Policies & Services

Library borrowing privileges are available to all current students, faculty, and staff at Trinity Christian College. When checking out library materials, students, faculty, and staff must present their Trinity Christian College ID or photo ID card. Any materials checked out on a user’s ID card are the responsibility of the ID card holder.

Loan periods for the various formats are listed in Circulation Table document.

Eligible items borrowed from the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library may be renewed online through the user’s I-Share account, in-person at the Circulation Desk, or by calling (708) 293-4925. Library users are strongly encouraged to renew items borrowed from the library if they want to keep them longer than the original due date.

Return all library materials at the Circulation Desk during library hours. Reserve items, equipment, and kits must be returned directly to library staff for joint review by the borrower and library staff member upon check-in. Failure to follow these procedures could result in overdue fines or fees. It is unacceptable to return items outside the library proper (i.e. lobby area, Student Life, etc.) and outside library hours.

Professors may choose to place items related to course content on library reserve. These items will be available with a shortened loan period for students enrolled in the specific course. Students must return reserve items at the appointed due date and time to ensure that materials are available for other students in that class. Fines for reserve items accrue at an accelerated rate; therefore, it is imperative that borrowers return reserve items directly to a library staff member to ensure items are removed from the borrower’s account in a timely manner. See the Circulation Table document for more information.

Interlibrary loan is a service available to all students, faculty, and staff at Trinity Christian College. This service allows borrowers to obtain materials not available at the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library if an individual’s library accounts are in good standing.  Users are subject to the policies of the lending library for items borrowed through the I-Share system, including but not limited to renewals, overdue fines, and replacement costs for lost or damaged materials.  Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library will not be held responsible for any costs or fees for materials borrowed through interlibrary loan.

To improve access to library materials, the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library is a member of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). Many CARLI libraries participate in I-Share, a shared collection of over 22 million items from which Trinity users may borrow.

As a member of the CARLI consortium, Trinity students, faculty, and staff may borrow items from over 80 member libraries. Books may be searched and requested through the I-Share integrated library system by using the library catalog.

Trinity Christian College adheres to the I-Share catalog and copyright regulations.

Materials can be checked out of CARLI libraries with a valid Trinity Christian College ID card. For a complete list of CARLI member libraries and for more information on CARLI, visit www.carli.illinois.edu.

Trinity students, staff, and faculty may want to access an article unavailable from the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library’s holdings. Users may either request the article from within a database or ask a librarian for more help. Interlibrary loan articles are supplied based on the policies and contractual agreements of lending libraries.

The length of time from placing to fulfilling an interlibrary loan request fluctuates depending on several factors: resource availability, staff time, response time of lending libraries, weather conditions, holidays, and other variables. It is considered best practice to plan ahead when conducting research.

Trinity Christian College alumni and local community members are welcome to visit the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library. Use of computers, WiFi, and online resources by visitors constitutes agreement to observe the college’s acceptable use policies. Community members and alumni are encouraged to use their local public libraries for borrowing and interlibrary loan.

Visitors from other I-Share libraries are welcome to use the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library facilities and collection. To borrow materials, I-Share patrons must present a valid institutional ID card.

Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library offers a variety of workspaces including study carrels, tables, computer stations, and rooms for group study and collaboration. These spaces are primarily intended for the use of current Trinity Christian College students, faculty, and staff for academic work and college business.

If no prior reservation exists, study rooms, the Dutch Heritage Center, and the Curriculum Materials Center & Center for Special Education (CMC/CSPED) are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Library staff reserve the right to limit reservations if the duration denies equitable access to all spaces.
College visitors and community members may request room reservations, but during periods of high library traffic (midterms, exams, etc.), rooms are exclusively available to current Trinity students, staff, and faculty.

Rooms 102 and 103 offer four-person occupancy and Room 104 offers eight-person occupancy. Preference for larger rooms will be given to larger groups.

To request a room reservation for the study rooms, visit the circulation desk or call (708) 293-4925. Due to limited study room availability, faculty, staff, and off-campus groups are encouraged to reserve space in other locations whenever possible.

The Van Namen Dutch Heritage Center (Room 201) offers ten-person occupancy and may be reserved via the College’s room scheduling service. Those who use this space must accommodate library users who seek to access materials within the room.

The CMC/CSPED (Room 202) offers twenty-person occupancy and may be reserved via the College’s room scheduling service. Those who use this space must accommodate library users who seek to access materials within the room.

The library does not control access to or reservations for Fusion 59 (Room 101). Information about Fusion 59 accessibility and programming is available from Dr. John Wightkin.

