Fact box

• Policy owner: Director of Library Services
• Policy category: Academic: Library
• Policy status: Approved
• Approval body: Executive
• Endorsement body: Executive
• Related policies:
  • Delivery Site Classification, Selection and Approval Policy
  • Graduation Policy
  • Support for Students Policy
• Last amended: 10th April 2024
• Relevant HESF:

AC libraries across multiple delivery sites and online serve to support AC and Higher Education Third Party Arrangement (HETPA) students, Higher Degree Research (HDR) candidates and staff in research, teaching, and collaborative learning. The archives of the Australasian Pentecostal Studies Centre (APSC) are owned by AC and located in the Sydney campus library. Library collections are procured and maintained based on principles of relevance and currency, with preference for electronic resources where available.

Access to AC Libraries

All AC and HETPA students, HDR candidates and staff have free membership to all AC libraries. Other users may request access to the libraries. Users are expected to adhere to instructions and guidelines provided by the librarians and conduct themselves in a respectful manner that does not debilitate others’ learning and research activities in the library. All use of electronic resources is governed by licence parameters.

Access to APSC

Members of the public may access the archives of the APSC. All items in the collection are to be kept in the APSC. No item is to be removed from this location unless through mutual agreement between the APSC and another institution for the purposes of display. All requests for such use of the APSC archives must be made to the APSC Director.

AC library principles and priorities of acquisition

Principles that guide library resource acquisition are:

• e-versions if available;
• currency;
• academic rigor and diversity of opinions;
• resources are purchased in consultation with relevant faculty members;
• academic sources;
• consistent with the teaching and research activities and objectives of AC.

APSC principles and priorities of acquisition

Principles that guide APSC acquisition are:

• within the scope of the APSC’s collection development strategy;
• in good physical condition;
• demonstrated to fill a gap in the existing archival collection;
• significant to the history of Pentecostal and charismatic movements (both in Australia and overseas);
• without pests or issues that may compromise the integrity of the collection.

The acquisitions process operates as a collaborative endeavour between the Director of Library Services and Program Directors (or equivalent) within Faculties. Within the overall policy framework, the processes operate as follows:

Faculty requests

Consultation and collaboration between the Director of Library Services and Program Directors (or equivalent) will determine the levels of collecting for each disciplinary area, primarily in relation to demand. Final purchasing decisions rest with the Director of Library Services.

Donations

Donated items to the library and APSC may be accepted provided they fall within the acquisition principles and priorities listed above. A condition of acceptance is that the retention of an item is at the discretion of AC. All donations must be accompanied by the completed and signed online AC Library Donations Form. This indicates that the donor has the authority to sign over the ownership of the items being donated. If a donated item is identified as no longer useful, AC may dispose of the item.

User - Library Agreement

By borrowing library items, students, HDR candidates, staff and other users implicitly agree to abide by the library rules. These include committing to return loans on or before the due date, or to pay any accrued fees or charges. Returns may be made in person at AC campus libraries during opening hours. Alternatively, borrowers may return loans by post at their own expense.

The library communicates with its borrowers primarily through email. It is the responsibility of the borrower to inform the library of any changes to their personal details immediately. The library accepts no responsibility if a borrower does not receive a particular notice or communication by a certain time or at all.

Notices

Library staff will inform the borrower verbally of the due date at the time of borrowing. It is the borrower’s responsibility to take note of when their items are due. Overdue notices are system generated emails informing borrowers that the items they borrowed are now overdue. The library takes no responsibility if overdue notices are not received.

Overdue Items

Borrowers with overdue items are not permitted to borrow further items until all overdue items have been returned or replaced. The library does not charge overdue fines. Failure to return loans within one month of the due date will result in the item being marked as missing. Failure to return missing items within three months of the due date will result in the item being marked as lost and the borrower will be charged to replace the item. Unpaid library replacement costs may have academic consequences.

Replacement Rules

Failure to return items within three months of the due date will result in the item being marked as lost and the borrower will be charged to replace the item. A non-refundable administration fee will be added to replace the item. 

Graduation

A student or HDR candidate will not be permitted to graduate until all outstanding library items are returned, and in the case of lost items, a replacement paid for. The Registry Department will inform the student or HDR candidate of any outstanding fines relating to the library once confirmed by library staff.