CircRules

Circulation Rules

Checkout Limits

Patrons (except INSTITUTE) are allowed 99 checkouts of any type. Exceptions are:

Circulation Limits

Item Type	Description	Limit
DVD-NEW		5
J-DVD-NEW	New Juvenile DVDs	5
Adult DVD		20
EBOOK_RDR	Kindles, iPads	1
J-3DOBJECT	Stuffed Animals	1
VIDEOGAME	Titles for PS3 / XBOX	4
GAMEDEVICE	LaunchPads, Nintendo DS3	1
TELESCOPE		1
ILL		2

Circ Rule Exceptions

Circ Rules are listed on our website. The lists below are for rules and exceptions not listed there. Items have two renewals unless specified. See above for Limits.

By User Profile

INSTITUTIONAL Patrons are allowed an 8 week checkout period, have no fines, no renewals, and can generally checkout 150 items at a time instead of 99. This applies to all item types except ILL, TELESCOPE, EQUIPMENT, GAMECART, and items that we don't circulate. Branches manually reconcile these accounts for unreturned items annually. Institutions don't receive notices, except for 2nd OD eMails - 8 day¹

BOARD, RETIREDMFL, and STAFF have the same rules as regular patrons, except they are not billed overdue fines.

LU- and LN- profiles are Library Use user accounts. The "LN-" is for Non-Recirculatable Library accounts, and the "LU-" is for accounts that will have items checked out to another patron. "LU-" includes user accounts like "Rotation" and "Display" accounts. All Library Use accounts' holds take precedence over other users' holds.

By Item Type

MICRO (Microfilms), SOFTWARE, and REFBOOK Item Types do not circulate.

GAMECART has a one hour circulation period with no fines. It is a holdable item, but only by that branch (BB patrons can only hold BB Gamecart, and vice-versa).

EQUIPMENT includes items such as Extension Cords and Lawn Chairs. These items circulate until the end of the day. There are no fines, but the patron is billed replacement costs if not returned by the end of the following day. (This is done by IT manually running a Template report derived from 3rd OD/LOST Bill report; no notice is sent)

TELESCOPE is a seven day checkout, with $10/day overdue fine that caps out at $70, and no renewals. Juvenile cards can not check out this item type².

Books by Mail is in progress. This Circ Rule applies to all item types; it is regulated by the MAIL User Profile. Currently, all items are 21-Day / $0.15 / 2 Renewals and have a three day grace period.

ILLs are 21-Day / $1.00 / no renewal items. Per Policy 204, Patrons are to have no fines and no overdue items when requesting ILLs. The nonrefundable $5 ILL Fee is due at time of ILL request, and only two ILL requests or checkouts at a time are allowed. Please see somewhere else for complete ILL procedure details.

BACKPACK items, which currently consist of Virginia State Parks backpacks, are 14-Day / $1.00.

PASSES items, which currently consist of Blacksburg Children's Museum and Science Museum of Western Virginia, are 7-Day / $1.00 / no renewals.

GAMEDEVICE Refer to handheld gaming devices. Currently we have only LaunchPads and one long lost Nintendo DS3. 7-Day / $1.00.

MAGAZINE have no overdue fines or replacement cost. They are 14-Day checkouts. Predue and Overdue notices are emailed, but no USPS notices are sent and no LOST billing is applied to these items.

J-3DOBJECT are currently only the circulating stuffed animals. These are fine free and no age restriction³.

3DOBJECT is currently configured for 7-Day / $1.00 / Limit 1. We do not currently nor have we had any of this item type³.

Fine Free Checkouts (Youth Items)

Teen, Juvenile, and other Youth items will not accrue fines if checked out after June 1, 2018. This is determined by Item Type. If an item type begins with J-, it will have a Fine Free Circ Rule (Rule includes FF in the name). J- is used for all Youth item types (including Teen, etc.). Exceptions: Youth Items in the Professional Collection are not Fine Free. Science Resource Hub Kits, Nature Backpacks, Museum Passes, Teen eBook readers, Videogames, and Game Devices (LaunchPads) are other items that are not fine free.

References

¹ Per 01/31/2017 Management Meeting

² Per Paula Alston email, RE: Telescope Rules, December 21, 2016

³ 3DOBJECT (J and regular) were set up to be adult only (no Juvenile card checkout allowed). This directive was later reverted. See Sarah Pahl emails RE: Stuffed animals for checkout, November 7, 2017; RE: Editing of Item TOY at circ desk, Mon February 11, 2019.