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How Do I?

A guide to using the RIT Libraries

Posted September 26th, 2007 by rgkwml

How Do I? A guide to using the RIT Libraries

Borrowing materials from the RIT Libraries

Check Out Material from the Library?

RIT students, faculty, staff, alumni and associates may borrow library material by presenting a current RIT ID Card at the Circulation Desk at the time of check-out.

By borrowing library material that is shared by the entire RIT community, you are responsible for:

  • returning or renewing items by their due dates
  • consistently checking your RIT email account for Library notices
  • providing full payment of any fines and fees

Fines and Late Fees:

A fines balance of $5 or more suspends your borrowing privileges and prevents course registration for the next quarter. The balance must be paid to reinstate your account. All library material must be properly checked out prior to leaving the Library. Exiting the Library with items not properly checked out is considered theft and is reported to Campus Safety.

How Many Items Can I Have Checked Out at One Time?

There is no limit to the number of items you can check out.

 

Find Out How Long I Can Keep a Book?

The general circulating collection is located on the Library's 3rd and 4th floors.

Loan periods are:

  • Undergrad students - 3 weeks
  • Grad students - 10 weeks
  • Alumni - 3 weeks
  • Distance learners - 4 weeks
  • Faculty and Staff (full-time) - due by annual May due date (unless recalled)
  • Faculty and Staff (part-time) - due last day of each Quarter (unless recalled)

The Library's "Leisure Collection"

A collection of current fiction and non-fiction on the 1st floor of Library; available for 14-day loan periods. Items from the Library's DVD and video collection are available for a 3-day loan period. Audio books are available for 14-day loans.

Renewing Books

You may renew a book as many times as you'd like.

You may renew a book by:

  • bringing it to the Circulation Desk and renewing it in person
  • calling the Circulation Desk at 475-2562 or 475-2962 (TTY) and providing the book barcode number
    and your RIT I.D. number
  • accessing your library account online
  • e-mailing circwml@rit.edu. Include book barcode numbers in message.

Books cannot be renewed when:

  • the book has been requested by someone
  • you are not registered for the Quarter (students)
  • you are not presently employed by RIT (faculty/staff)

Requesting a Book that is Already Checked Out:

You can request a checked-out book by logging in to My Library Account. The Library will request the return of the book by its three-week due date. If the book is past due, immediate return is requested. When the book has been returned, you will be notified that it is being held for you.

 

Borrow from Other Libraries?

If you are looking for books or journal articles that RIT Libraries do not own, you can request the material through Connect NY or Interlibrary Loan.

Connect NY is an online catalog of participating academic libraries in New York State. Through Connect NY, patrons can borrow books not owned by RIT Libraries, as well as books owned by RIT Libraries that happen to be checked out. Any available book can be requested through Connect NY, and is usually received within two - four working days.

Through Interlibrary Loan, also known as IDS Express (Information Delivery Services), Library users are able to borrow materials not currently in our collections. ILL requests can be made online.

What Types of Items Can be Requested through IDS Express/ILL?

  • Books (if unavailable through Connect NY)
  • Photocopies or scans of journal articles
  • Theses and dissertations (check ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database for online full text first)
  • Standards

What Items Cannot be Requested through IDS Express/ILL?

  • Items owned by RIT Libraries
  • Reference books
  • Textbooks
  • Rare books and other fragile or bulky items
  • Entire issues of journals
  • Audiovisual materials

 

Use My Library Account?

You can log in to access the personalized features of My Library Account using your RIT username and password. Once logged in, you can place holds on checked-out books, renew books online, and create and save preferred searches.

 

Use the Reserve Collection?

Reserve materials can be requested at the Circulation Desk. The Reserve Collection consists of class reserve items and materials that are in high demand. To use material from the Reserve Collection, you must present a valid RIT I.D. card. These materials must be checked out with an I.D. even if they are used only in the Library. Some reserve items can be checked out only on an hourly basis, while other material may be borrowed overnight. The professor placing the material on reserve determines length of the loan period.

