Our Circulation Policies

Laupus Library borrowers need to provide a form of identification in order to check out materials. ECU faculty, staff, and students should use their ECU 1 Card. Borrowers who are not affiliated with ECU (AHEC affiliates, ECU Health employees, affiliated community college students or staff) will receive a library card after visiting our service desk and registering for a library account.

Table of Contents

1. Borrowing Privileges, Loan Periods, and Fine Information
2. Renewing Materials
3. Fines
4. Damaged and Lost Materials
5. Fine/Lost Book Fee Appeals
6. Requesting an Item that is Checked Out
7. Missing Items
8. Headphones on Reference Computers
9. Borrower’s Responsibilities
10. Claims Returned

1. Borrowing Privileges, Loan Periods, and Fine Information

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ECU Undergraduate Students

ECU Graduate Students/Undergraduate Honors Students

• Cost of Borrowing: Free
• ID Required: ECU 1 Card

ECU Faculty/Staff/Residents/Fellows (including retired faculty)

• Cost of Borrowing: Free
• ID Required: ECU 1 Card

ECU Health Employees

A picture ID must be presented with the library card every time items are borrowed.

• Cost of Borrowing: Free
• ID Required: ECU Health ID

Affiliated Community College Students

A picture ID must be presented with the library card every time items are borrowed.

• Cost of Borrowing: Free
• ID Required: Valid School ID
• More information about eligible community college students

Eastern AHEC/Outreach

An Eastern AHEC borrower falls into at least one of the following categories:

• Faculty or Staff of Eastern AHEC
• Preceptors of ECU students
• Any individual currently employed by a healthcare organization in the 23-county EAHEC region. Identification and/or proof of employment will be requested before a library card will be distributed.

Note: Any individual currently employed by a healthcare organization outside of the 23-county EAHEC region is strongly urged to borrow from their local AHEC library. Requests for permission to borrow from non-EAHEC healthcare organization employees should be directed to the EAHEC librarian at 252-744-2066.

• Cost of Borrowing: Free
• ID Required: Valid picture ID and valid proof of place of employment

A picture ID must be presented with the library card every time items are borrowed.

Friends of Laupus Library/Alumni Association

A picture ID must be presented with the library card every time items are borrowed.

• Cost of Borrowing: Free
• ID Required: Valid picture ID

UNC Cooperative Borrowing

Students, faculty, and staff at any of the 16 UNC System schools. A picture ID must be presented with the library card every time items are borrowed.

• Cost of Borrowing: Free
• ID Required: Valid university ID

NC Area Residents

Area Residents must fill out a Borrower Agreement Form and bring to the Service Desk or email completed form to Access Services ( hslaccserv@ecu.edu) before borrowing privileges can be granted.

Area Resident borrowers must be 18 years or older. Only five items may be checked out on an Area Resident’s account at any given time. The Area Resident Card does allow the check out of materials at Joyner Library. The Area Resident Card may not be used by anyone else. A picture ID must be presented with the library card every time items are borrowed.

• Cost of Borrowing: $35 yearly fee
• ID Required: Valid picture ID

2. Renewing Books

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Laupus Library has several options available for renewing your materials. Book renewals are allowed provided the patron has no outstanding fines, no overdue materials, the item has not been requested by another borrower, and the item is not in the Heavy Use Collection.

• Online – ECU Borrowers – Login to My Account in the library catalog using your PirateID and password. Non-ECU Borrowers – Login to My Account in the library catalog using your Library ID and password. If you do not know your password, please call the Service Desk at 252-744-2219. Select the items to Renew or click “Renew All” to renew all renewable items.
• By Phone – All borrowers may call the Service Desk at 252-744-2219 to renew items. Borrowers must provide their name and title or barcode number for each item to be renewed.
• By Email – All borrowers may e-mail Access Services at hslaccserv@ecu.edu to renew items. Borrower’s e-mail must include their name and a list of titles or barcode numbers for items to be renewed. Borrowers will receive a confirmation e-mail from an Access Services staff member to verify the items have been renewed and what the new due date will be.

3. Fines

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Fines can be paid by cash, check, or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover) at our service desk. You may also call the service desk at 252-744-2219 and pay by phone with a credit card.

See the Borrowing Privileges, Loan Periods, and Fine Information section for fine specifics by borrower types.

