THE LIBRARY RULES OF TURKU UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Turku University Library is a scientific library which primarily serves research, teaching and studying within The University of Turku.
The library acquires and stores and enables the use of the literature and other documentation mainly of the disciplines represented in the university and receives material as legal deposit copies. Electronic material is available from the computers in the university network. Rights of use cover browsing, saving and printing of the electronic material with the reservations included in the valid copyright law and license agreements.
The Library Rules are valid in the Main Library and in the discipline-specific libraries. In addition to these general rules, each unit may have its own instructions for the use of the library.
The user of the library commits to follow the Library Rules and instructions concerning the services. If a customer does not follow them, he can lose his borrowing rights for a limited period or permanently. The Library Rules are seen on the notice boards and web pages of the library and they can be obtained from the library units.
Opening hours
The opening hours of the library are informed at the notice boards and front doors and on the web pages of the library.
Loans and Borrowing
Literature can be borrowed as home loan and as reading room loan. The loan periods of the different collections and library units vary. In the library there is also material which can not be borrowed. More exact information can be obtained from different library units and from the library database.
The material which is borrowed as home loan is registered as an open or a fixed loan on the library card which can also be a student card or the card of some other Linnea-library. The borrower must prove his/hers identity when receiving the library card. The library card is personal. The customer is responsible for his card and for the borrowing which takes place with it and for informing of changes in the customer data (for example name, address) to the library. The disappearance of the card has to be informed of to the library to prevent malpractices. To replace a missing card one can get a new card against payment. When borrowing from those collections which are not within the sphere of the library database lending system, the customer must fill a loan receipt. The foreign students and the visiting researchers obtain the borrowing rights for the time of their visit.
When borrowing, the customer commits himself to return the borrowed material on due date at the latest. The material on loan can be reserved. The customer cannot reserve the material he already has on loan. The loans can be renewed within the limits set by the lending instructions if there are no reservations.
If the user of the library does not return the material on loan in spite of repeated recalls, the university institutes legal actions to get it back. The material and devices which are given into use from the library must be handled with care. Notes, rulings etc. must not be made to the publications. The borrower is obliged to replace the publication damaged or lost by him.
Interlibrary Services
Material which can not be found in the Turku University Library or in other local libraries is intermediated from other libraries as interlibrary loans or copies. Interlibrary loans and copies are sent from the collections of the library to other libraries. The standard operation procedures of the interlibrary services and regulations of the sending library are followed.
Information services and user education
Library offers databases for customers' use and gives guidance in the use of them. Library also arranges the general teaching of information retrieval and of the library use and arranges introductions of the library. In the library information retrievals are made both from the databases acquired by the library and from chargeable databanks.
Copying
The material which is included in library collections can be copied within the limits of copyright law, copying agreement and payment service decree. The precondition is that copies can be taken without damaging material.
Fees and replacements
The basic services of the library and the use of collections are free. From services done on the customer's assignment, such as information services, copying services and interlibrary services, and user education to others than The University of Turku staff and students, fees are collected according to the library's price-list of services. The library also collects fees for example from the notices and recalls sent to customers, from the restoration of borrowing rights and from a publication that has been lost or damaged. From the loans which are returned late an overdue fine can be collected.
In addition
Library is not responsible for customer's personal belongings. The users of the library may only use the public premises and only during the opening hours of the library. These library rules replace the Turku University Library rules accepted 18th May 1977.
(Translated from the original Finnish document on the 1st of April 2004)