Using the Library

This page outlines the current loan procedures and some other basic of guidelines to be observed by users of Homerton College Library.

We respectfully ask that you switch your mobile telephone to silent operation in the Library. If you need to take or make a call, please go outside the Library as it is very distracting for other users.

User guides

 Homerton College Library Information Sheet (PDF) (March 2012) One A4 page with two copies of A5 leaflet.

 Homerton College Library Guide (October 2010) Full user guide (A4, 30+ pages) A bit out of date in places.

Floorplans and a floor-by-floor guide to the Library are available on the ‘Where things are’ page of this website and posted around the Library.

 Contents of this page:

• Access to the Library
• Borrowing items from the Library
• Returning items to the Library
• Reserving items on loan
• Renewing loans (extending an item’s loan period)
• Overdue items
• Fines
• NEW Damaged or defaced Library items
• Lost Library items
• Leaving books out on the tables
• Children in the library
• Lost personal items
• Photocoping, printing, scanning and stationery
• Newspapers and magazines
• Wi-fi zone

The library catalogue and your library account

Search our catalogue and access your library account at http://heritage.homerton.cam.ac.uk/.

You can check your library record, renew items and reserve items and search our catalogue. Except for catalogue searches, you must log in with the five character code on your University Card (the five character code on the back of your card just below the barcode usually starting with letter ‘V’).

We would prefer you to use the above web access, but you can telephone or email us to renew items.

• The telephone number for renewals is 01223 747260 (with answer service out of hours).
• The email address for renewals is library@homerton.cam.ac.uk.

University Card access to the library

Homerton College Library is open 24 hours 7 days a week to anyone with an appropriate access card.

Library staff are available between 9.00-17.00 weekdays. Graduate students trained in the basic procedures of the Library will be present 13.00-17.00 weekends during full term.

To use Homerton College Library, you must have:

• A University Card registered with the library to gain access to the Library.
• A University Card registered with the Library in order to borrow or renew items at the self issue screens.

Borrowing items from the Library

A maximum of fifteen items may be borrowed at the same time from Homerton College Library. This is irrespective of items from any other library of the University.

You must have your registered University Card with you to borrow or renew items at the Library

The loan period is 14 days. This applies to all our borrowable items—including cds and dvds.

A reminder email is sent to you when the return date of an item is imminent.

Items should be borrowed using our two self issue screens on the ground floor. Staff will, on request, demonstrate the correct use of the self issue system. They are safe to use with all items including DVds and CDs.

Return dates falling on weekends are extended to the following week.

You may not borrow items if you have overdue items or an unpaid fine.

You must not allow anyone else to use your University Card. Any overdue fines, lost items or other charges for someone else’s borrowing  using your card remain your (the card holder’s) responsibility.

Before the start of holiday periods, the loan return date is extended to cover the whole holiday period. Notices about this will be posted in the Library a few weeks before vacation periods.

Returning Items to the Library

All returns should either be put into the drop boxes immediately inside the Library entrance or handed in to a member of library staff.

Please return only Homerton College Library books, we do not take books belonging to other libraries.

Please do not leave returns on trolleys or anywhere else in the library.

Overdue items may be handed in to Library staff at the enquiry desk if, for instance, you want to borrow more items immediately but would be stopped from doing so until your drop box items have been returned to the system. For example, if any items placed in the drop boxes are overdue, or you have the maximum 15 items on loan, you may be prevented from borrowing more items until the boxes are cleared. The drop boxes are emptied at least twice a day.

Reserving items on loan

Items on loan to someone else can be reserved at http://heritage.homerton.cam.ac.uk/ and also on the enquiry screens in the Library.

To reserve, search for the item and, if all copies are on loan, you will be able to reserve a copy using the RESERVE button. (You will need to be logged in using the 5 character code on your University Card). Up to three items may be reserved at the same time.

A reserved item cannot be renewed by the current holder and should be returned by, or very soon after, the due return date. A fine is levied on reserved items returned later than 3 days after due date.

When your reserved item is returned to the Library, you will be informed by letter. You must collect the item from the Library enquiry desk within two days. If outside office hours and no staff are available you may take the book from the reserve shelf behind the enquiry desk.

Please note: all items taken from the reserve shelf must be be self issued.

Current borrowers of the reserved item are informed of a reservation request. Note that they may still keep the item until its due return date, but they will not be able to renew it. To ensure prompt return, they will be fined if the item is not returned within three days of the return date.

Renewing loans (extending an item’s loan period)

Items can be renewed (have their loan period extended) online, by email or telephone or in the Library at our self issue screens:

• To renew online: http://heritage.homerton.cam.ac.uk/ (login is the 5-character code below the barcode on the back of your University Card).
• To renew by email:  library@homerton.cam.ac.uk.
• To renew by telephone: 01223 747260 (with answer service out of hours).

The following points should be noted with regard to renewing items:

• Online and self issue renewals are allowed only if items are three days or less overdue. If your items are more overdue you will need to contact the library to renew them.
• Renewals are restricted to five occasions per item using the online system and our self issue screens. Further renewals must be requested at the Library enquiry desk.
• You cannot renew items if you have overdue items or an unpaid fine. To renew overdue items, you must bring the items to the Library and present them at the enquiry desk.
• You cannot renew an item if someone else has reserved it, but you may keep it until its due date. You will be informed by email if a reservation has been requested for an item you have on loan.

Overdue items

If items are overdue by more than three days they cannot be renewed online or at the self issue stations and you will not be able to borrow more items. You need to contact the library to renew the overdue items and remove the block from your account.

Fines are not levied on overdue items, except when the overdue items are reserved by another user. You will receive email notification of a reservation placed on an item you have on loan. You must return reserved items promptly by the due date to avoid a fine.

