|
The QCC staff are most welcome to
use the Alden Library and we want to make using the library easy for you.
Most of our circulation policies are determined by the CWMARS consortium but
we can sometimes make local exceptions to better serve you. Please ask!
Why do I need an Alden Library account?
How do I
get a library account?
What Alden Library
materials may I check out?
How
long may I borrow books or videos?
How many
books may I check out?
What’s a
delinquent account?
How do I
borrow a book from another C/WMARS library?
Is it possible for me or my students to use other Worcester area college
libraries that are not in CWMARS?
What if I want to borrow from a Massachusetts state-supported college which
is not in C/WMARS or ARC?
What is the
Virtual Catalog?
How do I go about borrowing materials from libraries outside of the
Commonwealth?
What do I do if I can’t find what I need?
Why do I need an Alden Library account?
The Alden Library is a member of
CWMARS, a library network serving over 140 libraries in central and western
Massachusetts. The shared online catalog is the gateway to the Alden Library
with its collection of 50,000 items, and allows access to over 1.4 million
items owned by the CWMARS network. In addition, the Alden Library provides
hundreds of full text periodical and reference databases provided by the
state or purchased with library operating funds. In order to check out
materials from the Alden library, order books from other libraries, and
access the many online databases from home, you must have a current Alden
Library card with a barcode attached.
How do I
get a library account?
Stop by the Library circulation desk
(HLC - 2nd floor) to register for a library account. In addition to using it
to check out books and videos, the barcode on your library card is your
passport to remote (home) access to all of the Alden Library's online
reference and periodical databases. You will need to present a current QCC
Staff ID to obtain a barcode which is good for a year. It's quick and easy!
If you do not have a current QCC
Staff ID you will be issued a temporary card good for three months only. In
this case, please be prepared to show a photo ID and we will have to look
you up to verify that you are currently employed this semester. We will then
issue you a temporary library card.
Please remember not to let another individual check out
materials using your library card. If materials are lost or damaged, the
account of the person whose card was used will be billed for replacement
charges.
What Alden Library
materials may I check out?
- Circulating books
- Non-print items (videos and
DVDs) are for library use only.
- Reference books and periodicals
(popular magazines, professional journals, newspapers) do not leave the
library. Ask at the library circulation desk if you need help
photocopying articles from these items.
How
long may I borrow books or videos?
- QCC Staff may check out
circulating books for three weeks with one three week renewal. If the
book is for a work related project, please speak with the Circulation
Manager to arrange for a longer borrowing period.
- Books are subject to recall if
needed by a QCC student or another QCC faculty member.
- Departing staff are expected to
return all library materials, including interlibrary loans, on or before
their final day of employment.
How many
books may I check out?
- QCC Staff may check out a total
of 20 books at one time.
- No books may be checked out if
your library account is delinquent.
What’s a
delinquent account?
- The account of any borrower
with a book which is more than three weeks overdue will be considered
delinquent.
- There are no fines for overdue
books but no additional books will be checked out to borrowers with
overdue or lost books.
- Delinquent borrowers will
receive a bill for the cost of the book plus a $10 processing fee which
will only be cleared by returning the book or paying for it.
Out-of-print books will be billed at the rate of $30 for hardback and
$10 for paperback.
- Books which are returned but
are damaged beyond being useable will be handled as lost.
- Lost books which have been paid
for and are subsequently found in good condition may be returned for
credit for replacement fees (not processing fees) without time
limitation.
- Checks for replacement costs
and applicable fees for lost or damaged books belonging to other
libraries must be made out directly to the originating library. The QCC
Circulation Manager will mail the check directly to the other library.
How do I
borrow a book from another C/WMARS library?
- Any currently registered Alden
Library patron may place an online request for any book which is
available for circulation in the C/WMARS system. Request information on
this process from the librarian at the Reference desk.
