Wesleyan University: Library

Services for Honors Students

Library Hours
ID Cards and User Responsibility
Check-out Limits
Loan Period
Extended Library Borrowing Privileges
Renewals
Recalls
Borrow/Recall CTW Materials
Fees/Fines
Suspension of Circulation Privileges
Confidentiality of Circulation Records
Reference Services
Personal Research Sessions
Honors Workshops
Thesis Carrels
Internet Access From thesis Carrels
Items in Storage or Special Collections
Search for Items not on Shelves
Accessing Online Resources from Off-campus Locations
Obtaining Materials not in CTW
Computers in the Libraries
Public Data Jacks
Access to Restricted Libraries

Library Hours

The most up-to-date library hours are posted at http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/hours/. You may also call 860-685-2660 for this information.

ID Cards and User Responsibility

A valid Wesleyan ID that is linked to the library database is needed to charge out library materials. The IDs of continuing students remain active, including during the summer months, while they are enrolled in the University, and expire either upon graduation, or withdrawal from the University. The IDs of temporary students remain active only during the semester or semesters in which they are enrolled. ID cards are nontransferable, and may not be used by anyone other than the person to whom they were issued.

New ID cards can be linked at the circulation office in Olin Library 115. Should you encounter any difficulty with your ID, please come to the Circulation Office in Olin Library 115 to have it revalidated. If you have questions concerning ID cards or library circulation issues, in general, please call 860-685-3877 or send e-mail to circ@wesleyan.edu. Library users assume responsibility for notifying the library of change of address, loss or theft of the Wesleyan ID card, and loss or theft of books charged to them. Receipts for returned items are available upon request. You also accept responsibility for the materials borrowed on your ID card and for returning them to the library by the due date.

Check-out Limits

There is no limit on the number of items a user may charge out at any one time. To view a full list of library materials checked out to you, click on the CTW Library Catalog from the Library Homepage, select My Account, then log in with your Wes ID number and last name.

Loan Period

Loan periods differ according to the type of material being charged:

Wesleyan/ CTW Books - due in May of the academic year

ILL Items - due dates vary
Government Documents - due in May of the academic year
CD-ROMs – 7 days
Music CDs - 7 days
Cassettes - 7 days
Music Scores - due in May for the academic year

(M1-M4 restricted scores may not be checked out)

DVDs and Videos - 3 days
Bound Periodicals in Olin - 14 days
Reserve Items - 2 to 24 hours (items vary).

Extended Library Borrowing Privileges

Honors College issues a list of Honors candidates in early/mid October. Students on that list are automatically accorded extended borrowing privileges. Any library item checked out after the Honors candidate list is issued will not be due until May 15 of the academic year. This means that items checked out prior to the issuance of the Honors candidate list need to be rechecked out in order for them to be due May 15th. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ALL LIBRARY MATERIALS BE RENEWED BEFORE THEY ARE DUE. The extended loan privilege only applies to books (not periodicals) in general collections at Wesleyan, Trinity and Connecticut. The Honors College reissues its list of candidates in mid-February. Students not included on this list will immediately lose the extended loan privilege although books they have already checked out will still be due May 15.

Books borrowed on extended loans may be recalled by another library user and are due within 7 days. Borrowing privileges are suspended if a recalled item is not returned and recalled items are subject to fines.

Renewals

There is no limit to the number of times an item may be renewed, provided it is not needed by another library user. Telephone renewals are accepted at (860) 685-3967 from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. You may also renew your items online, click "Renew Items" from the Library home page at http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/ "My Account" page will prompt you to log in with your Wes ID, and your last name. You must renew your books via online catalog before they are overdue.

Recalls

Library recall policy strives to balance the needs of the current borrower with the needs of the user requesting the item. The current borrower is guaranteed a loan period of 14 days for monographs, and 7 days for bound periodicals. After 7 days, the item may be recalled for another user. We will send a recall notice to inform you that the item must be returned in 7 days provided it is not already overdue. If a recalled item is not returned on time, an overdue notice is sent. Your library privileges will be suspended until the item is returned.

Borrow/Recall CTW Materials

Connecticut and Trinity Colleges, along with Wesleyan University, comprise a library consortium known as CTW. The CTW Consortium shares an online library catalog, and borrowing privileges are extended to the user communities of the three institutions. Wesleyan students may borrow items from the other institutions either in person at the lending library with a valid student ID, or they may use the online catalog to place their requests. Photocopies of journal articles must be requested through ILLiad, http://illiad.olin.wesleyan.edu/illiad/logon.html. The turnaround time for CTW online requests is usually about 48 hours. For further information, see http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/collections/ctw/ctw-circ.html

Fees/Fines

There will be no general overdue fines for materials. However, all students are subject to recall and reserve overdue fines. The recall overdue fine is $7.00/day to a $70.00 maximum and $0.60/hour for reserve overdue. If an item is lost or stolen, the Item Replacement fee is $50.00 minimum, or the actual cost of the item if greater. There is a non-refundable replacement processing fee of $35.00 per item. There will be no additional fees for repair or binding of damaged items; however, extensive damage may result in the charging of replacement and processing fees.

Payment of Library Fines/Fees: Payment of library fines/fees is via your Student Account. If the total balance of your fines/fees prior to the last 28 days is greater than $10.00 these fines/fees will be sent to your Student Account during the first week of each month.

Suspension of Circulation Privileges

Circulation privileges may be suspended under the following circumstances: 10 items are overdue, one recalled item is overdue, one reserve item is overdue, or $100.00 in fees/fines are unpaid.

