Circulation Policy Manual: I

I. General Circulation Information | II. Library Borrower Types | III. Loan Periods and Renewal | IV. Recalls, Holds, and Traces | V. Fines and Replacement Charges

I. General Circulation Information

A. Purpose of this Manual

B. Circulation Policy Committee

C. Confidentiality of Borrower Records

D. Requirement of Social Security Number

E. Requirement of Photo ID, Public Patron Card, or Proxy

F. Services for the Disabled

A. Purpose of this Manual

The purpose of this Circulation Policy Manual is to present guidelines for maintaining accurate, efficient, and consistent service procedures throughout the University Libraries.

 

Individual branch libraries may have policies that apply to particular materials or patrons in addition to those described in this manual. Please check with the Branch Librarian or the Head of Circulation in Norlin Library for final clarification of policies.

 

The Manual may be used for staff orientation, decision-making, and reference. It should also serve as the basis for any policy interpretation.

B. Circulation Policy Committee

1. Function of the Committee

The Circulation Policy Committee considers new policies as well as reviews standing policies as requested by the Associate Director for Public Services or upon written request submitted to any committee member. The Committee will convene as needed to consider policy requests.

 

The Circulation Policy Committee is responsible for the maintenance of the Circulation Policy Manual.

2. Reporting

The Circulation Policy Committee reports to the Associate Director for Public Services.

3. Membership

The Associate Director for Public Services appoints the members of the Circulation Policy Committee and designates the Chair of the Committee. The Chair requests review of the membership of the Committee and distribution of letters of appointment or reappointment at the beginning of each calendar year. The Committee should retain at least half of the committee membership annually.

 

The membership will consist of at least four and no more than eight members and will always include the Head of Circulation. It is recommended that other members of the committee be chosen to represent some or all of the following groups: students; external library branches; Technical Services; Circulation staff; internal (Norlin) branches.

C. Confidentiality of Borrower Records

The State of Colorado has enacted legislation to protect library records from disclosure. As a consequence, it is illegal to divulge information concerning a patron's borrowing records, financial history with the library, or any name/address information contained in the patron database.

 

Such information may only be released to another individual or organization upon written consent from the patron. The written notification must be dated and include the name to which the information is to be released and the specific information that is to be released.

 

1. The Colorado statute is reproduced below:

24-90-119. Privacy of user records

 

(1) Except as set forth in subsection (2) of this section, a publicly-supported library or library system shall not disclose any record or other information which identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific materials or service or as otherwise having used the library.

 

(2) Records may be disclosed in the following instances:

(a) When necessary for the reasonable operation of the library

 

(b) Upon written consent of the user

 

(c) Pursuant to subpoena, upon court order, or where otherwise required by law

(3) Any library or library system official, employee, or volunteer who disclosed information in violation of this section commits a class 2 petty offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars.

 

Source: L. 83, p. 1023, 1.

 

Examples of record requests that must not be honored are:

1. A request for the name of the person who has checked out a particular item.

 

2. A request for the circulation records of a faculty, student, staff or other library cardholder by someone else.

 

3. A request to review the circulation records of a student suspected of plagiarism.

 

4. A request for an address, phone number, I.D. number or other information contained in the patron database.

 

5. A request to see a list of individuals who are not members of the university community but who have been granted library-borrowing privileges.

 

6. A request by a parent for information such as fines or other fees owed by a student to the library without the student's permission.

 

7. A request from law enforcement authorities for the identity of anyone conducting research or charging out books on a particular subject.

2. Notes Added to Borrower Records

Informative notes may be added by Libraries staff in the note field of borrower records. Some examples might be: notes on fine negotiation, patron behaving in inappropriate manner, etc. These notes must be available to the borrower upon request.  Notes must be signed and dated by the staff member. If necessary, documentation to substantiate the notes should be retained by the staff member. Any anonymous notes will be deleted upon discovery.

D. Requirement of Social Security Number

Social Security numbers are no longer used for identification for any library user.

E. Requirement of Photo ID, Public Patron Card, or Proxy Card with Photo ID

The only time books can be charged to an account is when the person presents a valid Buff One card (CU ID), photo ID, a public patron card, or a valid Proxy card with a photo ID of the person to whom it is assigned. It is not appropriate to charge books to an account based only upon a note from another individual.  Self checkout machines require a Buff One card or public patron card with a magnetic strip that can be read by the machine.

F. Services for the Disabled

Retrieval of books or other library items from the stacks is offered at all hours as a courtesy to our disabled patrons. Other services are also available, but these vary depending upon differing capacities of Library Departments and Branches. If services are needed or if a patron has any questions or suggestions, they should be referred to the Associate Director of Public Services at 303-492-6897.