library policies

 

SUBJECT:  ACCESS AND SERVICES TO CLIENTELE
Number:
Issued by:  Ellen Chamberlain, Director of the Libraries
Date:  12-08-03
Revised:  08-21-06

 

INTRODUCTION

The library of the University of South Carolina Beaufort is mandated by the university’s mission to support the educational, teaching, research, and administrative needs of faculty, students, and staff of USCB.  The library takes an active role in supporting the overall mission of USCB by providing access to relevant information through the development of library collections, their organization and arrangement for access and use, and the provision of appropriate information and instructional services.  To be most effective in fulfilling its mission, the library offers an array of basic services funded by the university for current students, faculty, and staff; other services to this primary clientele may be offered on a full or partial cost recovery basis.

The library is committed to making its unique or distinctive collections available to the local, regional, and national scholarly community as a supplementary source once local resources have been exhausted.  The library provides access for these users through either onsite consultation or other methods under conditions that do not jeopardize the effectiveness of its services to its primary clientele.  In addition, the library makes its services and collections available to the public at large on a limited basis and to the extent feasible.

POLICY

The library distinguishes among three basic categories of users for the purpose of apportioning resources and services: 1) primary clientele, 2) secondary clientele, and 3) external clientele.  The library reserves the right to assign to institutions and individuals the appropriate category of service or use.

Primary Clientele

The primary clientele consists of current faculty, students, and staff at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. This category of users is accorded the highest priority for service and resources at no additional charge.

Secondary Clientele

The secondary clientele consists of those closely related to the University, such as members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI); VIP cardholders; other USC system students, faculty, and staff; USC alumni and retirees living in the area; immediate family of USCB faculty and staff; and faculty members and scholars from other institutions who present a letter of request from their institution. This category of users may access library services specifically designated at no additional charge.

External Clientele

External users, such as adult residents of Beaufort and Jasper Counties; students, aged 16 and older, enrolled in Beaufort and Jasper County public and private schools; and students of the Technical College of the Lowcountry, may borrow a designated number of library books at any one time and may access on-site the library’s public databases and subscription periodicals. They may copy pages from reference books and periodicals and avail themselves of general reference services. In order to utilize these resources and services, this category of users must first purchase a picture ID library card for $10.

ACCESS TO COLLECTIONS

External patrons are expected to explore the resources of their primary libraries first, e.g., public, school, and to use the USCB library as a library of last resort. The library does not act as a substitute for those institutions or agencies that do not provide adequate core library resources of their own; it conserves on behalf of USCB students, faculty, and staff those heavily-used materials that other libraries can reasonably be expected to provide.  Payment of a fee for borrowing privileges will not, for example, entitle outside patrons to unrestricted access to materials such as reserve books, journals, and non-book materials that are in heavy demand on campus.  On the other hand, recognizing its role as a local, regional, state, and national resource, the library provides access whenever possible to the rarer and more specialized items in USCB’s collections, since these may be available only at USCB.  The status of the library as a state depository for government publications carries with it specific requirements to provide access and services to the general public for those materials.

ACCESS TO SERVICES

The library’s primary clientele has priority in the use of reference and information services and equipment, particularly at periods of peak use.  Consequently, payment of established charges for library privileges does not ensure the same level of service for non-USCB patrons. Reference, instructional, and special circulation services to the outside community can be extended only when they do not interfere with services to the campus community.  All access and services are subject to restrictions at periods of high use by primary clientele, or by the need to conserve or protect library materials or equipment.

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Policy approved by the Faculty Library Committee
Date: 12-12-03
Policy approved by the Chancellor’s Cabinet
Date:

Last modified Thursday August 24, 2006