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 WHAT CAN BE BORROWED

The majority of books in the Mendik Library are research and primary source materials that may only be borrowed for short-term use. Other types of materials may be borrowed for longer periods.

Research & Primary Sources:

1. Primary Sources and Finding Tools :Case reporters, statutes, regulations, digests, citators, indexes, serials and other updated works such as Newsletters and Loose-Leaf Services may be borrowed for one day.

2. Reference Works :Dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs and Government Documents reference items may be borrowed for three hours.

3. Reserve Collection Materials : (including Current Periodicals) may be borrowed for three hours. If they are charged out within three hours of the Library’s closing time, they are due within one hour of opening time on the next day that the Library is open.

Monographs & Treatises:

1. Monographs: One or two volume works that are not updated and do not contain primary source or reference material may be borrowed for four weeks.

2. Treatises: Updated treatises and parts of multi-volume sets, except those that are primary reference materials, may be borrowed for three days. The loan period for treatises is shorter than that of monographs because the value of a multi-volume work is diminished if some of its volumes are unavailable.

Off-Site Items:

As the catalog will indicate, some of our older monographs and treatises are stored off-site.  All of these items can be easily requested for borrowing as follows: Reference & Primary sources for three days; Monographs & Treatises for four weeks.

BOOK RETURNS AND RENEWALS

1. Books should be returned or loans renewed prior to the due date. Books may be returned to the Circulation Desk on the 4th floor of the Library or to one of the book return boxes on campus. The drop boxes are located at the entry to the 14th floor study area and near the security desk at the 47 Worth Street entry to the law school. Please note: Reserve materials must be returned in person to the Library Circulation Desk.  They should not be placed in the remote Book Returns.

2. Loans may be renewed in person or by telephone at any time during Library business hours.  Patrons can also use the self-renew option that is offered online at http://lawlib.nyls.edu/patroninfo

3. The renewal period starts at the time of renewal, and is identical to the original loan period.

4. Monographs may not be renewed more than three consecutive times. Treatise volumes may be renewed only once. Materials in the categories of Primary Sources and Finding Tools, Reference Works, and Reserve materials may not be renewed more than five consecutive times.

5. You will not be permitted to renew a loan:
a.    If another patron has placed a hold on the item.
b.   If the maximum numbers of renewals will be exceeded.
c.    If the item is overdue.

HOLD REQUESTS

1. If a book has been charged out, you may place a hold on the book so that when it is returned it is held for you at the Circulation Desk.  Holds cannot be placed on Reserve Collection items.

2. You will be notified by e-mail when the item is available for pick-up.

OVERDUE NOTICES

1. Notices of overdue loans are sent daily to your NYLS school email account.

2. Approximately 3 days before an item is due, a courtesy reminder notice will be sent to you.

3. Students are expected to pay overdue fines when they return their borrowed books to the Circulation Desk either by cash or check.

OVERDUE FINES & GRACE PERIOD

1. A fine of 50¢ per day is charged for overdue monographs and treatise volumes. The fine accumulates until the item is returned.

2. A fine of 50¢ per hour is charged for overdue Reserve materials. The fine accumulates for one hundred hours, to a maximum of $50 per loan.

3. For each type of overdue loan, there is a grace period. No fine is charged for monographs returned within 7 days after their due date, and no fine is charged for treatise volumes returned within 3 days after their due date. For Reserve materials, no fine is charged if the materials are returned within 30 minutes after the time due.

4. Fines do not accumulate on days that the Library is closed.

LOST BOOKS

1. The student is responsible for informing the Library when a borrowed book is lost. If a treatise or monograph you have borrowed remains unreturned one month after its due date, we will presume that it is lost. An item you’ve borrowed from Reserve is presumed lost ten days after its due date. In either case, the Library will send an email to your student email account for the replacement cost of the lost item.

2. If you have lost a book you have the following choices:
a. Purchase a replacement copy of the book you lost for the library
b. Pay the price of the book plus a $20 processing fee.

3. If later you find the book and return it to the Library, the replacement charges will be waived, but you will still be charged the accumulated overdue fines.

4. All payments and transactions regarding lost books are to take place with Library staff at the Circulation Desk.

 PATRON BLOCKS

1. Students whose overdue fines and charges total $42 or more will be automatically blocked from borrowing additional items until all items are returned and the account settled.

2. Students who hold overdue Reserve items that are in high demand will also be blocked from further borrowing until the overdue items are returned.

3. Any uncollected fines or fees will be referred to the Accounting Office and added to the student’s account.

CHECKING YOUR LIBRARY ACCOUNT

To view your library account, go to the Library homepage and click on “View your Library Record” under the “Circulation” section. Then log on by using your name and the 14 digit barcode (starting with the numbers 25207) printed on the back of your NYLS student ID. 

1. View and renew checked-out items
2. Manage your “hold” requests
3. View Fines and charges

New Services

1.  Courtesy Notices: 

  To help students avoid overdue fines on treatises and monographs, the Library will send e-mail courtesy reminder notices shortly before the item’s due date.

 • For items whose loan period is four weeks, the notice will be sent three days before the item’s due date.

• For items whose loan period is three days, the courtesy notice will be sent one day before the due date.

• Courtesy notices cannot be generated for Reserve items or hourly loans.

 2. Self-Renewal of Borrowed Items: 

 Students can check their Library account and self-renew items that are due at http://lawlib.nyls.edu/patroninfo.  Once the items for renewal are selected, your record will be automatically updated and the system will display the new due dates in the “status” column.

 To get into your record, you will need to enter your name and library barcode in the verification template. 

•  Type your name exactly as it appears on your NYLS student ID card.

•  Your barcode is the 14-digit number, starting with “25207,” that is printed on the back of your student ID card. [Please note: this is not your law school network password nor the 10-digit number on the front of your ID.] 

3.  Off-Site Item Request Button:  

 This feature allows students to easily place an automatic request for items that are stored off-site.  The “request” button will appear in the online catalog record.  To request retrieval of an off-site item, click the “request” button and enter your name and library barcode in the template.  As in viewing your library record, type your name exactly as it appears on your NYLS student ID card and use the 14-digit barcode printed on the back of your card.  Items requested from offsite before 3:00 pm on weekdays should arrive within two business days. Items requested over the weekend should arrive by mid-week. You will be notified by e-mail when the requested item is available for pick-up from the Circulation Desk.

Questions

If you have any questions regarding borrowing rules or fines, please contact Ping Tian, Circulation Librarian, at 212 431-2838 or by email at ptian@nyls.edu

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