Summer might mean a time of rest and relaxation for some, or it might mean an opportunity to tackle projects that one otherwise might not have time for during the busy academic year. This past summer Fondren staff were busy learning, training, testing and configuring a new cloud-based library service platform system that changes both the way staff go about their daily work, and the way users search for Fondren’s materials.
In the process, Fondren staff realized it would be their chance to simplify and clean up much of the data that was found in the library’s legacy system, as well as rethink some of the policies and procedures that library staff have followed for more than 23 years.
What does this mean for today’s users? Borrowing periods have changed for some. Staff and Grad Students will no longer follow a semester loan period. Faculty, Staff and Grads will all now have an academic year check out period for general materials. Faculty will retain their five year renewal limit, while Staff and Grads will have a renewal limit of three years.
Good news for Staff, Undergrads and Grads – maximum fees have been reduced. Fondren staff reviewed the fines and fees structure this summer and determined that the amount of time users were given to return items before being billed for lost items warranted shortening, however in reducing the timeframe, this change would allow users to be billed a maximum fee of $15.00, down from the current $30.00 maximum.
Users will also now be able to renew items online during a 10 day grace period. Previously once items were due, they became overdue in the system and users were not able to renew these items without contacting Circulation to have their due dates changed.
All Rice Community users will be able to check their account balances via the OneSearch interface by clicking the Sign In link (at the top right corner of the OneSearch homepage), and entering their netID and network password. Once logged in, a user may check their entire account by clicking the “Library Card” link from the drop down menu on their account. Users with fines and fees greater than $5.00 should contact Circulation to clear their account.
|
Fee Type |
New Fee |
Loan Period |
New Maximum Fee |
|
Regular Overdue |
$.50 |
Day |
$15.00 |
|
Short Loan |
$.50 |
Hour |
$15.00 |
|
Reserve items |
$1.00 |
Hour |
$15.00 |
|
Study Rooms |
$5.00 |
Hour |
$15.00 |
|
Recalled items |
$1.00 |
Day |
$15.00 |
|
FoF Overdue |
$.50 |
Day |
$15.00 |
|
FoF Recall |
$1.00 |
Day |
$15.00 |
|
Umbrellas |
$1.00 |
Day |
$15.00 |
|
Item Types & Loan Periods |
|
|---|---|
|
Item Type |
Loan Period |
|
Study Rooms |
4 Hours |
|
Books: |
|
|
Standard Leisure Audio |
1 year Faculty/Staff/Grads; 28 day Undergrads |
|
Reserves |
4 hours |
|
Circ- Equipment |
4 hours |
|
Bound Journals |
4 weeks |
|
DVDs |
1 Week |
|
CDs |
4 weeks |
*Replacement fees vary, all processing fees for lost items are non-refundable.
Contact Circulation for details.