The library will assign overdue fines to any borrowers who fail to return library materials on time and hold borrowers accountable for lost or damaged materials. Courtesy overdue notices are emailed to the borrower’s Trinity email address. Failure to receive notices do not exonerate a borrower from any accrued fines or fees.

Unpaid fines and fees could result in a hold on a student’s account in the Business Office, which could restrict a student from registration and/or the release of transcripts.

All library materials must be returned by the due date. Library users are strongly encouraged to renew items before they become overdue. See the Circulation Table document for more detailed information about fine rates.

All fines must be paid at the end of each term. Unpaid fines and fees will be sent to the Business Office at the end of each term and added to the student’s account.

An Appeal Form is available on the library website. All reasonable concerns related to library fines and fees will be considered if communicated in a timely manner. The following are not considered reasons for fine forgiveness:

• Non-receipt of a notice: all email notices are considered a courtesy.
• Lack of awareness of an item’s due date: all due dates are accessible via the student’s online library account.
• Lack of understanding of library circulation policies.
• Materials loaned to a third party.
• Materials due during academic breaks, exams, etc. are still expected to be returned by the due date.

After an item is overdue for more than a specified number of days, two fees are automatically assigned: a Lost Item Processing fee and a Lost Item Replacement fee.

Borrowers are responsible for the replacement costs of any lost library materials. If a borrower has lost an item, he/she will have two options:

• Pay both the Lost Item Processing fee and the Lost Item Replacement fee in full.
• Purchase a replacement copy in good condition as specified by a library staff member.

If a borrower has kept an overdue item the amount of days necessary to obtain the Lost Item Processing and Lost Item Replacement fees but returns the item in good condition, both fees will be forgiven and overdue fines will be assigned instead.

All materials borrowed from the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library are expected to be returned in the condition in which they were lent. There will be no charge for normal wear and tear on any item. If an item is severely damaged to the point that further circulation is impossible, the borrower is responsible for either (a) both the Lost Item Processing and the Lost Item Replacement fees or (b) the cost of a replacement copy in good condition as specified by a library staff member.

Examples of damage beyond normal wear and tear include but are not limited to:

• Liquid damage; stains
• Loose, detached, or missing pages or cover
• Writing, highlighting, underlining with pencil, pen, marker, highlighter, etc.
• Broken spine or binding
• Strong odor or smell
• Other damaged as assessed by library staff

Damage Review slips are available at the library circulation desk. Library users are welcome to ask library staff to fill out a Damage Review slip to ensure that they will not be held accountable for pre-existing damage on library materials. If a patron is given a Damage Review slip, the patron must return the both the borrowed item and the damage review slip directly to a library staff member.

Trinity students, faculty, and staff are subject to the lending library’s policies and will be held accountable for overdue, lost, or damaged items by the lending library. Borrowers are responsible for contacting the lending library about any problem items. The Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library will neither accept nor be held responsible for any fines or fees on materials borrowed from other libraries

The staff at Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library make every attempt to clear materials from borrower’s accounts. If a borrower notices that items remain charged on his/her account, he/she must notify the library as soon as possible.

Accumulated fines and/or fees in excess of $10.00 may result in the suspension of all library borrowing privileges, i.e. a hold on the student’s library account.

Suspended users will lose access to the following:

• Reserve materials
• Books
• Audiovisual materials
• Equipment
• Interlibrary loans from the I-Share catalog
• Requesting materials through the I-Share catalog
• Other library materials

Reinstatement of library borrowing privileges depends on complete payment of fines and fees and/or direct communication with the Circulation and Access Manager.

The library strives to provide materials that support the mission of the college and student coursework. Library staff welcome purchase suggestions from any faculty member. All purchase requests will be reviewed by a librarian for relevance to the library’s collection in terms of curricular and research support, available funding, and uniqueness of the title compared to existing resources in the library’s collection.

Purchase requests should be made using the Library Material Purchase Request form.

Course reserves are supplemental materials made available to students through the library’s circulation desk. Reserves can be books, articles or audio-visual materials and are borrowed for shortened loan periods.

Requests for reserve items should be made using the Reserve Material Request form. Requests should be submitted to the Circulation Supervisor before the start of the semester. At minimum, submit requests one week prior to the date needed by your students.

The library is required to uphold federal copyright regulations. Questions about the acceptability of reserve items should be directed to the Circulation Supervisor.

The reference librarian is available to teach instructional sessions to acquaint your students in the use of specific library resources, periodicals, databases, the Internet and other materials needed for course work and research. The librarian will work with you to design a session that will meet your objectives for the course or assignment. Instruction sessions are also available on an individual basis to faculty members. Sessions can take place in your classroom, the Computer Classroom or the library.

To request a library instruction session, fill out the Library Instruction Request form. Questions should be directed to the Reference/Instruction Librarian.

