Library Short Loan Services

2007-11-08 11:45:21

( Financial )



Reasons for Short Loan Services

Just as the financial market offers short term mortgages or loans, libraries in schools and universities also provide short loans to their students and faculty.

This is primarily because there are certain books and written materials like papers or theses that are rare or in short supply, yet are very much needed by the academe for research or classroom discussions.

To ensure a fair and equal treatment of borrowers who need the same book or resource material, libraries have devised the short loan system. The short loan system properly allocates borrowing time of any book or resource material to all borrowers, and works on a first-come-first-served basis. Unlike regular circulation type of books, short loan books are for overnight or two-day use at the most.

How the Short Loan System Operates

Books that are classified as short loan are placed in a special reserve section, or short loan collection, of the library. In the library's database, the short loan collection books are especially identified and coded as being available only on short loan basis. The rarest books usually have very short loan periods of only a few hours, while some not-so-rare ones can be borrowed for a longer period up to a week.

If you need to borrow a book that is a short loan type, you can access the library's database to acquire the call number of the book. Then you present the call number to the librarian who is in charge of the reserve section, so that you can make a reservation for the book. You can borrow the book immediately on short loan basis if it is not in use by someone else, or wait till the other borrower has returned it. Some libraries can notify you if a short loan book has been returned.

If you need to extend your borrowing period for a short loan book, you need to check with the library if someone else has already reserved it on the day you want to extend. If you're lucky and no one else needs to borrow the book, then you may extend your short loan period.

Different Library Policies

While the same limited-period basis applies, some policies still vary among libraries. For instance, some libraries allow you to borrow only one short loan book at a time, while others let you borrow up to two or three books simultaneously.

Reserve section hours may also vary by library. Those with electronic short loan systems may have longer hours of operation.

Penalties for overdue short loans also vary, as well as depend on the nature of the book. Libraries usually charge higher penalties for the rarest books.


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