- Due to the size and diversity
of C/WMARS, services may vary at member libraries. QCC students,
faculty, and staff who are planning to travel to use the services at
another C/WMARS library are encouraged to check with that library before
making a special trip. C/WMARS public libraries will often require that
Alden Library patrons register for a public library card in order to
check out materials.
- QCC students, faculty and staff
who use their current QCC library card to check books out of another
C/WMARS library are subject to the originating library’s rules regarding
fines and loan periods.
- Any C/WMARS book can be
returned to any C/WMARS library.
- Fines for books borrowed by QCC
patrons from C/WMARS libraries that collect fines can be paid in any
C/WMARS public library.
- Checks for lost or damaged
books belonging to other libraries must be made out directly to the
originating library. The Alden Library Circulation Manager will mail the
check directly to the other library.
Is it possible for me to use other Worcester area college
libraries that are not in CWMARS?
Most of the colleges in Worcester
are in the Academic and Research Collaborative (ARC), a consortium of
central Massachusetts academic libraries.
- In order to borrow from other
ARC libraries, currently registered Alden Library patrons must obtain an
ARC card from the Alden Library Circulation Manager. ARC cards will only
be issued to QCC students, faculty and staff whose Alden Library
accounts are not delinquent.
- QCC staff and students have
borrowing privileges from other ARC academic libraries (except
Clark University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School)
when they present the ARC card and their current valid QCC student or
faculty/staff ID.
- QCC staff or students
wishing to borrow a specific book from Clark University must take an
ALA form for a specific book from the Alden Library and present it
to the Clark University Library circulation desk with her or his ARC
card and current valid QCC faculty or student ID.
- The University of
Massachusetts Medical School does not participate in the ARC cross
borrowing program for students or faculty.
- Materials borrowed from other
libraries are subject to the originating library’s rules regarding fines
and loan periods.
What if I want to borrow from a Massachusetts state-supported college which
is not in C/WMARS or ARC?
- The Massachusetts Conference of
Chief Librarians of Public Higher Education Institutions (MCCLPHEI) have
agreed to extend borrowing privileges to any current faculty or staff
member or currently registered student of any other MCCLPHEI college.
- QCC students, faculty and staff
must present a current valid QCC ID card and have a current Alden
Library account which is not delinquent..
- Each MCCLPHEI institution has
its own borrowing policies which may differ from QCC policies. QCC
library patrons using other libraries will need to abide by the guest
library policies and may want to call ahead to determine what those
policies are.
What is the
Virtual Catalog?
After you have searched the QCC
holdings in the online catalog, the “All Central MA Libraries” link, and the
CWMARS Union Catalog, another place to try is the Virtual Catalog. This
resource is a network of all the Massachusetts networks. It is important to
remember that many large private colleges are not in a network. You are most
likely to be successful finding a book in the Virtual Catalog if you know
exactly the book you need.
How do I go about borrowing materials from libraries outside of the
Commonwealth?
Use
interlibrary loan (ILL) to request materials not available in a Commonwealth
library. We can borrow books for you from libraries all over the country and
around the world. You must have a current QCC Staff ID and a current Alden
Library account.
- An Interlibrary Loan Request
Form is available on the Alden Library Website. ILL request forms are
also available at the Reference Desk.
- No interlibrary loan will be
processed for patrons with delinquent accounts.
- Materials borrowed from other
libraries are subject to the originating library’s rules regarding fines
and loan periods.
Checks for lost or
damaged books belonging to other libraries must be made out directly to the
originating library. The Alden Library
What do I do if I can’t find what I need?
Call your colleagues in the Alden
Library. If it exists, they can find it. Academic Librarians are highly
trained specialists in information retrieval and ours are some of the best.
You can’t be expected to know what they have spent a career learning. Call
the Reference Desk at 508.854.4366 during any of the 67 hours a week that
the library is open or e-mail
reference@qcc.mass.edu and
someone will get back to you promptly.
| 