Membership
The Library is open to all registered graduate and undergraduate students of the University,
to all professional, academic, research and senior administrative staff, and to permanent
administrative, technical and support staff of the University of the West Indies. UWI Cave
Hill students are required to attend an orientation session before registering to use the
Library. To arrange for an orientation session please contact
Readers' Services.
Other persons requesting use of the Library for reading or reference
purposes may be admitted as Outside Members at the discretion of the Librarian, and are
normally required to pay
membership fees. Outside members may be permitted
to borrow only in exceptional circumstances, and will then be required
to make a
cautionary deposit which shall be refunded on satisfactory
completion of their membership.
Borrowing
No library material may be removed from the library unless the prescribed loan procedure has
been completed at the Circulation Desk. In order to check out material, UWI staff and students
must have a valid UWI identification card. Other borrowers will be issued with a Main Library
ID card for the duration of their membership. Readers are responsible to the Library for
material for which their ID cards have been used. Material which has been borrowed is the
responsibility of the borrower until the item is returned
and the record of the loan
is cancelled.
Please report lost ID cards to the
Circulation Desk promptly.
Readers are responsible for all material checked out on lost ID cards until the loss is
reported to the Library.
Loan Policy and Procedures
Loan periods vary with user status and category of item. Loan periods may be extended at the
discretion of the Librarian. All Library material is subject to
recall if
required by another user, or for the
Reserve Collection.
For details of the Library's holdings, please refer to
collections data.
Undergraduate students at the University may have on loan up to twelve items
at a time, including no more than two from the Reserve, Overnight and West Indies Collections.
The period of loan for items from the Main Collection is 14 days.
Postgraduate students of the University may have on loan up to ten items at a
time, including no more than two from the Reserve, Overnight and West Indies Collections, and
no more than two from the Periodicals Collection. The period of loan for items from the Main
Collection is 10 weeks.
Professional, academic, research and senior administrative staff may have on
loan up to fifteen items at a time, including no more than two from the Reserve, Overnight
and West Indies Collections, and no more than two from the Periodicals Collection. The period
of loan for items from the Main Collection is 10 weeks.
Administrative, technical and support staff who hold permanent positions
with UWI may have on loan up to four items at a time from the Main Collection. The period of
loan for items from the Main Collection is 14 days.
Outside members who are permitted to borrow may have on loan up to six items
at a time, including a maximum of four from the Main Collection, and a maximum of two from
the Reserve and West Indies Collections. The period of loan for items from the Main Collection
is 14 days. Outside members with
reader status are allowed
Reading Room loans only.
Reading Room loans from the Special Collections,
the Reserve Collections and
the West Indies Collection are for three hours only. A maximum of two items may be borrowed
from these collections at a time.
Requests for reading room loans are made by completing a Reading Room Reservation Form and handing
it in to the staff at the Circulation Desk.
Overnight items are due for return at 10.00 a.m. or at 5.00 p.m. as indicated
by a pink or blue card respectively, on the next full day on which the Library is open.
Overnight items may be borrowed only after 5.00 p.m. on weekdays, or on weekends. A maximum of
two items may be borrowed from this collection at a time.
Borrowers are required to request overnight items by completing an Overnight Reservation Form.
Forms are available at the Circulation Desk. Requests will be accepted from the time the
Library opens on the day on which the item is needed.
Periodicals which have been bound may be borrowed by postgraduate students,
and members of the academic, research and senior administrative staff only. The period of loan
is 2 weeks. Periodical loans are not normally renewable. Current issues of periodicals are not
available for loan.
Renewals
Books may be renewed for a further period if they have not been requested by other readers,
and provided that the borrower has not had them for two consecutive periods of loan.
Fines
Library fines for overdue items vary with user status and category of item.
For items from the Main Collection the fine is $0.50 per day, per item for postgraduate students,
and for members of the academic, research and senior administrative staff to a maximum of
$50.00 per item. For all other borrowers the fine is $0.25 per day, per item to a maximum of
$30.00 per item.
For periodicals the fine is $0.50 per day per item to a maximum of $50.00 for all categories
of borrowers.
For items from the Overnight, Reserve and West Indies Collections, the fine is $0.10 per hour,
per item to a maximum of $30.00 for all categories of borrowers.
Search Services and Requests
Requests for items which are circulating to another patron may be made by completing the
appropriate form at the Circulation Desk. Patrons are notified by post when a requested item
becomes available. Weekly notices are also placed on the notice board in the main lobby of the
library.
If you cannot find an item on the shelves, you may request a search at the Circulation Desk.
Please allow a minimum of two days for a search response.
Lost or Damaged Material
For lost or damaged material, users are required to pay a processing fee of $10.00, plus
the current cost of the material. If a lost item is returned in good condition within the
academic year, the sum paid for the item will be refunded to the user.
Membership Fees
Persons accepted as outside members of the Library are normally required to pay membership
fees as follows:
| Processing fee |
$ 20.00 |
| Individual membership fee |
$100.00 per semester ; $200.00 per academic year |
| Institutional membership fee |
$250.00 per semester |
| Short term (1 month) membership fee |
$40.00 |
In addition, outside members who are permitted to borrow must pay a
refundable caution deposit of $120.00
Special rates and conditions apply to UWI graduates, and for the use
of the Computer Lab. Please contact
Readers' Services for
additional information.
