Princeton Theological Seminary Library Policies

Eligibility

The Princeton Seminary Libraries offer complimentary library privileges to individuals at a number of institutions. The list includes Princeton University faculty, staff, and student body, the Institute for Advanced Study, Westminster Choir College, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Theological Library Association's (SEPTLA) network of member libraries. Persons who are not current students, faculty, staff or graduates and who do not have privileges by virtue of a status at another institution, may purchase privileges according to one of three categories:

I. Basic fee paid privileges are $50.00 per year and allow for up to twenty books to be charged at any given time.

II. Enhanced fee paid privileges are $250 per year and allow for up to fifty books to be charged out at any given time. Patrons with this card may also recall books from other patrons.

III. Church fee paid privileges are $50.00 per year and allow one person from a church to borrow books as with the basic fee paid privileges above. However, for an additional $10.00 per person per year, as many as three additional borrowers from the same church may check out up to five books each.

Patrons purchasing basic and enhanced privileges will be required to keep a photocopy of a valid credit card imprint on file. This number will be charged only in the event of a repeated failure to pay fines and lost book fees. Church fee paid privileges must be guaranteed by either a credit card or a letter from the pastor or business officer guaranteeing payment for fines or lost books.

Identification Cards

All persons who wish to borrow materials are required to obtain an identification card and to present it at the Circulation Desk when charging books. Cards, which carry the borrower's photograph and signature, are issued for the balance of the current academic year for students and faculty. Other patrons are issued cards for one year or six months from the date that they applied. Applications both for cards and for cardrenewals must be made in person during posted service hours. Current students and faculty of Princeton Seminary must secure their identification cards and renewal stickers from the Registrar; all other persons must secure them from the Access Office. The Access Office is located on the main floor of Speer Library. For more information, contact the Access Office at (609)497-7930.

Loan Periods

Members of the permanent ranked faculty of Princeton Seminary and Princeton University, along with locally resident Ph.D. candidates at the Seminary, may charge most books until the end of the academic year (June 30), at which time they must be physically returned to the library for renewal. For all other borrowers, books may be charged for a maximum of four weeks. Fines begin to accumulate at the expiration of the borrowing period unless the materials have been renewed. Normally a borrower is entitled to the use of a book for a minimum of fourteen days, after which time it may be recalled by another patron. Books may be renewed online. Books may also be renewed by phone, for a fee of $.50 per item. Books recalled by the library, often for reserve use, are due immediately. Overdue fines will be assigned commencing on the third day after the recall has been placed. There is a system limit to the number of books that patrons in a given category may have charged at any one time depending on what patron type they are. The following is a list of the most common categories.

Student Circulation assistants are not able to override this limit, since system constraints prevent them from doing so.

Borrowing and Return of Books

Books are borrowed by charging them at the Circulation Desk. A valid Seminary or library identification card, issued to the borrower, must be presented. Books may not be borrowed on another patron's card, nor may borrowing be done on behalf of a third party, except for research assistants who have been given written authority by faculty to do so. Please note that all items borrowed from the Reigner Reading Room must be returned to that location. (See further below.) While it is preferable that books be returned to the Circulation Desk during hours when the libraries are open, they may be returned through the night book drop, which is located outside the Mercer Street entrance.

Fines and Lost Books

With certain exceptions, the following schedule of overdue fines is applicable to all borrowers:

General collection books $ .10 per day
Recalled books $1.00 per day
Reserve and overnight books $ .50 per hour

Fines are normally paid at the time of return. Recall and overdue notices are sent through campus mail and campus email. If an item is not returned by the third and final notice the item is considered lost and will be charged replacement and processing fees (see below).

When the fines on any user account reach a level of $20 or more, that account will be "frozen" - no new transactions will be permitted - until the fines are paid down to below $20.

Persons who lose or damage a library book should report the matter to the Circulation Desk. Once a book is reported, patrons have a reasonable amount of time to search for the book, during which time the accumulation of fines may be suspended. If the item is not located, the patron is expected to pay a replacement fee. The automated system will automatically generate a "lost book" invoice for $70.00, an average amount for book replacement and processing. The actual amount will vary depending on the cost and availability of the book. The fees for damaged books will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Patrons may request a receipt for their account status at any time.

At its discretion, the library may be willing to buy books that are found by patrons after they are deemed "lost" paid for, and replaced. Similarly, the library may be willing to buy damaged books that have been replaced.

Reigner Reading Room Fees, Fines & Loan Periods

The following schedule of overdue fines will be charged:

Books, Curriculum, Pictures - $.10 per day
Audiovisual equipment - $1.00 per day
Videos - $1.00 per day
Other non print material- $.50 per day

Fines are normally paid at the time of return. Recall and overdue notices are sent through campus mail and campus email. If an item is not returned by the third and final notice the item is considered lost and will be charged accordingly.

Food, Beverages, and Smoking

Food and drink are prohibited in all public areas of the libraries, with the following exceptions:

1. Vending-machine area of the second floor of Speer.
2. Ph.D lounges on the second and third floors of Luce.
3. Scheduled receptions, at which food and drink are served.

Water is permitted, but only when carried in a bottle with a lid. No other containers are permitted. Ph.D students may carry food and drink to the Ph.D lounge areas in Luce via the Luce entry only, and only in closed containers. These library policies on food and drink are displayed at each of the public entrances, and will be enforced by the library staff.

Smoking is prohibited by New Jersey law anywhere in the library buildings.

Defacement of Library Property

Users are expected to treat library books and other materials with special care, since they ordinarily must serve generations of scholars. Marking in books, even with pencil, cutting or bending pages, and breaking the backs of fragile items to flatten them on a copier are all regarded as defacement of library property. Persons who are found to treat books in such ways will be required, as a condition for retaining or regaining their user privileges, to compensate the library for replacement or restoration costs. Providing such compensation does not give the user title to the defaced item. Particularly flagrant cases of defacement may result in permanent revocation of library privileges and in other actions available to the Seminary under New Jersey law. For further information on disciplinary procedures, consult the current edition of the Seminary Handbook.