CircRules
Circulation Rules
Checkout Limits
Patrons (except INSTITUTE, ONLINE, and NEIGHBOR) are allowed 99 checkouts at a time.
| Item Type | Description | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| DVD-NEW | New Adult DVDs | 5 |
| J-DVD-NEW | New Juvenile DVDs | 5 |
| DVD | Adult DVDs | 20 |
| HOTSPOT | Wireless Hotspots | 1 |
| EBOOK_RDR | Kindles, iPads | 1 |
| VIDEOGAME | Titles for PS3 / XBOX | 4 |
| GAMEDEVICE | LaunchPads, Nintendo DS3 | 1 |
| J-3DOBJECT | Stuffed Animals | 1 |
| TELESCOPE | 1 | |
| ILL | 2 |
Hold Limits
For our physical items, patrons are allowed 50 holds at a time. Exceptions: NEIGHBOR cards are limited to 20 holds, and ONLINE cards are limited to three holds.
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.
By Item Type
HOTSPOT items, which currently consist of two carriers' wireless mobile hotspots, are 14-Day.
BACKPACK items, which consist of Virginia State Parks and Land Trust backpacks, are 14-Day.
PASSES items, which are free passes to museums and zoos, are 7-Day / no renewals.
GAMEDEVICE Refer to handheld gaming devices. Currently we have only LaunchPads and one long lost Nintendo DS3. 7-Day.
GAMECART has a one hour circulation period . 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. 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 and no renewals. Juvenile cards can not check out this item type[2].
MAGAZINE have no 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.
ILLs are 21-Day / no renewal items. Per Policy 204, Patrons are to have no bills 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.
J-3DOBJECT are currently only circulating stuffed animals. These are 7-Day and no age restriction[3].
3DOBJECT is currently configured for 7-Day. We do not currently nor have we had any of this item type[4].
MICRO (Microfilms), SOFTWARE, and REFBOOK Item Types do not circulate.
By User Profile
INSTITUTE Patrons are allowed an 8 week checkout period, no renewals, and can generally checkout 150 items at a time. This applies to all item types except ILL, TELESCOPE, HOTSPOT[5], and items that we don't circulate (including EQUIPMENT and GAMECART, which don't circulate outside of the buildings). Branches manually reconcile these accounts for unreturned items annually. Institutions don't receive notices, except for 2nd OD eMails - 8 day[6]
MAIL patrons are allowed an 8 week checkout period with no renewals for all item types except ILL, TELESCOPE, HOTSPOT, and items that we don't circulate. MAIL patrons receive the same notices as regular patrons.
ONLINE cardholders are not allowed to check out items. Online patrons (only) have card numbers that begin with 30222.
NEIGHBOR cardholders are allowed a maximum of three checkouts at a time.
BOARD, RETIREDMFL, and STAFF have the same rules as regular patrons.
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.
Fine Free Checkouts
Teen, Juvenile, and other Youth items did not accrue fines if checked out after June 1, 2018. This was determined by Item Type. There were exceptions, like Kits, Backpacks, Passes, and Videogames.
All items became fine free July 1, 2022. All existing fines on patron accounts were removed at that time.
Mobile Library Rules
All items checked out on the MSU (MBKMOBILE) have a circ rule of 21-Day / no fines / two renewals. Other than the User's maximum charge limit (determined by Profile; usually 99), there are no limits on item type checkout quantities.
There are no exceptions to MSU rules.
References
- ↑ Per Karim Khan email RE: More Rules! (MSU), Wed 6/30/2021 8:51 AM
- ↑ Per Paula Alston email FW: Telescope Rules, Wed 12/21/2016 10:47 AM
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Institutions don't get special privileges on HOTSPOT items; per Management Meeting, Tue February 11, 2020.
- ↑ Per 01/31/2017 Management Meeting