Library Policies

Library Card

Students

Use your official Heartland student ID as your Library card. Bring a photo ID and your student ID number to the Library to get a student ID. A student's card remains valid as long as the student is enrolled in credit courses at Heartland.

Employees

Use your official Heartland employee ID as your Library card. Bring a photo ID and your employee ID number to the Library to get an employee ID. Employee cards remain valid for the duration of their employment at Heartland.

Community Borrowers

You need to present a photo ID with current address at the Library desk to check out materials.

The confidentiality of items checked out is protected in accordance with Illinois law.

Checkout Times

Checkout times for Library materials differ for students, employees and community borrowers – but responsibilities remain the same for all.

* Current issues of magazines are for in-library use only

** All community borrowers are limited to a total of 6 items.

Checkout Responsibilities

You are responsible for:

• All items checked out on your card
• Returning items by the due date
• Lost or damaged materials
• Notifying the Library in the event of loss, theft or possible unauthorized use of your Library card
• Reporting changes of address or phone number

Checkout Renewals

Items may be renewed 6 times by faculty and staff and 3 times by students. Items can be renewed at the Library desk, by calling (309) 268-8292, or through your account in I-Share.

Holds

If an item is checked out, the Library can place a hold at your request. We will notify you when the item is returned.

Return items at the Library desk, the book drop in the ASC lobby, or the book drop on the northwest corner of the Academic Support Center.

Overdue Items

The Library will send one overdue notice via your Heartland email address. You are responsible for returning materials by the due date whether or not you receive an overdue notice.

Material that is three weeks overdue will be billed for replacement. If the overdue material is returned in good condition, the item charge and processing fee will be eliminated from your record.

The overdue fine for course reserve items is $20/day.

Any outstanding charges must be cleared before you can borrow additional Library materials, register for classes, receive grades or request transcripts. Excessive or chronic late materials will result in loss of Library privileges.

Billing

Billing problems may be brought to the attention of Library staff Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Billing problems cannot be resolved during the evenings or on weekends.

Bills must be paid to the cashier in the Business Office (Community Commons Building, Suite 2100) during regular business hours. Any outstanding charges must be cleared before you can borrow additional Library materials, request transcripts, register for classes or receive your grades.

Replacement charges for an item lost or damaged beyond repair is a minimum of $35, plus an additional processing fee of $15.

If you pay for lost Heartland Library material but find the item within six months, you may receive a credit for the replacement charges. The material must be in suitable condition to return to the collection before credit is initiated.

Fines for items received through WorldCat are not eligible for credits or refunds, even in cases where the material is returned. Return all WorldCat items promptly.

Fees are subject to change without notice.

Damages

Damage to Library property is defined as water or structural damage, pencil/pen/highlighter marks, dog-eared/torn pages scratched DVDs, etc.

If an item from the Library collection is damaged beyond repair, the patron is responsible for replacement charges.

If you have questions about a damaged item, contact the Library at (309) 268-8292.

Objective/Purpose

This Collection Development Policy is a statement of the principles and guidelines used by the Heartland Community College Library in the selection, maintenance and weeding of Library materials. The primary objective of collection development is to build and maintain a collection that supports the curriculum of the College and the mission of the Library.

This policy is a guide, not immutable law, and exceptions should be made to admit valuable materials whenever adequately justified by the interest of the Library and the College. Further, it is a policy statement, not a manual of procedures, which are properly left to the internal management of the Library staff.

Principles

• Enrich and support curriculum and enhance the educational goals of the College while taking into consideration the varied interests, abilities and maturity of the student body and the needs of faculty and staff.
• Ensure that the needs of all segments of the College community are being met through a cooperative approach to selection.
• Strive to have strong print and non-print collections that complement each other.
• Place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice to assure a comprehensive collection of high quality material.
• Bring intellectual stimulation to faculty and students.

Guidelines

The following considerations will guide all collection development decisions:

• Relevance of material to educational programs and priorities of the College
• Appropriateness to user (level, format, ease of access)
• Quality and diversity in the collection, including balanced presentations of controversial issues
• Currency of information as needed (e.g. nursing and technology materials)
• Textbooks adopted by the College are not purchased except in special circumstances
• Duplicate copies of materials are purchased in areas of high utilization
• Gifts are accepted with the understanding that all decisions as to final deposition will be made by the Library staff

Responsibility Statement

Ultimate responsibility for collection development rests with the Library Director and the College Board. Under the supervision of the Director, the Library's professional staff members are responsible for selecting Library materials and serving as liaisons to faculty. Faculty members are expected to provide recommendations for materials in their own fields of specialization. Student, staff and community requests are welcomed.

Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Copyright

Heartland Community College Library supports the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, its Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries and its statement on the Freedom to View. The Heartland Community College Library complies with all provisions of U.S. Copyright Law (17 U.S.C.) and its amendments. The Library supports the Fair Use section of the Copyright Law (17 U.S.C. 107) which permits and protects citizens' rights to reproduce and make use of copyrighted works for the purposes of teaching, scholarship and research.

Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed and revised as necessary.
Date of current revision: 8/7/2001

"In a library, the right to privacy is the right to open inquiry without having the subject of one's interest examined or scrutinized by others."
--Illinois Library Association

In accordance with Illinois law, all library records relating to an individual patron and his/her use of the library and its resources are confidential. These records may be consulted and used by library staff in the course of carrying out library operations, but will not be disclosed to others except upon the request or consent of the library user, or pursuant to subpoena, court order, or otherwise as required by law. Such disclosure may be made only by the Library Director in consultation with appropriate College authorities.

Individuals may visit and use the Heartland Library Web site at any time without telling the Library who they are or revealing any information about themselves. This statement applies to all portions of the Library's Web site except those restricted to HCC students, faculty and staff by license agreement or copyright law.

Anyone using the Library Instruction Room must abide by the following guidelines:

• Book the Library Instruction Room through the Instructional Services Librarian.
• The introduction of hardware and/or software not already on the network is prohibited.
• Instructors agree they will not compromise the security of the College's or Library's network by sharing staff passwords with students.
• Instructors agree they will not alter any configurations already set on the computers in SCB 1515.
• Data may not be saved to the hard drives.
• No food or drink is permitted in SCB 1515
• Any violation of this policy will result in withdrawal of use of SCB 1515.

Thank you for thinking of Heartland Community College Library!  We encourage gifts that significantly contribute to the learning, teaching and research goals of the College. 

All physical gifts and donations to the Library go through the Heartland Community College Foundation. The Library can facilitate this process by serving as a liaison between the donor and the Foundation. Recognition of the gift or donation is made by the Foundation.

To make a gift of books or other materials, or to make a monetary donation, please contact the Library Director, The Heartland Community College Foundation, or drop by the Library and fill out the Foundation Donation Form.

Guidelines for Physical Donations

The Library will accept materials in good condition in the following categories:

• Hardbound books
• Trade and paperback books
• Selected non-book materials

The Library will not accept materials in the following categories:

• Textbooks
• Pamphlets
• Travel guides
• Reader’s Digest Condensed Books
• Newspapers, magazines and journals
• Material in poor physical condition

Exceptions may be made for College-related materials and materials of regional interest.

The Library is under no obligation to accept material gifts and reserves the right to utilize all gifts to its best advantage. Materials not retained by the Library will be disposed of at the Library’s discretion, including in book sales.

In Honor and In Memory plates may be placed in books at the request of the donor.