Policies & Services

All current students, faculty, and staff at Trinity Christian College have borrowing privileges. When checking out library materials, borrowers must present their Trinity ID card. All materials checked out on a borrower’s library account are the responsibility of the borrower.

A loan period is the amount of time that a user may borrow any item from the library. Different types of library materials have different loan periods.

Most books in the General Collection are loanable up to 28 days with three renewals. DVDs are loanable up to seven days with one renewal. Specialized kits and items in the Reference Collection, Course Reserves, or other special collections circulate for various shorter periods of time, such as two hours, 24 hours, three days, one week, etc. Due dates for all items are available from within a borrower’s Primo account.

Most, but not all, library items are eligible for renewal.

Eligible materials borrowed from Trinity’s library may be renewed online through the borrower’s Primo account, in-person at the library’s Information Desk, by calling (708) 293-4925, or by emailing library@trnty.edu. All eligible items borrowed from Trinity’s library will automatically renew until the item exceeds the maximum loan period.

Eligible materials borrowed through I-Share will not automatically renew. Users must renew I-Share materials online through their Primo accounts.

Return all library materials to the library’s Information Desk during library hours. Reserve items, equipment, and kits must be returned directly to a library staff member. Failure to follow these procedures could result in overdue fines or fees.

Professors may choose to place items or kits related to course content on library reserve. Reserve materials are available for checkout at the library’s Information Desk. Loan periods vary depending on the item.

Students must return reserve items and kits at the appointed due date and time to ensure that these materials are available for other students in that class. Fines for reserve items and kits accrue at an accelerated rate; therefore, it is imperative that borrowers return reserve items directly to a library staff member instead of placing items in the book return bin.

Interlibrary loan is a service available to all current Trinity students, faculty, and staff with accounts in good standing. Borrowers must abide by the policies of the lending library, including but not limited to: renewals, overdue fines, and replacement costs for lost or damaged materials. Trinity’s library will not be held responsible for any costs or fees for lost, missing, or damaged materials borrowed through interlibrary loan.

To improve access to library materials, the 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 38 million items. As a participant in I-Share, Trinity students, faculty, and staff may borrow items from 90 member libraries. Books may be searched and requested through Primo.

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

Current Trinity students, staff, and faculty may want to access an article unavailable from the library’s holdings. Interlibrary loan articles are supplied based on the policies and contractual agreements of lending libraries and/or copyright regulations. Users may either request the article from within a database or submit requests to library@trnty.edu.

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, holidays, and other variables. It is considered best practice to plan ahead when conducting research.

To avoid overdue fines or fees, borrowers must return or renew materials before the due date. Courtesy overdue notices are emailed to the borrower’s Trinity email address. Failure to receive email notices does not exonerate a borrower from any accrued fines or fees.

Accumulated fines and/or fees may result in the suspension of library privileges. Unpaid library balances could result in a hold on a student’s account in Trinity’s Business Office, which could restrict a student from registration, graduation, and/or the release of transcripts.

Library staff make every attempt to check in materials. Borrowers should promptly notify the library if materials remain checked out to their account in error.

All reasonable concerns related to library fines and fees will be considered if communicated in a timely manner. If you have concerns about your library account, email library@trnty.edu.

After an item is overdue for an extended period, a Lost Item Replacement fee is assigned to the borrower’s account. Borrowers are responsible for replacing the lost library materials.

If a borrower returns the item in good condition, the Lost Item Replacement fee will be forgiven.

Borrowers should return all library materials in the same condition as they were in when the materials were checked out. Damage incurred while using library materials may result in replacement costs. Examples of item damage include (but are not limited to):

• Writing, underlining, or highlighting
• Excessive stains
• Water damage
• Pet damage
• Environmental damage (smoke, perfume, mildew, mold, etc.)

There will be no charge for normal wear and tear on any item. Borrowers may ask for a damage review slip for any item at the time of check out.

If a borrower loses or damages an item, the borrower will have two options:

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

Trinity students, faculty, and staff are subject to the lending library’s policies and will be held accountable for 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.

Trinity Christian College alumni and local community members are welcome to visit the Jennie Huizenga Memorial Library. Use of computers, Wi-Fi, and online resources by visitors constitutes an agreement to observe the college’s Technology 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 library’s facilities and collections. To borrow materials, I-Share patrons must present a valid institutional ID card.

The library allows for community users, including Trinity alumni, to borrow materials if they meet the necessary qualifications. All community borrowers must present a current user card at the library’s Information Desk to check out materials.

Qualifications:

• 18 years or older
• Live within 50 miles of Trinity Christian College’s campus in Palos Heights, IL.
• Possess a valid driver’s license or state ID.

To request a library account, individuals must email library@trnty.edu and must provide ALL the following:

• Home address, city, state, and zip code
• Phone number
• Email address (this email will accept all automated correspondences about borrowing activity)

Borrowing Privileges:

• Borrow any physical book or DVD in the general collection or the Curriculum Center.
• Check out up to five items (books and/or DVDs) at a time.
• Books circulate for 28 days.
• DVDs circulate for 7 days.
• Reference and periodicals collections are non-circulating but are available for in-library use.
• Borrowers should contact the library directly with any renewal requests; renewals are up to the library’s discretion.

Terms of Use:

• Priority will be given to current Trinity students, staff, and faculty for all library services.
• All individuals must adhere to the general policies of the library.
• Borrowers must present their driver’s license/state ID or library card at the time of checkout.
• Borrowers are responsible for observing the due date receipt at the time of check out.
• Borrowers may be asked to return any materials before the due date if materials are required to support Trinity’s curricular needs.
• Borrowers are responsible for any damages and replacement costs.
• Interlibrary loans and online search requests are not a part of this policy and should be referred to a public library.
• Library accounts will expire one year after the borrower’s account is created. Expired accounts may be renewed at the borrower’s request. All account renewals are up to the library’s discretion.
• Failure to observe the library’s policies will result in the loss of borrowing privileges.

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 103 offers 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 Information 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 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). The room may be reserved via the College’s room scheduling service.

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