Am I entitled to have a USEK Library account?
All USEK students, faculty, staff, and courtesy borrowers (alumni and visitors) who have current USEK identification cards are entitled to borrow items from the Library. Please make sure you have your USEK card with you. You will need it for checking out and renewing items.
Please note that your card cannot be used by anyone else.
What if I lose my card?
If you have lost your USEK card, please report it to the Registrar Office to obtain a replacement. The Library is not responsible for any outcome arising from the unauthorized use of a card.
USEK Library respects Library users’ right to privacy and confidentiality while using library materials; names of borrowers and their accounts will not be disclosed.
What are my responsibilities as a USEK Library user?
- You are responsible for all materials checked out to your name until they are returned and checked in by Circulation staff;
- You are responsible for the timely return of library materials;
- Renew your items before their due date;
- Do not depend on others to return items for you;
- Do not lend your USEK ID card or borrowed items;
- Make sure to keep your residential and contact details updated;
- Check your Library account to access your library information online;
- Return recalled materials promptly;
- Protect all library materials from damage or theft;
- Keep materials in good condition: make sure not to write on the books, not to fold pages, and not to use sticky notes, rubber bands, paperclips, or anything else which could cause any damage.
Please see Fines and Penalties below for list of charges.
You can find the majority of USEK’s printed collection in the Library Catalog, which is accessible to you on/off campus. Each item has a Library shelf mark and is arranged in its corresponding area, mostly located in Reading Room 1 or Reading Room 2. If the material you require is located in Reading Room 1 or Reading Room 2, you can personally retrieve the material from the shelf. If the item is not located in Reading Room 1 or 2, you can request it online through the Library Catalog and a librarian will retrieve the item for you, and you can collect it from the Circulation Desk.
If you need assistance with locating any items, do not hesitate to ask our staff at the Circulation Desk for help.
How many items can I borrow, and for how long?
Loan terms vary based on the following user category and the type of material:
Monographs / Books
Periodicals: Journals and Magazines
You can borrow a maximum of two bound journals; please note that unbound journals, as well as the latest serials issues, may not be checked out.
Audio-Visual material: audiocassettes, CDs and DVDs
You can borrow a maximum of one item at a time.
Not all items available at the Library can be borrowed, including:
- Reference books: encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, handbooks, biographical and literary sources, as well as bibliographies;
- Latest issues of periodicals and magazines;
- Newspapers;
- USEK theses and dissertations;
- Non-circulating material including books dated prior to 1970, rare books and private collections;
- Microfilms and microfiches;
- Music scores;
- Maps, visual materials, graphic materials and digitized files.
Items borrowed from USEK Library may be renewed for an additional term depending on the type of item and the loan period. See the table below.
Items will not be renewed in any of these cases:
- If the item is on hold by another user;
- If the item is placed on course reserve;
- If the borrower’s ID is blocked;
- If the loan has already been renewed twice;
- If the item has been recalled by the Library.
Renewal limits for Books and Monographs
Renewal limits for Periodicals and Audio-Visual materials
Renewals are possible through three channels:
- In person at the Circulation Desk of any of the Library branches;
- Online by logging onto your Library account;
- By calling the Circulation Desk.
Whether made online or in person, please keep in mind that renewal requests should be made two days prior to the due date.
Once the renewal limit has been reached, you must return the item to the Circulation Desk to have it cleared from your account. If you need to, you may check out the item again, restarting the renewal cycle.
USEK Library receives requests from faculty members to reserve material for registered students in a specific course. Reserve lists normally include mandatory and recommended readings for USEK courses, and include books, textbooks, journal articles, bound periodicals, CDs, DVDs, and course packs.
If you are a student registered in the course, you are eligible for borrowing these items, and can borrow a maximum of two items at a time.
Students can borrow these items for a period of three hours (between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.), or keep them overnight till 9:00 a.m. the next morning if borrowed after 4:00 p.m.
For more details on Course Reserves for Faculty members, please go to the
Place Materials on Reserve page.
If you are a course instructor, you can place a reserve request by filling out the online
Course Reserve form.
The Intercampus Loan Service provides USEK students, faculty and staff members with the transfer and delivery of materials between library branches (Kaslik Main Campus Library, Chekka Campus Library and Zahle Campus Library).
We will do our best to deliver the requested items within three (3) business days, except if the item is already on loan at the time of the request.
A notification email will be sent to the user’s USEK e-mail account when the item is available for pickup.
Note that transferred items will remain on hold at the Circulation Desk of the USEK Library branch of your choice for two (2) business days only.
Recalls of Checked-Out Items
Recalls are official requests for an item to be returned to the Library as soon as possible. Eligible users such as Faculty members may request that items checked out be recalled and made available for their use.
Kindly return recalled items at the library branch you borrowed them from, not later than the due date stated on the recall notice, so as to make them available to the requestor.
Items Already on Loan
If the item you need has been checked out to someone else, you may place a hold through your Library account. The due date for the item does not change, but it does prevent the item from being renewed.
We will notify you by e-mail once the requested item has been returned, and it will be placed on hold for two (2) business days at the Circulation Desk.
Note that a hold will not be placed if:
- Two or more copies of the item are available;
- The item is located on reserve, or the item circulates for a short loan period (e.g. video, audio materials);
- The item is lost, missing, on order, in process or non-circulating;
- Your borrowing privileges are blocked or expired;
- You have reached your hold limit.
Current USEK faculty, students and staff receive library notices via their USEK email account. Other users and Library card holders (alumni and visitors) are advised to add an e-mail address to their library records to enable e-mails to be received.
These notices are important as they relate to the following library services and hold pick-up information:
| Courtesy |
When a borrowed item is soon due for renewal or return |
| Overdue |
When an item becomes overdue |
| Hold request |
When a reserved item is awaiting collection from the Circulation Desk.
Items are placed on hold for two (2) business days |
| Recall |
When a borrowed item is reserved by another user |
| Summary bill for lost material |
Once a borrowed item is 30 days overdue.
This incurs a lost/replacement fee |
| Sighting/re-issue |
Borrowing privileges are blocked until overdue items are returned |
Fines apply when items are not returned or returned late. Overdue notices are issued as a courtesy to all Library users three days before the due date. The table below lists the various types of fines that may apply:
Fee Structure
| 1st Overdue Charge (first five days) |
0.5 USD per item / day |
| 2nd Overdue Charge (day 6 onwards) |
1 USD per item / day |
| Overdue Course Reserves Charge (first hour) |
1 USD per item |
| Overdue Course Reserves Charge (hour 2 onwards) |
1.5 USD per item / hour |
| Recall Overdue Charge (first day) |
0.5 USD per item |
| Recall Overdue Charge (day 2 onwards) |
1 USD per item / day |
| Replacement Cost for lost or damaged material* |
The cost of the item plus a 20 USD processing fee per item.
For old items or items that cannot be replaced, users will be fined twice the cost of the item
|
*Note that if a lost item is found and returned within 90 days, the cost of the item will be refunded.
Payment
An email notifying the Library user of incurred fines will be sent and can be printed.
Cash payments of fines will be accepted at the Circulation Desk of all USEK Library branches.
Penalties for failing to pay a library fine
- Borrowing privileges will be suspended if the material is not returned within 30 days of the second overdue notice.
- In case users fail to pay their library fines, holds will be placed on their academic records.
Please check the page
APPEALING FINESCirculation Services:
circulation@usek.edu.lb
Circulation Assistance
Kaslik Main Campus Library:
circulation@usek.edu.lb
Chekka Campus Library:
chekka-biblio@usek.edu.lb
Zahle Campus Library:
zahle-biblio@usek.edu.lb