The USP Library is made up of a network of campus and centre libraries across the USP region. The Main Library located at Laucala Campus (Fiji) includes more than one million print volumes, access to over 70,000 full text journal titles and more than 200,000 e-books, and seating for 1195 readers. The holdings include a separate collection of material relating to the Pacific Islands, known as the Pacific Collection. While most of the print library resources are available for loan, there are restrictions on borrowing serials, reference works, Pacific Collection materials, and materials on reserve. In addition to a developing Information Literacy Programme, a wide range of services is offered including networked computers, self-service photocopying, interlibrary loans, a reference and information desk and reprographic services. Guides and brochures are available from the Information and Issue desks and at www.usp.ac.fj.

The Samoa Campus Library holds approximately 21,000 books and 200 journal titles. The bulk of the collection is agriculture-related but there is also a wide range of material to support students doing FL courses. All books except those in the Reference, Reserve and Pacific Collections may be borrowed, normally for a period of two weeks. Agricultural databases include TEEAL, CAB Abstracts with Fulltext and ProQuest Agriculture Journals.

The Emalus Campus Library has a stock of 22,000 volumes, with an expanding collection of electronic resources to meet the information needs of staff and students of law and Pacific languages, as well as students doing FL courses. The library has seating for 100 readers. Guides and brochures alert users to the rules governing use of the collections.

Students registered for FL courses are supported by the above libraries as well as USP campus libraries or Learning Resource Centres in the following countries: Cook Islands, Fiji (Labasa, Lautoka, Rakiraki, Savusavu and Sigatoka), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa (Savaií), Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga (Ha’apai and Vava’u), Tuvalu and Vanuatu (Santo and Tanna).

The collections at the Main Library and Samoa Campus Library are classified according to the Library of Congress scheme. Emalus Campus Library uses the Dewey Decimal Classification scheme for the general collection and the Moys Classification scheme for the law collection. All other campus libraries use the Dewey Decimal Classification scheme. Catalogues for all libraries are available at www.usp.ac.fj.

LIBRARY REGULATIONS

1.0    ADMISSION AND REGISTRATION

1.1    Admission to the Libraries in the network and the use of their facilities shall be conditional upon compliance with the regulations and rules of the Library and such directions as may be given from time to time by the University Librarian.

1.2    The Libraries may be used by members of the University Council, registered students, university staff, and other classes of persons as may be determined by the University Librarian.

1.3    Staff and students leaving the University are required to obtain clearance from the Library.

2.0    BORROWING CONDITIONS

2.1    Borrowers shall observe the conditions of borrowing posted in the Library, which may be amended from time to time by the University Librarian.

2.2    No item held by the Library may be borrowed without the loan of it having been officially recorded by the Library staff.

2.3    The University Librarian may recall a book or item on loan at any time. It must be returned within one week of the date of the recall notice, otherwise a fine will be incurred at the rate stated in the fees section of the USP Handbook & Calendar.

2.4    The borrowing of certain classes of items may be restricted or prohibited. Such items shall be clearly marked by the Library to indicate the restrictions placed upon them.

2.5    No item held by the Library shall be lent privately by any borrower, and the borrower in whose name the item has been issued shall be held responsible for its safe-keeping.

2.6    At the end of each borrowing period indicated by the date stamped in the book, a borrower shall return the book by the close of business on the due date or make a formal application at the Library for renewal of the loan. The Library shall be under no obligation to notify a borrower when an item is overdue. Failure to return or renew an overdue item shall result in the charging of a penalty at the rate stated in the Fees section of this Handbook and Calendar. Borrowing privileges shall cease as soon as a borrower incurs a fine and shall not be reinstated until the fine is paid in full. Library clearance, for examination results or withdrawal from courses, shall not be given until all items have been returned and all charges paid.

2.7    Items on loan may be reserved by a reader, and on return to the Library will be held for seven days after which they will be returned to the collection.

2.8    Borrowers shall be held responsible for USP Library books or other items issued to them, and will be required to pay any fine due for late return, plus the cost of a new copy and an administrative charge for books or items damaged (i.e. marked, defaced or mutilated) or lost. If the cost of a new copy cannot be determined, the standard fees charged are as stated in the Fees section of this Handbook and Calendar. If an item is returned after being declared lost, an overdue fine will be levied, and the balance of any replacement payment will be refunded within 30 days of the return.

