Policies

All materials are checked out at the circulation desk located on the first floor.  Identification badges must be presented at the time of check-out.  Once the transaction is complete, you will be issued a date due slip that lists all items checked out and the date they are to be returned.  (A book drop is available in the front of the library for after hour drop offs.)

Faculty may submit course materials to place on reserve at the circulation desk.

Acquisitions suggestions may be made directly to the Collection Development/Acquisitions Librarian (Helen Morey, moreyh@cookman.edu) or through the departmental liaison.moreyh@cookman.edu

Failure to return or renew books will result in overdue book fines.  All unpaid fines and the replacement cost for lost or damaged materials are charged to the user’s B-CU account.  The replacement cost for materials is as follows:  

• Book from Main Collection-$50 book 
• Book or material from Special Collection or Reserves- $100
• Audiovisual material equipment or materials are charged the replacement cost
• Overdue fines are $0.50 per day/per book
• The fine for audiovisual materials is $5.00 per day/per item  
• Fines for overdue conference rooms and reserve items have a fine of $.50 per item/per hour. 

If fines are incurred on a patron’s account, they must be paid before permission is granted to check out additional materials.

The standard loan period is two weeks. DVD's and laptop computers have a three-day loan period. Academic DVD's and CD's have a 2-week loan period. All audiovisual equipment (including DVDs, VHS tapes, and CDs) have a one-day loan period.  All materials may be renewed if done so before the loan period has expired.  Reserve items are checked out in two-hour increments, but may also be renewed.  Special loan periods are available to faculty and students enrolled in the Honors Program.

There are a number of computer labs in the library for students, faculty, staff and the community to use. Students are encouraged to use the Reference Computer Lab on the first floor for word processing and research. This lab closes 30 minutes before the library closes. The Learning Commons Lab hours vary depending on university COVID instructions.

The Reference Instruction Lab is located on the second floor, complete with almost 25 workstations with Microsoft Office Suite, Internet, and an LCD projector and screen.  All library instructional classes take place in this lab, but it is also available for check-out by faculty when library classes are not in session. 

All OPAC stations have internet access, which allows for general internet searching, as well. Printers are available in all labs and are connected to the university printing system, which permits 25 prints per day.

The Carl S. Swisher Library/Learning Resources Center houses a number of conference rooms for group study, exhibition areas, computer labs center, learning commons, and college archives. Special collections include the Mary McLeod Bethune, Cleo S. Higgins, Florence Roane, H.C. Boyer, J.A. Colston, Attica Collection, the B-CU Oral History Project, and the Black Collection of books by and about Blacks, and other collections that focus on the university’s history. Conference rooms are also checked out in two-hour intervals and are assessed a $.50 fine upon late check-in. Food and beverages are not permitted in any of the conference/study rooms.

Terms and Conditions

Borrowing Laptop: Borrowers may only check out one laptop at a time. Borrowers are allotted (2) weeks (beginning at the time of check-out). Laptops are circulated on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, borrowers cannot reserve a laptop check-out ahead of time.

Use of laptops: These devices are only to be used for academic purposes. Keep in mind that documents cannot be saved to the laptops. Data files should be saved on Google Drive instead. Any personal documents that may have been saved to the laptop will be permanently erased after the laptop restarts. Users may not alter, change, or modify any configuration settings of any software pre-installed on the laptops. Users are however permitted to perform administrative installations of additional scholastic software onto the laptop as necessary for academic purposes. The borrower is responsible for any software downloads that maliciously damages the existing configuration of the system.

Returning the laptops: Borrowers are to report any computer malfunctions/damage to desk attendants when the laptop is returned. Laptops must be returned to the Circulation main service desk at least 1/2 hour before the main desk in the library closes; allowing time for proper inspection. Borrowers must wait until a desk attendant completely checks the laptop back-in before they can leave the desk. During check-in, the laptop will be rebooted and checked for functionality and damages by Library personnel. Laptops may not be dropped-off in the library book-drop, returned by someone other than the person who initially checked it out, nor be left at the main desk without handing it to a library attendant, ensuring that you will not incur any penalties, charges, or fees.

Fines and Liability: A student's privilege to check out a laptop may be removed indefinitely if the student fails to return the laptop when due. Laptops that are later than 4 hours past-due will be considered stolen/lost, and the appropriate fine will be levied and the Department of Public Safety will be notified. Under no circumstances should a borrower leave a laptop unattended while it is in their custody. Fees and fines for Lost and Damaged equipment are as follows: