Library Book Loans During the Easter Vacation

During the Easter vacation, books will continue to be loaned for the normal one day, seven day or long loan period.  They will need to be renewed online:
https://library.aston.ac.uk/patroninfo

or returned when due. (No books will be due for return during the Library closed period between Friday, 18th April to Tuesday, 22nd April inclusive.)

Any book which cannot be renewed due to a reservation will need to be returned by post if necessary.  Fines will be charged for late return of books which have been reserved by another reader.

You can check the Easter vacation opening hours here.

Best wishes for the Easter break. 

Library Public Services Team

Library - Book loans during the Christmas vacation period

Library opening hours during Christmas vacation period

The Library closes at 22:00 on Friday 20 December for the Christmas vacation.
The Library re-opens at 08:00 on Thursday 2 January 2014.
From 2 January, the Library will be open 24/6 until Friday 7 February (inclusive).

Book loans during the vacation period

• Please return any books that you don’t need during the vacation to the Library by 18:00 on Friday 20 December.
• The outside book box will not be available when the Library is closed.
• Please ensure that you renew your books via your Library Record when they are due throughout the vacation period.
• If you can’t renew a book because someone else has reserved it, then you will need to return it when the Library is open or post it back to:

Public Services Co-ordinator

Library and Information Services

Aston University

Aston Triangle

Birmingham

B4 7ET

Please note: fines of £3.50 per day are charged for overdue books which have been reserved by someone else. However, charges do not apply on the days that the Library is closed from Saturday 21 December until Wednesday 1 January inclusive.

E-resources

You can continue to use e-resources throughout the vacation period via your University username and password

• E-books are available via Library SmartSearch - do a keyword search and then Limit by Material Type and select E-books
• Please check the LibGuide for your subject if you need guidance on finding resources

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email library@aston.ac.uk

Thank you
Library Public Services Team

Library book loans during the Christmas vacation

Library opening hours during Christmas vacation period

The Library closes at 22:00 on Friday 20 December for the Christmas vacation.
The Library re-opens at 08:00 on Thursday 2 January 2014.
From 2 January, the Library will be open 24/6 until Friday 24 January.

Book loans during the vacation period

• Please return any books that you don’t need during the vacation to the Library by 18:00 on Friday 20 December.
• The outside book box will not be available when the Library is closed.
• Please ensure that you renew your books via your Library Record when they are due throughout the vacation period.
• If you can’t renew a book because someone else has reserved it, then you will need to return it when the Library is open or post it back to:

Public Services Co-ordinator

Library and Information Services

Aston University

Aston Triangle

Birmingham

B4 7ET

Please note: fines of £3.50 per day are charged for overdue books which have been reserved by someone else. However, charges do not apply on the days that the Library is closed from Saturday 21 December until Wednesday 1 January inclusive.

E-resources

You can continue to use e-resources throughout the vacation period via your University username and password

• E-books are available via Library SmartSearch - do a keyword search and then Limit by Material Type and select E-books

If you have any questions in the meantime, please email library@aston.ac.uk

Thank you
Library Public Services Team

Library Closed Days Over Easter and Book Loans

Dear students,

The Library closes this evening Thursday 5 April at 23:00 hours and will re-open on Wednesday 11 April at 08:00.

If you have books which you need to return, then please make sure that you bring them back to the Library before closing time tonight. The out of hours book return book will be closed until Wednesday 11 April.

If you have 7 day loan books, then please make sure you renew them each week online via My Library Record on the Library Catalogue. Fines will accrue on overdue books so it is important to regularly check your Aston University email and renew your books as required.

Please note that books cannot be renewed if:

• you have fines of over £15
• you have already renewed them 18 times
• a book has been recalled by another library user.

These books will need to be posted back or returned in person to the Library during opening hours. See further information about returning books on the Library web site.

We wish you all a very good break.

Public Services Team
Library & Information Services

Library Christmas vacation opening hours

Season's Greetings from Library staff.

• The Library is open: Monday 19 December to Thursday 22 December: 08:00 - 23:00
• The Library is open: Friday 23 December: 08:00 - 13:00
  
• The Library is closed: Saturday 24 December until Monday 2 January inclusive
• The Library is open: Tuesday 3 January onwards from 08:00 and will be open 24/6 up until Friday 20 January

Please see the Library web site for the Christmas vacation opening hours
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lis/openinghours/

If you have books on loan, then please make sure you return them by 22 December, or renew them each week online via My Library Record on the Library Catalogue. Books which can't be renewed can be posted back - fines will accrue on overdue books so keep an eye on your Aston University email.

Please note: the out of hours book return box is closed when the University is closed for holidays (from Friday 23 December until the Library re-opens on 3 January).

We wish you all a very good break.

Book loans over the Christmas vacation

Books will continue to be loaned for the normal seven day, one day or long loan period during the Christmas vacation and renewed or returned when due. No books will be due for return during the library closed period 24th December 2010 to 3rd January 2011 inclusive.
Any book which cannot be renewed due to a reservation will need to be returned by post if necessary. Fines will be charged for late return.

Changes to loans policy over vacation period: Feedback

Thank you for all your comments regarding the changes to loans policy over the vacation period.

It is true that the vacation is being treated the same as term-time, which means that fines will be charged on overdue loans that have not been renewed, and on any loans that are wanted by another reader and cannot therefore be renewed. Students who find that they cannot renew a book because it is wanted by another reader are advised to post the item back to the Library. This is responsible borrowing; it helps the widest possible circulation of resources; and it is the normal practice at a great many universities, including Birmingham University.

It is highly unusual for us to change an established way of doing things part-way through an academic year, however there was a lot wrong with the old system, which caused a good many problems at Christmas and resulted in unfair practices. In the light of this experience we decided to make changes now rather than wait until after the Sumer vacation.

Under the old system, students were able to borrow books for the whole vacation and incurred no fines, even when the books were wanted by other readers. It seemed to be unfair that some students could keep books – which they knew to be in demand - for several weeks without being fined accordingly. Moreover, many students, who did not realize that there would be no fines, asked staff what it would cost them to keep the book for a few weeks, knowing that they were depriving other readers. It is also the case that students who have a reservation to collect in the last week of term do not collect it until as late as possible so that they can have it for the whole vacation. This results in an in-demand book sitting on the reservation shelf for a week, unused by anybody. All these practices are counter to the sort of community spirit and sense of responsibility that should be fostered around shared – and scarce - resources. We therefore took the decision to change the parameters of the library management system so that all days when the Library is open are treated the same and only days when the campus is closed do not incur fines, giving us a much more equitable system.

If you have any further comments on this, please comment on this blog post.

Changes to loans policy over vacation period

Loan periods will no longer be extended to cover vacation periods. Please renew your books regularly. Reminders to do so will continue to be sent. If you find that a book in your possession has been reserved by another reader, you should mail it back to the Library, ideally by recorded delivery.
Checking your University email regularly is part of your responsibility as a borrower.
We have made this change in order to ensure maximum circulation of material, and in response to widespread abuse of the previous system.
The new arrangement is common in other university libraries.