Policies

Building Use & Access | Borrowing | Tech Lending | Conduct & Behavior | Gifts to the Library

 | Social Media Policy

 

Building Use & Access

Occidental Community

Our building is open to visitors from 9am to 5pm. We ask that you wear a mask at all times and refrain from eating or drinking while in the building. Community members and alumni visiting the Academic Commons must be vaccinated and sign in at the front desk upon arrival. For more information about campus-wide policies (including masks), please visit the Back to Oxy website.

Alumni need to purchase an Occidental College (Oxy) Alumni ID card from the Card Office for $20.00 before they register at the Information Desk.

Library Services for Guests

Guest Short-term Access passes ( 3 weeks free, M-F 9am-5pm)

The general public, with specific research needs, may use the main library for academic and research-related purposes. Access passes are available at the Information Desk (for up to three weeks) to access Occidental physical items, with no borrowing privileges.

Guest Semester Access passes ($20 M-F 9am-5pm)

Semester Access Passes are available (until finals week of each semester) with building access Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm, and in library use of books and DVDs. Semester Passes may be purchased at the Information Desk for $20. (As of 11/13/2017)

Courtesy Use for Visiting Scholars

A visiting scholar may use the library's resources with no borrowing privileges. Scholars are required to present a letter of introduction or reference from either Occidental faculty, Dean, or the Department Head from the scholar's home institution to the Director of User Services, Communications and Assessment. Letters of introduction from outside of Occidental College should be submitted on the institution’s letterhead.

Academic Referral by an Occidental College Department

Academic Referral scholars may use the library's resources and check-out Occidental College materials. They need to be sponsored by an Occidental College academic department. The chair of the department needs to provide a letter of introduction (including an account number) and give explicit authorization for the library to post charges to the department.

Occidental Partners, Consortium Members, Institutional Guests

Users associated with Occidental College partners listed below should register at the Information Desk to receive an Occidental College Library Guest card.

Occidental employee families SCELC (Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium) faculty

Special Collections & College Archives

Special Collections & College Archives welcomes visitors. All guests are welcome to use collections inthe reading room by appointment. Please send your questions and requests to Ask Us. See Special Collections Research Services for more information.

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Borrowing

Who can borrow and for how long?

Students, Faculty, and Employees may borrow a variety of items from our Reserve and video collections, book stacks and other libraries.

Alumni and Affiliated Borrowers may borrow any available materials from our book stacks and video collections. (Note: Because of license agreements, online journals and databases are not available to Alumni and Affiliated Borrowers.)

See table below for loan periods and reservation requirements.

Item type	Students	Faculty	Employees	Alumni	Access Pass Holders	Campus Visitors
Oxy books¹	21 days	120 days	120 days	21 days	On-site use only	On-site use only
Oxy media¹	7 days	30 days	7 days	3 hours	On-site use only	By appointment²
LINK+ books¹	21 day	21 day	21 days	NA	NA	NA
LINK+ media	7 days	7 days	7 days	NA	NA	NA
Interlibrary Loan	30 days	30 days	30 days	NA	NA	NA
Laptops (walk up)	6 hours	6 hours	6 hours	NA	NA	NA
Special Collections	By appointment³	By appointment³	By appointment³	By appointment³	By appointment³	By appointment³

¹ Renewals Allowed

² Campus Visitors may be able to make an appointment to view Oxy media in one of the library viewing rooms. Please contact circdesk@oxy.edu to request a viewing appointment.

³ See Special Collections for more information about their research services, or to request an appointment.

The items below may be reserved in advance through the item records within the Tech Lending @ Oxy collection. Demand is high for this equipment so you must make arrangements in advance.

• Long Term Laptops
• Sound equipment and accessories
• Cameras and projection equipment
• Telecommunication System

Laptop Borrowing Policy

Loan period is 6 hours, no renewals and no holds. Returned laptops will be unavailable for a short time for maintenance. Laptops are circulated on a first come, first serve basis. Occidental faculty, students and staff may book a laptop to checkout in advance for up to one week per month.

• Please be considerate of others and wear headphones when using the laptops to listen to music or watch movies.
• By checking out a laptop from the Occidental College Library, users agree to adhere to the Laptop Checkout Policy.
• It is the borrower's responsibility to return items on time and in the same condition as when checked out.
• Ask if you need a mouse, network cord or external disc drive. All items are checked-out separately and subject to late fees.

See the table below for penalties for overdue, lost, or damaged laptops.

What are the penalties for overdue or lost items?

