that they submit to the library for the reserves collection. See “Services for Faculty-Reserves” on the Library Services page in CougarWeb for more Reserve submission requirements and details.
Reserve materials may include: instructor created materials, material owned by the Library or materials owned by the instructor.
Examples include chapters from books, articles from periodicals or newspapers, short stories, short essays or any print material for which permission of the copyright holder can be documented.
Old tests, quizzes or exams are permitted as study materials only and will not be placed on Reserve for testing purposes.
Faculty members can designate reserve material for In-Library Use Only for 2-hour checkout. Instructor or Department owned Reserve materials are returned to the appropriate faculty or to their Department/Division Office at the end of the reserve use semester to comply with copyright guidelines. Reserve material submissions must comply with current copyright laws.
- Allow 5 business days for the processing of Reserve material requested during the first 3 weeks of full terms.
INTERLIBRARY LOANS
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service is available to current faculty and staff who have
a Collin College library card and account in good standing.
Any material not owned by the library may be requested for Interlibrary Loan through a Reference Librarian or online. The supplying library determines whether the material can be provided.
Faculty/staff may request one renewal on a borrowed ILL material.
- Renewal requests for ILL materials must be made online, at the Circulation Desk or by phone at least 2 days before the material is due. The decision to renew rests with the lending library.
- Obtaining interlibrary loan requests typically takes 7-14 days but may take longer.
- Only 5 requests can be processed per day per person.
- Requests for renewals will not be made for overdue materials.
- The employee is responsible for all charges imposed by the supplying library, including fees.
- ILL material must be returned to the Circulation Desk on time and in good condition.
All faculty and staff currently employed by Collin College are eligible for the issuance of a TexShare card. This card allows faculty and staff to borrow materials from participating libraries. Each lending library has rules and limitations regarding the use of the TexShare card.
- The employee is responsible for all materials and fees when using the TexShare card.
- Full-time faculty and staff TexShare cards expire at the end of the current academic year and must renew annually.
- Part- time faculty and staff TexShare cards expire at the end of the current semester.
- Faculty/Staff must return to the Circulation or Refernce Desk if the alarm sounds.
- Faculty/Staff will remain at the Circulation or Reference Desk until the cause of the alarm is determined and resolved.
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