Access Services Policy 2007-2008

Talking

Please be courteous to your fellow students. Talking, outside of the study rooms, is discouraged and a request to stop talking should be honored immediately.

Food, Beverage and Smoking

All food and the use of tobacco products are expressly prohibited in the Law Library, including the study rooms on the second level. Beverages such as soda, water and coffee are allowed only in Library approved spill-proof containers. Patrons who do not comply with this policy will be asked to leave the library.

Cell Phones

Silence your cell phone. All library patrons are expected to respect their fellow patrons wish for quiet in the law library so they may perform their library tasks. Upon entering the St. Thomas Law Library building, please set cell phone, pagers, and other electronic devices to either the silent or vibrate mode. Patrons involved in cell phone conversations in the library will be asked by library staff or fellow patrons to move to the designated cell phone area or outside. Cell phone conversations are only permitted in the front lobby of the law library. Please cooperate with staff when they ask you to leave an area due to inappropriate cell phone use. At the time of the incident the St. Thomas Law Library staff member will request the patron’s name and ID. Failure to give the name and ID or providing a fake name will result in security being called and the patron’s immediate removal from the library. Patrons who are repeat offenders of this cell phone policy will be investigated by the honor council for violating the Code of Academic Integrity.

Study Rooms

Study Rooms are for group study and may be reserved for a maximum of two hours at a time for a group. Room reservation must occur at the front desk and that copy is the master copy. A convenience copy of the reservation schedule for the day may be placed outside of the study room. If your group has not arrived after 15 minutes into the reserved time your group must give way to another group ready to use the room. An additional two hour period may be reserved for a group in the same room after the expiration of the initial period, provided the room has not been reserved by another group. The Library AV room may be reserved only by a group (no individual studying allowed) and it may be pre-empted by someone needing to use the room for class preparations requiring Audio Visual viewing. Because the study rooms are for group study it is a given that some talking is expected. Please keep the door closed and refrain from excessive noise as the sound will travel through the doors and intrude on the study of others. An individual may use a vacant study room but must vacate the room for a study group that is ready to use it. The law library no longer makes room reservations for the Seminar Room. Seminar Room reservations are now made by contacting the Office of the Registrar.

Library Card

All Students must present their current St. Thomas IDs to checkout materials from the library. If the ID is unavailable other picture ID may be substituted, so long as the student is already in the STU Law Library system.

Course Reserves

Library Use Only Materials. Course Reserves may circulate for a period of four hours but must be used only inside the Library. No renewals are allowed on Course Reserve items.

Permanent Reserves

Permanent Reserves may circulate for a period of four hours. Permanent Reserve items will not be renewed.

Demerits

Items not returned by the time due will be assessed demerits according to the demerits chart. An accrual of 60 demerits will result in a four-day suspension of circulation privileges (this includes all use of course reserve materials).

Lost or Damaged Materials

If a book or AV piece is not returned, or is returned damaged, a fine will be assessed equal to the replacement cost of the material PLUS a processing fee of $50.00. If the item is incapable of being replaced due to being out of print or out of stock, a fee of $150.00 will be assessed.

Lap Tops

Lap top equipment is not available for students to checkout. During the exam period a few lap tops will be available for students through the Office of the Registrar.