• LINK+ and Interlibrary Loan accrue daily overdue fines at $1 per day. An item is considered lost and a bill is generated when that item is overdue for a number of days/hours equal to the loan period. The bill will be the replacement costs plus a non-refundable $10 billing fee.
• Course Reserves accrue hourly fines: fines are $2 for the first 3 hours overdue and $4 for the 4^th hour.
• Laptops and media equipment loans accrue hourly fines: fines are $2 per hour to a maximum of $48.
• Damaged books will be billed to borrowers for the same replacement cost and billing fee as a lost book.
• Damaged laptops: students will be charged for the cost of repairs for units returned damaged.
• Students with charges on their Library records in excess of $420 will temporarily lose borrowing privileges until items are renewed/returned or fines paid. Unpaid library charges are forwarded to Student Accounts on a monthly basis. Charges sent to Student Accounts for collection will be automatically credited if the item is returned within 6 months. After 6 months, a credit may be requested if the item has not been replaced.
• Faculty and staff with charges on their library records in excess of $100 will temporarily lose borrowing privileges until fines are paid.
• Guests with charges on their library records in excess of $10 will temporarily lose borrowing privileges until fines are paid.

The Table below is for Replacement costs, including fines and billing fees. The amounts listed in this table are approximate. The cost listed for books is a default minimum. Some individual items may be billed at a higher replacement value.

Item	Minimum Replacement Cost
Link+ and ILL	$115
Oxy Books	$70
Course Reserve	$80
Laptops	$2558
Cameras	$458
Sound Equipment	$400-$600

How do I file an appeal for penalties on overdue or lost items?

Fill out an online appeal petition form. Please note:

• The appeal must be submitted within 60 calendar days of the date the bill is issued.
• Claims returned for LINK+ and ILL must be substantiated by the owning library.
• Library appeals are not reviewed for the following or related reasons: forgot due date; didn’t receive notices; books left in locked dorm room; can’t afford the fines/fees; book bag stolen; left campus for breaks or holidays; thought books were automatically renewed.

What are Link+ and Interlibrary Loan (ILL)?

Link+ is a catalog of holdings from particiapting libraries in California and Nevada. Patrons from member libraries electronically request an item not available in their own library and it is delivered to them for check-out.

The Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service provides Oxy students, faculty, and staff free retrieval from sources outside Occidental College. For assistance with either resource email docdel@oxy.edu, or call 323.259.2814.

Additional Notes on Borrowing Privileges

Remote access to databases is available ONLY to Occidental Patrons who have Oxy email.

Borrowing privileges such as: checkout, booking laptops/ AV equipment, Interlibrary loan (ILL), Link+, Camino are offered ONLY to Occidental Faculty, Students and Staff.

Tech Lending Program

The library’s Tech Lending program offers a collection of technological devices and audio/visual equipment for checkout as well as a reservable audio booth to all current Oxy students, faculty, and staff. All available items are conveniently listed by category on the Tech Lending Collection site and can be picked up at the front desk of the Academic Commons.

Borrowing Eligibility: Tech Lending items are available for check out to all current Occidental College students, faculty, and staff with a current Occidental College ID.

Loan Period: The standard loan period for devices and equipment in the Tech Lending Collection is seven days. 

Overdue Fees: Fines for overdue items accrue $1.00 per day. Replacement costs for lost or damaged items vary according to the cost of the item(s).

How to Request Items: To request an item from the Tech Lending collection follow the steps below: 

1. Navigate to OneSearch, the Library’s online catalog (here).
2. Sign in by clicking “Sign In” at the top right corner of the page and entering your Oxy email and password.
3. Search for the item:
   1. Search for the item by keyword using the OneSearch search bar.

                     -OR-

2. Navigate to the Tech Lending Collection (here) to search available items by category. To navigate to this page, click the ellipsis at the top of the library catalog home screen, then click “Collection Discovery” and select “Tech Lending @ Oxy.”

4. Once you have found the item, click on the item to open the item’s record.
5. Under the “Availability” heading, click “Request.”
6. Under the “Terms of Use” drop-down menu select “7 day loan.” (Optional: if you need the item on or before a specific date, select that date under the “Pick up Date” drop down menu.)
7. Click “Send Request.”
8. Repeat steps 3-7 to request additional items.
9. When your request has been processed, you will receive an email notification that your requested item(s) is ready for pickup at the front desk of the Academic Commons.

