Loan Rules

• Borrowing

  1. Only library members are allowed to borrow library materials for home-use.

  2. Members must present their library eCards when borrowing.

  3. Members are responsible for all materials checked-out under their names.

  4. Members will be asked to replace or pay the cost of repair of the loaned materials when they are returned in bad or damaged condition. Members must therefore ensure that the materials checked out are in good condition.

• Returning

  1. Books can be returned at the Library Counter or through the Book Drop outside the Library.

  2. Course reserve items, special loan items and multimedia resources must be returned at the Library Counter.

  3. Borrowers are responsible for returning loaned materials on or before the due date. Late returns will be subject to fines.

• Renewal

  1. Members may renew their borrowed materials once.

  2. Renewal may fail when an item has been reserved or the renewal limit has been reached.

  3. Renewal may be done online, by phone, via email or in person.

• Reservation

  1. Members can make reservations for items that are on loan. To make a reservation is to request to get an item after the current borrower returns it. A reservation does not change the original due date but prevents the borrower from renewing it.

  2. The “Make Reservation” option is accessible for logged in users only.

  3. Members will receive a notification when their items are ready for pickup. Upon receipt of the notification, they will have 7 days to collect the item, or the item will be available for circulation or released to the next borrower on queue, if any.

  4. The availability of reserved items may also be checked through the online catalog.

• Course Reserve

  • Course Reserve and Special Loan items are set aside by lecturers for their classes. The purpose is to ensure availability of these resources to all students. Therefore, these items have short loan periods. Only TCA College faculty and students are given access to these items.

    1. Course Reserves are kept inside the Library Counter and are available for 2-hour library reading.

    2. Students are entitled to borrow up two Course Reserve items at a time for library use.

    3. Borrowers must present their library eCards when borrowing Course Reserve items.

    4. Overnight loan for one Course Reserve item starts 2 hours before the library closes. It must be returned within the first hour of the library's next opening day.

• Special Loan

  1. Special Loan items are kept inside the Library Counter as well.

  2. Students are entitled to borrow one Special Loan item at a time for home use for either 2 days or 7 days.
     

  3. Special Loan and Course Reserve items must be returned at the Library Counter. Do not use the book drop to return such items.

Fines and Charges

The Library imposes fines and penalties to help users understand the importance of making library resources available to all concerned and ensure proper handling of library resources keeping them in good and usable condition.

• Overdue Fines

• Lost Items

  1. If an item is lost, users will either provide an exact replacement copy (or newer edition) and pay an administrative fee of $27.25 or pay the existing market cost of the lost item plus the administrative fee of $27.25.

  2. There shall be no refund available once the payment is made even if the lost item is found at a later date (except for rare or out-of-print books).

• Damaged Items

  1. Damage inflicted on library items will be categorized as repairable and non-repairable damage. Each has a corresponding penalty which entails suspension of library privileges should the user fail to settle the penalty.

  2. Repairable damage is done on various physical parts of the item. Such are cases like worn and damaged covers, covers separating from the text block, loose pages, and loose hinges.

  3. Non-repairable damage is done to the texts of the item like marginalia, which includes pencil underlining and texts highlighting, and damaged by ink, coffee or water.

Copying of Library Resources

• Only TCA College Library materials may be copied or reproduced using the library self-service photocopying machines.

• Copying or reproducing of materials must comply with the Singapore Copyright Act and must be for personal research or study only.

• Conditions and limitations for copying:

  1. Published books (of at least 10 pages)

     • One copy of not more than 10% of the total number of pages; or

     • One copy of one chapter of the book even if one chapter exceeds 10% of the total number of pages.

  2. Published periodicals (e.g., Journals and Magazines)

     • One copy of an article from a periodical; or

     • One copy of 2 or more articles on the same subject-matter from the same periodical.

  3. Unpublished works (e.g., Thesis and Dissertation) – Not allowed to be copied except

     • A user signs a declaration that copying the work is for the purpose of personal research or study only.

  4. Electronic materials

     • Not more than, in total,

     • 10% of the total number of bytes in the work; or

     • 10% of the contents of the work; or

     • One chapter of the work, where it exceeds any of the first 2 limits cited for electronic materials.

• Permission must be obtained to use copyrighted materials if it exceeds the legal limit. A user needs to contact either the copyright owner to negotiate for permission or the collective society that administers the rights of the copyright owner.

• TCA College teaching staff can make multiple copies of “insubstantial portions” of a work if the purpose is for teaching a course provided by the College. “Insubstantial portions” refers to not more than 5 pages of a work that is less than 500 pages or not more than 5% of a work that has more than 500 pages. There has to be a 14-day time gap between each occasion for making the copies of the same work.

• The Library will not be liable for any infringement of copyright action which may be taken against a user who violates the Copyright Act. The user will be personally liable.

Use of Multimedia Resources

• Multimedia resources may be used within the library premises. They may be viewed using computer workstations. Users must present their library eCards when borrowing multimedia resources.

• Only TCA College teaching staff may check out multimedia resources for class or home use.

• Borrowers or viewers must comply with the Copyright Act and ensure that they do not communicate or copy in part or in whole any multimedia resource that they borrowed.

Use of E-Resources

• Due to licensing restrictions, access to subscribed and purchased e-resources is limited to current TCA College faculty and students with active library membership. User IDs and passwords are individually assigned to allow onsite and remote access to such resources. These login details should not be shared with or given to other parties.

• Upon recommendation or request of a faculty, links to open-access e-resources are made available in the online catalog. Access to such resources is free to everyone on the Internet.

• Onsite access to certain e-resources is available to walk-in patrons. Terms and conditions apply.

• Access to and use of e-resources is governed by the Copyright Act.