You will be notified regularly by email about overdue items.

You cannot borrow from the library or renew items whilst you have overdue items.

Fines

A fine of £5 per item is levied only on overdue items that have been reserved by another user. Please try to return reserved items as soon as possible or, at the latest, by their due date to avoid a fine. You will be informed about the impending fine – which will take effect if you do not return the item promptly.

You cannot borrow or renew items until you have paid any outstanding fines.

NEW: Damaged or defaced items

Due to some recent defacement of books, readers must inform the College Library of any items they borrow which are damaged or defaced. Likewise with any items they use in the Library. You can inform a member of staff in person, or email us at library@homerton.cam.ac.uk

Failure to report damage or defacement could result in you being held accountable as the last borrower of an item. This could result in replacement charges and referral to the Dean.

Lost Library items

There is a charge of £30 per lost item borrowed from the Library.

If you can purchase a good copy of the same (or later) edition of the lost item for less than £30, we might accept that as a replacement. Please confirm with the Librarian before buying anything!

Leaving books on the tables

If you want to leave the books that you are using on the tables (on floors 1 and 2) to come back to later, please fill in a slip (currently yellow) so that we do not clear the books from the table. Books will be left for three days and then re-shelved (and removed from your library account if applicable) unless you renew the notice regularly. Please leave all your work in a neat pile on the table.

Children must be accompanied in the Library

Children under 14 years of age entering the Library:

• must be accompanied by an adult at all times;
• must be confined to the ground floor of the Library.

This is a safety regulation which covers the entire Mary Allan Building, and thus the Library must request that you comply with it.

Lost personal items

We will remove personal property left in the library and keep it aside until claimed for – we may not rectain items longer than the end of the current term. Valuable looking items will be passed to the Porters Lodge if not claimed promptly.

If you think you have left a personal item in the library, please ask intially at the Library enquiry desk.

Photocopying, printing, scanning and stationery

Photocopying in the Library is via a black & white Kyocera Mita KM3035 A4/A3 photocopier on Floor 1 (middle floor) on your right as you go up the stairs. You need a copy card to use the copier. You can buy your own copy card from the Porters Lodge for £5 which is good for approximately 70 A4 copies and has no expiry date. For just a few photocopies you can borrow a copy card from the Library Enquiry Desk and pay 10p per A4 copy (which is more expensive per copy than buying your own card). Note that the HUS Office offers 5p a page copying.

Printing is via an A4 HP Color LaserJet CP4005 on the ground floor. You can print either from your own computer via the wireless network or from a Managed Cluster Service (MCS, formerly ‘PWF’) workstation. The University’s DS-Print service requires that you purchase printer credits to enable printing (note that you cannot purchase Printer Credits on the Apple Mac MCS, but you can print from it). Select the correct printer from the print menu for either mono (Hom_Lib_BW) or colour printing (Hom_Lib_Col). Also see ‘How do I print in the library?’ on our FAQ page for more about printing.

Scanning is via two Epson V500 scanners installed on two ground floor MCS workstations: one connected to a Windows PC and the other connected to the Apple Mac. To scan you must use on of the workstations connected to a scanner. Once logged in, just start operating the scanner and the scanning application will start up on the computer. It is best to scan using the default set up—unless you are confident about what you are doing. Your scans are automatically saved in your My Pictures folder. Basic instructions are kept next to the scanner. For comprehensive instructions on using the scanner see this Epson User Guide.

• Note: when scanning on the Mac you need to change to ‘Scan to’ folder from ‘Pictures’ to one of the other options offered in the dropdown list.

Stationery—the Library can supply odd scraps of paper and pens on request (please return the pens!). The HUS Office in Queen’s Wing (open 10-14, 17-19, weekdays in full term) stocks a wide range of stationery at competitive prices and offers, amongst other things, colour printing, binding, and laminating services.

Newspapers and magazines

A selection of newspapers and magazines is provided in the ground floor reading area. They are for reference only within the library and, ideally, should not be removed from the reading area on the ground floor. They must not be removed from the library.

The library subscribes to the following three national newspapers during full term on weekdays only:

• Financial Times
• The Guardian
• The Times
• The previous day’s issue fo the Cambridge News is usually available (a staff donation).

The past five days’ issues of the newspapers are kept in boxes on the Quick Reference shelf in the gropund floor reading area and then discarded.

The library subcribes to the following magazines and journals throughout the year:

Weekly titles:

• The Economist
• The Spectator
• TES: Times Educational Supplement
• THE: Times Higher Education
• TLS: The Times Literary Supplement

Less frequent titles (monthly, quarterly, etc.):

• BBC Music Magazine (monthly)
• Chemistry World (monthly) and RSC News (monthly)—both donated by a Director of Studies (note that there is usually a delay in receiving these)
• Economic History Review (quarterly)
• Nature in Cambridgeshire (yearly)
• New Theatre Quarterly
• The New York Review of Books (1-2 per month)
• Songlines (monthly)
• Theatre Research International (3 per year)

The most recent four issues of magazines are kept in the ground floor reading area. Earlier issues are shelved in our Journal Collection (top floor) for at least one year.

Online access to some of these titles and thousands of others is available via ejournals@cambridge, adminstered by Cambridge University Library .

Wifi zone

The library, in common with the rest of Homerton College, is an Eduroam wi-fi zone. Eduroam, being an international organization, offers access to members at any institution worldwide which uses Eduroam. For example, most other Cambridge University sites offer Eduroam wi-fi.

To join eduroam, which is free of charge, access the ‘Eduroam Setup’ wifi option (which should appear on your list of wifi services) and follow the instructions.