Audio Booth: Reservations for the audio booth can be made in 3-hour blocks. Audio Booth occupancy is limited to 2 people at a time. To make a reservation follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to the audio booth booking site here, or by scanning the QR Code posted outside the audio booth.
2. Select the date of your reservation by clicking “Go to date” at the bottom of the page.
3. Select an available time block by clicking the green blocks at the corresponding times on the timeline.
   1. Note: to navigate the timeline click the right and left arrows next to “Go To Date”; to advance to the next available time slot on the timeline, click “Next Available.”
4. Confirm your reservation by clicking “Confirm Booking.”
5. To check in to the audio booth, check out the audio booth kit at the front desk of the Academic Commons with your Oxy ID. Note: The audio booth kit includes a key to the audio booth, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface, Shure SRH440 headphones, Shure SM57 microphone, and XLR cables.

DVD/Blu-ray viewing: Need to watch a DVD or Blu-ray but don't have a player? Not only do we have DVD and Blu-ray players, but we also have spaces for you to watch them. Check out our handy guide to watching DVD and Blu-rays in the Academic Commons here: https://libguides.oxy.edu/DVD_viewing

Need Assistance? If you cannot locate an item or have questions about Tech Lending items or services, Oxy librarians are available to assist you during the library’s open hours at the front desk of the Academic Commons and online via the “Chat with a Librarian” feature. To chat online with a librarian, navigate to the Oxy Library homepage (here) and click “chat online” in the blue bubble. You may also reach a librarian for Tech Lending assistance at any time by emailing techlending@oxy.edu.

Conduct & Behavior

The Occidental College library provides services, facilities, and technological resources to support the College’s educational, research, artistic, professional, and community-service goals. The following policies are intended to govern the use of the facilities and collections

• Smoking is not permitted. This includes the use of electronic cigarettes and vaporizers.
• Designated service animals are allowed inside the building; other animals are not allowed.
• Bicycles should be parked at campus bike racks.
• Display of posters, distribution of literature, or solicitation is prohibited (except in designated areas). A request should be submitted to library@oxy.edu for approval.
• Professional filming or photography inside the library facility must be approved in advance. Please visit Filming @ Oxy for more information.
• Library reading and designated group study rooms are accessible to all Occidental patrons first come first serve. They can be reserved up to one month in advance for a maximum time of two hours only by Occidental College Faculty, students, and staff via Master Calendar. Library room capacity must be considered before booking based upon the estimated number of attendees.
• Non-Oxy affiliated patrons have to visit the Conference Services website in regard to planning an event or reserving a space
• Computers and other media devices in public spaces should not be used to access or display content that is inappropriate, prohibited, or unlawful.
• When the security gate alarm is triggered, guests should approach the Information Desk to clear their belongings before they proceed to the exit doors.
• Disruptive behavior, discrimination, or abuse against others is not permitted. Patrons behaving in such a manner may be asked to leave. Disruptive behavior includes but is not limited to verbal abuse, excessive noise, or any other activity that might disturb the safety and work of others.
• Anyone who destroys or tampers with library material or property may lose library privileges.
• Occidental College library reserves the right to refuse access and borrowing privileges to any person who fails to follow library regulations.

Gifts to the Library

In addition to cash gifts received through the College's Annual Fund campaign, the Library welcomes the opportunity to discuss gifts of materials to the circulating collection. Since the Library has very limited space for collections, we can only consider gifts that build resources to support the curriculum. Library staff would be happy to examine collections in their current location or review an inventory of titles and advise potential donors on their disposition. Potential donors should contact us at library@oxy.edu.

Likewise, the Library Special Collections is refining its scope to focus on specific subject areas that support the curriculum and academic mission. Of particular note and interest are materials related to the history of the College, Northeast Los Angeles, and College's place in the history, society, and culture of Los Angeles. Please discuss prospective gifts of rare and unique printed, manuscript, graphic, and media materials with Kevin Mulroy, College Librarian (kmulroy@oxy.edu).

Social Media Policy

View our social media policy here. 

Braun Room

The Braun Room is restricted to Special Collections programs and selected scholarly events, film shoots and Administration events. All events are to be arranged through the Special Collections department or the College Librarian. 

To plan an event with Special Collections, please contact specialcollections@oxy.edu.

Special Collections uses the College Master Calendar to schedule events.  Users may also make requests via Master Calendar/Resource 25.

Campus Services & Campus Filming and Unreel Productions are to contact Special Collections directly to arrange walkthroughs and filming. Call 323-259-2852 or email specialcollections@oxy.edu

Updated August 19, 2022