3.0    GENERAL

3.1    Silence shall be observed in the Library except in designated talking areas (e.g.  Learning Commons at Laucala). Any person who fails to observe the rules on noise control in the Library will be fined on the first two occasions by the authority of the University Librarian, at the rate stated in the Fees section of the USP Handbook & Calendar. Borrowing privileges shall cease until the fine has been paid. On a third occasion, a thirty-day period of exclusion from the Library shall be imposed by the University Librarian.

3.2    In the Library, smoking, the consumption of food or drink, and the use of matches and lighters are prohibited.  Drink is allowed in the Learning Commons.

3.3    Mobile devices (laptops, tablets, MP3 players, mobile phones, etc.) may be used in the Library provided they cannot be heard by other users. Ringtones, speaking on the phone and other associated sounds are treated as a noise offence and will attract a noise fine at the rate stated in the Fees section of the USP Handbook & Calendar. This restriction does not apply to designated talking areas.

3.4    One bag per user up to 24” x 17” x 10” is allowed under the Bags-in-Library Policy at select libraries. Items not permitted into the Library include food, liquid, sharp objects, scissors,  razors, industrial tools, weapons of any kind, sports gear, wet rainwear and umbrellas. The Library shall reserve the right to remove readers’ personal belongings that are left in the Library, and shall not be held responsible in the case of loss of such belongings. Valuables should not be left unattended as the University does not accept responsibility for the loss of any such item.

3.5    Persons leaving the Library shall allow staff at the exit control point to examine their books, papers and other possessions.

3.6    Items taken from the shelves for consultation in the Library must not be re-shelved by readers, but must be left either on the tables or in the special places reserved for them for re-shelving by the Library staff.

4.0    INTER-LIBRARY LOANS

          Readers for whom items have been borrowed from other libraries shall comply with the loan conditions imposed by the lending libraries.

5 .0   HOURS OF OPENING

          Hours of opening shall be approved by the University Librarian and may be amended at their discretion. Notices of current opening hours shall be displayed prominently in the Library.

6.0    NUMBER OF BOOKS THAT MAY BE BORROWED

6.1    The number of items from the general collection that a borrower may have issued out in his or her name is determined by the category of borrower to which he or she belongs.

6.2    The number of items loaned to registered users from a special collection is governed by the rules pertaining to that collection.

6.3    The maximum number of items loaned to a borrower may be increased in individual cases at the discretion of the University Librarian.

7.0    EXTERNAL BORROWERS

7.1    Persons other than registered students and university staff may become External Borrowers of the Library.

7.2    External Borrowers who shall pay a non-refundable fee at the rate stated in the Fees section in this Handbook and Calendar.

7.3    Visitors to the University’s Academic Units should obtain a letter signed by the Head of the Academic Unit (or Campus Directors) guaranteeing that the Academic Unit/Campus Administration will pay any unpaid Library fines or charges accrued.

8.0    REGISTRATION OF READERS

          Presentation of a valid borrower’s card shall be sufficient proof of entitlement to borrow from the Library. Registered students and staff shall show valid USP identity cards, and all other borrowers shall show the cards issued to them by the Library.

9.0    BORROWING PERIODS

9.1    Most items held by the Library shall be available for loan and exceptions shall be specifically labelled.

9.2    Items shall be issued to different categories of Library borrowers for varying periods.

9.3    On the recommendation of University academic staff, specific items may be issued for shorter periods.

9.4    Reserve collection items shelved behind the issue desk shall be borrowed for use within the Library only, and for such periods as specified on their issue slips. Some may be borrowed overnight or over weekends.

9.5    The following categories of items held by the Library shall not be borrowed: serials and books in the Reference section.

10.0 ISSUE AND RETURN OF BOOKS

10.1 Readers shall borrow items held by the Library on production of a valid borrower’s card.

10.2 Each item borrowed shall be stamped at the issue desk with the due date. This stamp constitutes the official notification to the reader of the date by which the item must be returned.

10.3 An item must be returned at the appropriate issue desk or left in one of the book return bins.

10.4 The Library shall not be responsible for items that are returned without formal cancellation of their issue, whether the items are returned directly to the shelves or left anywhere else in the Library.

10.5 The loan and return of Library materials shall cease at the issue desk at a time specified by the Library. All users must vacate the Library by closing time.

11.0  AMENDMENT OF RULES

          The University Librarian shall make, amend or remove any rules relating to the Library.