Fines and Late Fees

Late fines for 1 and 2 hour loan periods are assessed at $1.00 per hour. Late fines for 24, 48 and 72 hour loans are assessed at the rate of $5.00 per day.

Locating Electronic Course Reserve Material

Material placed on reserve by faculty can be located by the professor's name, the course name or the course number in the library's Online Catalog. If the material is on E-Reserve, it is accessible electronically from the above link. Material placed on traditional reserve can be borrowed from the Reserve Desk, located on the Library's first floor.

Reserve materials can also be accessed from myCourses. Click on the “my Library” link in the top navigation bar within your course to view any materials placed on reserve.

 

Borrow a Laptop?

Wallace Library has Windows laptop computers available for campus-wide use. The Library, along with most other campus buildings, has wireless Internet access, so you can use these laptops to connect to the Web nearly anywhere.

Proper I.D. Required

Two forms of identification are required to borrow a laptop from the Circulation Desk. One I.D. must be an RIT I.D. Card and the second must be a government-issued photo I.D., such as a valid driver’s license or passport. The laptops have Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox installed. The laptops are periodically reformatted, so saving files on then is not an option. Save your files to the VIA shared drive (\\wmlfileserver\via), or to removable storage.

Laptops and power cords are available for four-hour loan periods. A limited number of laptops are available for a two day loan period. As these machines are in great demand, there is no grace period for late returns. Late fines accumulate at the rate of $25 per hour/per item.

 

Avoid Library Fines and Fees?

Whenever a book is 28 days past due, it is considered "excessively late" because it is inaccessible to other library patrons. Once a book is 28 days overdue, you will be billed the cost of the book and a $10 billing fee.

When you return a book that is 28 or more days overdue, the charge to replace the book is dropped. The $10 billing fee, however, will be charged.

Please report lost books to the Circulation Desk, as it is important for the library to account for all materials.  You may be charged a replacement fee for a lost book.

Recall Notices

If a checked-out book requested by another patron is not returned when due, recall fines accrue at the rate of $1/day from the due date. Please note that a fines balance of $5 or more suspends your borrowing privileges.
If another Library patron requests a book that you have checked out, you will receive a recall notice. You are entitled to keep the book until the date specified on the recall notice, but you must return it by that due date to avoid recall fines of $1/day.

Summary of overdue fines

The following fines apply to ALL library borrowers

  • Circulating collection - $1/day fine assessed when a book has been recalled and is overdue (no grace period); if a book has not been recalled, a $10 fine is assessed when a book is overdue past the 28 day grace period
  • Leisure collection books and audiobooks - $0.25/day fine (no grace period)
  • Leisure collection videos and DVDs - $1/day fine (no grace period)

If you have questions or are unsure about Wallace Library's borrowing and/or fines policy, please feel free to contact the Circulation Desk at (585) 475-2562 (voice); (585) 475-2962 (TTY).

 

 

Finding things and navigating the RIT Libraries

Locate Material in the Library?

1st Floor of Wallace Library:

  • Reference Collection - for use within the Library only
  • Leisure Collections:
    • 14-Day Books: Current popular print titles
    • Audio Books: available for 14-day loan
    • Videos/DVDs: available for 3-day loan
  • Reserve Material at the Reserve Desk:
    • material placed on Reserve by a professor

2nd Floor of Wallace Library:

  • Bound Periodicals: older issues of periodicals bound in a hardcover format
  • Microfilm and Microfiche: older issues of periodicals stored in a microfilm format
  • Current Periodicals Area: contains current issues of print subscriptions
  • Newspapers: newspapers are on the 2nd Floor, next to the current periodicals.
  • Cary Collection: The Cary Library is one of the nation's premier libraries on the history and practice of
    printing and the graphic arts.
  • Annual Reports: corporate annual reports are located in the file cabinets next to the microfiche cabinets on the 2nd floor

3rd and 4th Floors of Wallace Library:
The 3rd and 4th Floors of the Library contain the general circulating collections.