Confidentiality of Circulation Records

Wesleyan University Library is committed to the protection of the privacy rights of all of its students, faculty, staff and other library users. In the spirit of CT state law C.G.S.A. § 11-25, and in accordance with the American Library Association policy on "Confidentiality of Library Records," all library records are considered to be confidential transactions. Library staff will not release the name of any person to whom an item is currently charged, nor will they release past circulation records (this includes interlibrary loans). For exceptions, individual faculty, students and staff must request, in writing, that the library is authorized to share circulation information with other persons who might request such information. Persons making requests for circulation information must state the specific purpose for which the data is being used. If faculty and students would like to share their circulation information with each other, both parties must agree in writing to this arrangement and be approved by the University Librarian. All exceptions must be submitted in writing to the University Librarian, Olin Library, Room 202A.

Reference Services

Reference services are available at the Olin, Art and Science Library as well as Scores and Recordings and Special Collections & Archives. Advise the Reference Department of your research interests and a staff member will discuss library services with you, give you a tour of our facilities, or help you begin your research.

Please stop at the reference desk, call one of the numbers listed below or go to http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/services/ask_ref.html to ask a reference question. You can also reach us by email at reference@wesleyan.edu

Olin Memorial Library 685-3873
Art Library 685-3326
Scores and Recordings 685-3899
Science Library 685-3729
Special Collections & Archives 685-3864

Personal Research Sessions

In addition to in-class instruction, and classes offered throughout the semester, you can request a Personal Research Session with a librarian to work on a particular research project. This allows us to work with you one-on-one, on your schedule, and concentrate on your particular needs. Set up a session at http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/services/personalresearch.html

Honors Workshops

We offer Honors Workshop in September to seniors who declare their intention to be candidates for Honors or who intend to write senior theses. These presentations are specifically designed to help you locate research materials for your theses.

We go over the process for interlibrary loan services, point you to important databases you will need for your subject, as well as other library services, you may find useful. As a bonus, students who participate in the briefings may submit more than the basic number of interlibrary loan requests.

In October, as a follow-up to the earlier series, a team of librarians offers a round of presentations related to research and information technologies offered by the Library. For example, EndNote, a tool for building, maintaining and producing bibliographies for your research papers, is one of several notable resources that will be introduced. Few students who learn about these services and tools would then willingly do without them. Watch The Wesleyan Argus for announcements or inquire at Olin Memorial Library's Reference Desk for details regarding these presentations.

Thesis Carrels

Early in the fall semester, library office will send an invitation to all seniors to apply for a closed study carrel in Olin Library. Interested Honors candidates should complete the application form and return it to the Library office by the specified deadline. Selections are made by a lottery system. Applicants whose names are on the waiting list have the option of an Olin locker or study carrels in the Science Library. For more information about honors carrels, go to the Honors Carrels page. Note: For the 2008-09 academic year, seniors must vacate their carrels and return their keys by Monday, April 20, 2009, one week after theses are due.

Internet Access From Thesis Carrels

All carrels are wired for direct Internet access. If you need assistance, call Dale Lee at x3886 or send a email to dtlee@wesleyan.edu. He is available Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm.

Items in Storage or Special Collections

Older and lesser used materials are housed in off-campus storage facilities. These materials may be retrieved upon your request, and they will normally be available for your use within 24 to 48 hours. All items in Special Collections & Archives are housed in closed stacks and they will also be retrieved, upon request, for your use. They are available for use in the SC&A reading room on the same day that you make your request, or as soon as the reading room opens the next day. SC&A reading room hours are Monday--Friday 1:00-5; Summer hours are Monday--Thursday 1:00-5. To request materials either from storage or Special Collections & Archives, please complete the "Request Items from Special Collections or Storage" form available either on paper or at http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/services/storage.html

Search for Items not on Shelves

If you are unable to locate a book in any of the Wesleyan Libraries, you may place a search request. Library staff will initiate a systematic search for the item and notify you of the results. The form for requesting a search is available online at http://www.wesleyan.edu/library/services/searchrequest.html.

Accessing Online Resources from Off-campus Locations

Wesleyan University Library subscribes to a wide array of online indexes, electronic journals, and other databases available over the Internet. Since they are paid subscriptions, access to them is generally limited to users from the Wesleyan campus network. If you have a valid Wesleyan e-mail account and password you may be able to access these databases off campus. Please see http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/collections/proxy.html for detailed access instructions.

Obtaining Materials not in CTW

Purchasing Materials not in CTW:

The library routinely purchases books based on user recommendations. You may send acquisitions suggestions directly to acq@wesleyan.edu or via the Internet at http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/services/purchase.html

Interlibrary Loan Services:

The Interlibrary Loan Department supports your research by borrowing materials which are not available in the CTW consortium libraries. Generally this service is limited to books, theses and dissertations, photocopies of articles and microfilms. Honors students who attend the library workshops can have 30 active requests and 5 active AV requests. Active requests include all ILL requests not yet filled and all ILL items currently checked out. Turnaround time is approximately two weeks depending on the location of the lending library. Requests can be made electronically at http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/collections/illiad/ill-pol.html.

Computers in the Libraries

Most of the computers in the libraries are dedicated to various library-related applications. Computers with word processing or other general application programs can be found in the west side of main reading room in Olin Library and Science Library. E-Mail may be accessed from any of the library computers using Netscape.

Public Data Jacks

To allow users with network ready portable computers to access the Internet, public data jacks are available in Olin and Science libraries. For further information see http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/services/datajack/datajack.html

Access to Restricted Libraries

Some libraries of private institutions, such as Yale University, do not allow non-affiliated users to access their collections without a letter of introduction from a librarian, stating that the material is not available at the requestor’s institution. If you know that Yale, or other such libraries, have specific items which you need and which we do not have, contact the Reference Department for a letter of introduction.