About Us
Library Rules

GENERAL

The University Library comprises libraries located at the Bankstown, Campbelltown, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Nirimba, Parramatta City, Parramatta South and Penrith campuses, thereinafter called the Library.

The facilities of the Library are primarily for the use of current staff and students of Western Sydney University. Borrowing privileges may also be extended to certain categories of external users or reciprocal borrowers. Other members of the public, while not permitted to borrow may use the Library for research or study purposes provided they observe the Library Rules and conditions of use including the Library Code of Conduct.

The Executive Director, Library may determine the services offered by the Library, and the users to whom these services may be provided. The Executive Director, Library (or authorised representative) has discretion to require a user to produce proof of identity or entitlement to use the Library.

Fees and penalties outlined in the Library Loans Policy will apply to any breach of these Rules.

Users must at all times act in accordance with instructions authorised by the Executive Director, Library and displayed on the Library website, in public areas, at service desks, computer terminals, photocopy and printing machines or in the Library's official publications.

CONDITIONS OF USE OF THE LIBRARY

All users of the Library have a right to pursue their study and research without unnecessary and/or unreasonable disturbance or distraction and have an obligation to respect the rights of others in accordance with the Library Code of Conduct.

Mobile phones must be switched to silent/vibrate as users enter the Library, and not used in speaker mode. Food and drink brought into the Library must be in suitable covered containers to reduce spills.

Noise, disturbance and unseemly behaviour are not permitted in the Library. Any person who does not observe the Library Rules and Library Code of Conduct may be excluded with possible withdrawal of Library privileges.

Children under the age of twelve will not be admitted unless accompanied by and in the charge of an adult. Adults bringing children into the Library are responsible for their behaviour and for ensuring they do not disturb others.

All users shall, on request of the Executive Director, Library or authorised representative, show their Western Sydney University ID card, Library Borrowers Card or other photo evidence of identity.

Computing facilities are provided for research or study only. Users are responsible for ensuring that computing and communication facilities are used in an effective, efficient, ethical and lawful manner in compliance with the Acceptable Use of IT Resources policy. Users are reminded that it is a criminal offence, without authority or lawful excuse, to obtain access to a program or data, to destroy, erase, alter or insert data without authorization, or to intercept or obstruct the lawful use of a computer.

Users must comply with the provisions of current Copyright legislation. Users are referred to the statutory notice posted adjacent to photocopying/printing/scanning machines. All books and the contents of bags and cases must be presented for inspection, on request from Library staff or when an electronic security alarm indicates that an item may have been incompletely loaned.

Library student group study rooms may be booked by Western Sydney University students for the purposes of small group study, subject to the booking conditions on the Library website. These rooms are not available for meetings of clubs or societies, as tutorial spaces or as substitute classrooms for regularly scheduled lectures or classes.

Breaches of these Rules will be treated in accordance with the Student Misconduct Rule.

BORROWING

Categories of material for borrowing

All materials in the Western Sydney University Library's collections are normally available for loan with the exceptions listed below. The University Librarian, or her/his representative, may approve lending from the categories below in special circumstances:

  • Serials, including newspapers, calendars, examination papers
  • Items marked NOT FOR LOAN
  • Reference items
  • Microform items
  • Higher degree theses
  • Rare books, valuable books, and vulnerable items which are stored in closed access
  • Items from the Reserve Collections which where the loan would be outside standard Reserve Collection access.

BORROWING CONDITIONS - DEFINITIONS

In these Rules:

  • "ID Card" means either the official student or staff identification card issued by the University
  • "Library Card" means the borrowing card issued by the Library to authorised external users
  • "Inter-Library Loan" means an item borrowed from another library by the Western Sydney University Library on behalf of a user, which for the duration of the loan shall be treated as being a Western Sydney University Library item and be subject to the same Rules as Western Sydney University Library items
  • "Patron Barcode" means a machine readable barcode which assigns to the user a unique identification number
  • "Patron Record" means an official library system record which indicates the user's current registration and borrowing status.

BORROWING PROCESS

Users shall:

  • Register with the Western Sydney University Library prior to borrowing if they are not a Western Sydney University student or staff member
  • Present items for borrowing at the self-service machines or service desk together with their ID card or Library card. Other photo identification may be accepted at the service desk/s
  • Report to Western Sydney University Library staff if items are damaged prior to borrowing;
  • Return Western Sydney University Library materials via self-service machines or a designated return chute at any Western Sydney University campus library listed above, or via mail

RESPONSIBILITY OF USERS

Users shall be responsible for:

  • Ensuing, before they leave the Western Sydney University Library, that any Library item that they remove from the premises of the Library has been registered as borrowed
  • The safekeeping and return on or before the due date, as recorded in the library system, of items borrowed on their ID or Library card
  • The safekeeping of their ID or Library card. Card holders are responsible for any transaction involving the use of their card.
  • Users are responsible for all materials consulted, whether borrowed for use outside the Library or not, and will be held liable for any loss, mutilation or other damage. The full cost of either repair or replacement shall on demand be payable to the University, together with a service fee.

RESTRICTIONS

Unless authorised by the Executive Director, Library or her/his authorised representative users shall not:

  • Be permitted to borrow without their ID or Library card;
  • Lend their ID or Library card to any other person for the purposes of borrowing Library items or accessing online resources;
  • Return materials from other libraries, with the exception of Inter-Library Loans, to Western Sydney University Library.

RECIPROCAL BORROWING

Where Western Sydney University Library has formal borrowing arrangements with other institutions, authorised members of such institutions may register for borrowing privileges at the Library provided they are:

  • Either students currently enrolled in award courses of academic study, or current employees of the institution, and
  • Are in good standing with the home institution

RESERVE COLLECTION

Only current members of Western Sydney University are eligible to use materials placed in Reserve Collections.

BORROWING PRIVILEGES

Borrowing privileges and loan periods will be as determined from time to time and so detailed on the Library website and in official Western Sydney University Library publications.

The Executive Director, Library or her/his nominee may vary the loan period for any item, or may recall an item at any time. When an item is recalled, the date stipulated on the recall notice becomes the date due.

PENALTIES AND FEES

Failure to return a borrowed item on or before the due date or time, or failure to return a recalled item within one week of the request, will incur a late fee. The fee is payable on each overdue item at a rate approved by the Board of Trustees from time to time and advertised in the Library Borrowing Conditions. All borrowing and renewal privileges will be suspended pending return of overdue items and payment of late fees if fees total $10 or more. Such privileges will be reinstated when the debt is paid.

Where material has been lost or returned damaged or not returned after a reasonable period, the user is required to pay the cost of repair or replacement of the material together with a service charge levied to cover the cost of administrative processes involved.

The Executive Director, Library reserves the right to apply the actual replacement cost where the material to be replaced is of a value deemed to be well in excess of the standard fee.

The Library Loans Policy provides a comprehensive statement of borrowing and associated Library activities.