Oversize and Huge Collection:
Books fitting this special classification are located on the 4th Floor.

The RIT Archives:
On the 3rd Floor of Wallace Library, the RIT Archives contains materials relating to the Institute's past. Graduate student theses and dissertations are also housed here.

The Catalog indicates the book is available but I can't find it on the shelf!

If the RIT Libraries Catalog indicates an item is available, but you cannot find it on the shelf, please report it to the Circulation Desk. It is possible that the book is on a cart and just has not yet been reshelved.

 

Locate Newspapers and Journals?

Current print issues of magazines and journals are arranged alphabetically on the second floor of the library. Current print issues of newspapers are kept on racks near the current magazine shelves.  Many more newspapers, magazines and journals are available online through the library’s subscription databases. To find out if the library subscribes to a particular newspaper or journal, you can search or browse an alphabetical list of our online journals and newspapers or search the library catalog for specific titles.

 

Learn How to Use Research Databases?

The Library’s research databases provide access to a wealth of online information. Access to all these databases is provided through the library web site. From this web page, you can search or browse for databases by name, subject or database type. You can also search for databases by name and subject in the RIT Libraries Catalog. The library offers a tool called the Re:Search Portal to cross-search multiple databases. Information on new databases as well as news and updates is provided on our databases blog.

Each college at RIT has a subject-specialist liaison librarian. These librarians are available to assist you with the particular databases in your field of study, as well as with any other research questions you may have. Click here to find a list of liaison librarians by college.

Librarians are working on creating tutorials for using some online databases. View them here. Tutorials are added as they are developed.

 

Get Research Help with My Assignments?

The Re:Search Zone, located on Wallace Library's first floor, is the place to go for research help. This desk is staffed Monday - Thursday from 8:00am - 9:00pm; Fridays from 8:00am - 5:00pm; Saturdays from 11am - 6:30pm; and Sundays from 1pm - 8:30pm. The librarians who staff the desk are here to assist you in locating information. Please do not hesitate to ask for their assistance.

One2One Live Reference Help is for general reference assistance via instant messaging. In-depth help from subject librarians is also available - click here to find contact information for your college liaison librarian.

 

Other services offered by RIT Libraries

Reserve a Meeting Room?

Wallace Library has group meeting rooms available for student use. These rooms are located on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors. There are eight meeting rooms on each of these floors. Meeting rooms can be reserved for a maximum time period of three hours. There is an online room reservation system in place on the RIT Libraries’ web site. Room reservations are required in Fall, Winter and Spring Quarters, but not during the Summer.

Meeting rooms are available in varying sizes to accommodate from two to eight people.

 

Make Copies, Print and Send/Receive Faxes?

Circulation Desk staff can add money to your RIT I.D. card to pay for printing and copying. Either cash value or funds transferred from Tiger Bucks can be added to your RIT I.D. card. To create a copying and printing debit line on your RIT I.D., take your card to the Circulation Desk for validation. Visitors who do not have an RIT I.D. card can purchase a Vendacard at the circulation desk.

A printer and a copier are located in the Re:search Zone on the first floor of Wallace Library. A black & white printer, a color printer, a color copier and three scanners (two PC and one Mac) are located in the 2nd floor computer lab (VIA). Black & white copiers are located in the center area of the first and third floors. Prices for printing/copying are posted at service points.

A public fax machine is located at the Circulation Desk. The charges for sending a fax vary based on where it is being sent and the length of the document. You may also request to receive faxes on the public fax machine. The number is (585) 475-2340, and the charge is $ .50 for the first 10 pages and $ .08 for each additional page. Fax charges can be paid with cash, Tiger Bucks, or copy/print money.