About the Library: Community Users

Library Use by Non-HCC Users

Board of Trustees Policy No.: 7050
Board Approved: June 20, 2006

1. HCC students, faculty, and staff members are the primary audience for services from the Brish Library. This group is to receive priority over all other users of the library.
2. Maryland residents are to receive off-campus borrower status upon request. Offcampus borrower status may be granted to members of the public who are not Maryland residents. Members of the public who are teaching at other colleges in the region are requested to rely on those institutions for library and instructional support.
3. A non-refundable annual fee will be charged to out-of-state residents to obtain borrowing privileges. This fee will be approved annually by the Board of Trustees as part of the Student and Community Fee Schedule.
4. HCC alumni living outside Maryland will receive a library card good for one year following their graduation. Thereafter, a reduced fee will be applied upon renewal. This fee will be approved annually by the Board of Trustees as part of the Student and Community Fee Schedule. Alumni enrolled in other educational institutions are encouraged to rely primarily upon those institutions’ libraries to meet their educational needs.

Children | Computer Use | Check-outs & Renewals | Printing, Copying, and Faxing

Children in the Library

• As per college policy, children under the age of 12 who are not registered credit or non-credit students, who are not participating in an authorized college activity, or who are not attending a scheduled event shall not be left unattended anywhere on the college campus. Unattended children in the Library will be turned over to Campus Police for their own safety.
• Children who are attending an official school or are home-schooled, and have proof of being at or above the ninth-grade level, are welcome to use most Library physical resources and may obtain off-campus borrower cards. A valid driver's license, state, or school photo ID will suffice for this purpose.

Computer Use

Hagerstown Community College has a policy for acceptable use of computers on campus. By signing in to a computer, all users agree to this policy.

Additionally, the Library maintains specific, internal computer use policies that are applicable to students and members of the public as outlined below.

• Community patrons wishing to use the computers must provide either photo ID or an HCC Community Library Card as identification.  Staff will then sign them in to a computer workstation with a guest account.

• Currently, there is no time limit for computer use. However, if all computers are occupied and there is a student waiting to use a computer for class work, community patrons or students engaged in leisure activities may be asked to relinquish their workstation for a student needing to do academic work. Games, email, and social networking sites do not support the mission of the college and must not delay or interfere with students engaged in class work.

Users may be barred from the Library and campus for:

• Downloading and/or viewing obscene, harassing, or pornographic sites
• Printing from obscene, harassing, or pornographic sites
• Changing computer settings
• Using computers for non-academic purposes including, but not limited to, running a business, illegal file sharing, system hacking, identity theft, etc.

Circulation Policies for Community Patrons

An off-campus borrower’s account is available to members of the general public interested in checking out materials from any of the library’s circulating collections. A valid driver’s license or photo identification with proof of current address is required to set up an off-campus borrower’s account.  Washington County Free Library cards may be used for check-out.

Per the college's current Student and Community Fee Schedule, a non-refundable annual fee of $10.50 is charged to out-of-state residents to obtain off-campus borrowing privileges. Out-of-state alumni who graduated more than one year ago may retain their borrowing privileges for a non-refundable fee of $5.25 annually.

Check-outs and Fines

• Circulating Books: Four-item limit, three-week check-out.
• DVD and VHS Tapes: Two-item limit, one-week check-out.

Renewals

• Two renewals are permitted for circulating books only and must be renewed before the item reaches overdue status.
• No renewals for DVDs or VHS tapes.

Lost Items

Library items that are 15 weeks overdue will be considered “lost.”

• A charge of $65 is assessed for each “lost” library item.
• A charge of up to $65 may be assessed for library materials that are returned damaged.

Community Prices for Printing & Copying - CASH ONLY

Scanning to email or USB drive is always free.

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