Financial contributions to support the library should be arranged through the Trinity Development Office.

Circulating Collection

Gifted and donated material will be evaluated for content that supports Trinity Christian College’s curriculum. The library will add donated material to its collections if the item(s) support instruction at the College and space permits. Books and other items given to the library become the property of Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library upon donation.

In order to make the most efficient use of library resources, the library reserves the right to dispose of gifts that are duplicates or irrelevant to the collections. Disposal of out-of-scope materials may include sale, donation to another entity, or recycling.

Dutch Heritage Center

Donations of materials for the Dutch Heritage Center are accepted at the discretion of the library director.

Considerations in accepting materials for the DHC include, but are not limited to:

• Potential research value
• Overlap and/or fit of materials with the existing collection
• Staffing availability to process materials

When a donation of materials is accepted, there may be items within the collection that are not retained. Items not retained for the DHC can either be returned to the donor or disposed of at the library’s discretion.

Produced by the Library staff and approved by the Library Committee,

November, 2013

Trinity Christian College continues to take appropriate measures to ensure that its faculty members are aware of copyright laws, familiarize themselves with their guidelines, and comply thoroughly with their requirements. These regulations and agreements are useful tools when faculty members use materials owned by others in the course of scholarship, research, or service learning opportunities.

Often, you do not need to seek copyright permission. If the work is available for free from a legitimate (i. e., non-pirated) web site, or if the work has been licensed by the library (e. g., a journal article in a database), you may provide a link to the work rather than make copies of it. Or if the work is in the public domain (see below) it is no longer covered by copyright law. Check the library copyright pages for details or contact a librarian.

First seek permission from the author/creator of the work. It is not uncommon for the author to transfer rights to the publishers or another licensing agency. A fee may be assessed for the usage or reproduction of material needed. The process of securing permission will take time so it is best to prepare ahead of time in case permissions are denied or requests are not responded to.

The public domain is not a place. A work of authorship is in the “public domain” if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner.

A public domain work is usually:

• produced by the United States government
• simply facts or other non-protectable work
• one whose copyright has expired
• one which was produced as a public domain work (e. g., Creative Commons licensed)

Check the library copyright page or contact a librarian to determine if a work is in the public domain

In order to use copyrighted material in a course (face-to-face or online), for a departmental event, or for a public event (on- or off-campus, in person or online), you must either have permission of the copyright holder or claim an exemption under fair use. (See section 107 of the Copyright Code)

The fair use exemption is not governed by specific rules, but by an evaluation the user makes concerning the use being made of the copyrighted material. The user, not the college, is responsible for any copyright violation.

“Your evaluation should weigh four factors:

1. Purpose and character: If your use is for teaching at a nonprofit educational institution, this is a factor favoring fair use. The scale tips further in favor of fair use if access is restricted to your students.
2. Nature of copyrighted work: Is the work fact-based, published, or out-of-print? These factors weigh in favor of fair use.
3. Amount used: Using a small portion of a whole work would weigh toward fairness. But sometimes it may be fair to use an entire work (such as an image) if it is needed for your instructional purpose.
4. Market effect: A use is more likely to be fair if it does not harm the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. But if it does, this could weigh more heavily against fair use than the other factors.”

All four factors do not have to weigh in favor of fairness for the use to be judged fair, but if together they weigh toward fairness, your use is better justified. If the factors together lean in the other direction, the likelihood that you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holder increases. (Know your copyrights, © 2007 Association of Research Libraries, used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License)

“You may display or perform a work in your class without obtaining permission when your use is:

• for instructional purposes;
• in face-to-face teaching; and
• at a nonprofit educational institution.

If you don’t meet all three of these criteria, consider whether what you have in mind is a fair use.” (Know your copyrights) All other uses (for example, showing a film outside of class to which persons other than your class members are invited), are likely to be considered public performances (see below). Check the library copyright page for examples of fair use.

Public performance rights are a special category of copyright. Most educational uses of audiovisual works (whole or in part) will be covered under the face-to-face teaching exemption noted above. Any other performances, such as a movie night, departmental screening, lecture, concert or background music use will require permission from the rights holder, and possibly the payment of fees. Rights must be cleared regardless of whether a piece is used in whole or in part. For example, film clips or musical samples will need to be cleared.

In any of these cases, a public performance license must be purchased. Contact Swank Motion Pictures (1-800-876-5577) at least two weeks prior to the intended showing to obtain pricing for a particular film. For musical rights, contact the library for a consultation. Prior to publicizing the event, contact the president’s council member to whom your department reports to verify that you have cleared the rights.

• Copyright overview
• Copyright for authors and other content creators