Please note that it is the responsibility of the borrower to know the due date of their items. Failure to not know the due date of the materials does not relieve the borrower of responsibility for overdue fines. Borrowers may check the status of their account by logging into My Account in the library catalog.

See information about appealing a fine below.

4. Damaged and Lost Materials

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If an item is lost by the borrower, the borrower will be charged the purchase price for the item and a $30 processing fee. The total cost for the lost item is then paid at our service desk by cash, check, or credit card. All patrons may be charged the replacement cost and processing fee for externally circulating equipment if it is not returned within 7 days of when the equipment is due. This replacement charge and processing fee are non-refundable.

If an item is returned damaged, the Collection Management department determines if the damaged item can be repaired or must be replaced. The borrower will be charged the purchase price of the item plus a $30 processing fee for damaged items beyond repair. The total cost of the damaged item is to be paid at our Service Desk by cash, check, or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover).

5. Fine/Lost/Damaged Book Fee Appeals

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Borrowers may appeal a library fine or fee if they think an error has been made.

Please note the following are not acceptable reasons for waiving or reducing library charges:

• Not knowing the library rules or the amount of fines
• Claiming your need for the item was greater than another’s
• Being too busy
• Being out of town
• Failing to note due date
• Failing to renew on time
• Failing to receive an overdue notice
• Failing to read your email
• Claiming book drop damage

To begin the appeals process complete our online Appeal a Fine form. You will be contacted by phone or email to inform you of the result. If you have questions please call our service Desk at (252) 744-2219. Charges, fines, and fees can no longer be appealed once transferred to the Cashier’s Office.

6. Requesting an Item that is Checked Out

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Any ECU faculty, staff, or student may request to recall items already checked out by another borrower. Items can be recalled from any borrower after having been checked out for 28 days. Any item that has been recalled may not be renewed. As a recalled item becomes available, it will be held at our Service Desk for a period of 3 days. Items not picked up by a requesting borrower within those 3 days will be re-shelved.

To recall an item, borrowers may use the Catalog to find the item record. Under Item Actions, click on “Want this?” and select the recall option.

Items that are in high demand and have been requested by several people will likely be put on reserve. This will keep the item in the library and allow full usage for everyone.

If the borrower is unable to wait for an item to be returned on its due date, borrowers may want to consider utilizing our Interlibrary Loan services or contacting a Liaison Librarian for further alternative measures.

7. Missing Items

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Borrowers that are not able to find materials may email our Access Services department for assistance. The missing item(s) will be searched for and when the item is found the borrower will be notified.

8. Headphones on Reference Computers

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• A limited number of headphones will be available at the Laupus Library Service Desk for library users
• Library users will need their 1Card or library card to check out headphones.
• Headphone volume level should be considerate of other library users.
• Headphones may not be taken outside of the library for any reason
• Headphones may be used by any library user who meets the eligibility criteria for login on the User Services computer workstations. (Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis by librarians when working with individuals such as family members of hospital patients, community users with legitimate health research needs, etc.)

9. Borrower’s Responsibilities

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Borrowers must present either their university identification card or a valid library card with a clear photo identification card each time they borrow or renew items at a Circulation desk. Faculty and staff borrowers must provide written permission via our Checkout Authorization Form for another person to borrow materials on their library account. Borrowers must notify a Circulation desk if their library card is lost or stolen.

Borrowers are responsible for all uses of their card and for all fines and fees accrued on their card. It is the responsibility of borrowers to remember their due dates from the due date slip they are given when materials are checked-out, to inquire what their due dates are if in doubt, or to view their due dates online through the catalog. Borrowers assume responsibility for items checked out on their library account until they are checked-in at the service desk. This includes but is not limited to items returned in the book drops.

It is also the responsibility of the borrower to inform a Circulation desk of any changes in telephone number, permanent mailing address, or e-mail address to ensure timely contact between the library and the borrower. ECU affiliated faculty, staff, and students should also change this required information through ECU Pirate Port, or they may contact the ECU Office of the Registrar.

10. Claims Returned

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If a Borrower thinks items have been returned, those items should be reported to Circulation to be marked as Claimed Returned. Circulation employees will search for the item for three weeks. Borrowers are encouraged to continue their search, as well. If the item is found by the library, any accrued overdue fines will be waived. If the item is not found by the library, the item will be declared lost and the Borrower will be responsible for the replacement cost plus processing fee.