Borrowing Policy
With the exception of the Home Use Collection described below, the majority of the DVDs, videotapes, videodiscs, and audiotapes in the Media Services collection are primarily used to support curriculum needs. Therefore only AU faculty and their proxies are permitted to check these materials out of the library. Students and other users may borrow any of these materials for use within the Media Services department.
Materials leaving the Library go out on one week loan unless an exception has been granted. Fines for overdue items are charged for Media Services materials, just as they are for other library materials. Fines on daily checkouts are $1.20 per day; fines on hourly checkouts are $0.50 per hour.
All AU faculty, staff and students can request consortium owned videos through a CLS request. All DVDs and other media located in the WRLC libraries are listed in the online catalog like books. Media CLS items are loaned for a shorter period - ten days and overdue fines are $5 per day. Availability is determined on a title by title basis.
Media Services only loans out titles that are not commonly used for instruction and are easily replaced. Consortium students are welcome to view any title on-site at Media Services.
New Additions
Media Services keeps a running list of new additions on our blog and pin board. At the top of the blog you can subscribe to receive new media acquisitions updates by email.
Home Use Collection
Approximately 9000 of the titles in the collection have been cataloged for home use and may be circulated to AU students and staff on a one week loan. Some feature film titles acquired specifically for class use are not designated for home use. Titles reserved at any time during the semester for class use and other high use items will not be circulated for home use; these items may only be viewed in Media Services.
Student Class Presentations
American University students may take Media Services materials out of the Library for the purpose of class presentations, if their professor authorizes the use of his/her library account for this purpose. Materials must be checked out within one hour before the class period and are due back within one hour after the class period. Faculty may authorize the use of their library account one of three ways:
- By signing a student check out authorization form.
- By giving the student his/her faculty ID and a signed note.
- By phoning the Media Services desk the day the material will be checked out and speaking with a media supervisor.