Overview

RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS/ FACULTY

Amridge University library/research support is based upon some 15 to 20 million monographs, and some 150,000 journals in several of the nation's richest research library collections which offer bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in compatible/similar disciplines that Amridge is offering or seeking to offer degrees.  Amridge has contractual arrangements for its students and faculty to the following collections:

University of Alabama at Huntsville:  approx. 325,000 hard copy books, 30,000 e books, 600,000 microforms, 500,000 government docs, 250 premium databases, 25,000 online full-text journals, including all Elsevier online journals. 

Strengths: Engineering, Sciences, Liberal Arts, Business, Nursing
 

The University of Illinois: approx. 10,000,000 books, and approx. 100,000 active serials/periodicals titles. 

Strengths: across most disciplines, in the Liberal Arts/Sciences/Engineering/Professional Schools, including Medical; one of the two or three largest academic research libraries in the world.

Vanderbilt University: 2,882,057 volumes (2002/2003) 29,173 (2002/2003) serials/periodicals titles approx 24,000 per subject area strengths: business/management; education; divinity; law; science & engineering; medicine.

Brigham Young University: 2,500,849 volumes (2001/2002) 25,634 serials/periodicals titles (current SIRSI search) approx. 16,029 per subject area. 

Strengths: history; education; law; liberal arts;

RSIC: 240,000 volumes (2001/2002) 1212 serials/periodicals titles (current SIRSI subject search) Approximately 2000 per subject area

Strengths: aeronautics; aviation; chemistry; computer science; electrical engineering; electronics; mechanical engineering; nuclear science; physics 

Circulation Procedures
Those allowed to check books out from the Center include:

• Enrolled full or part-time students.

• full or part-time faculty members.

• Students and faculty of schools with which Amridge has cooperative agreements.

Only In-Center use will be allowed to students of the cooperating institutions and members of the general public.

Guest Policy
Members of the community may use the materials in-house at any time the Center is open. Those who wish to check out materials must pay a one-time $10.00 fee for processing the application. If the material requested for circulation is needed in classes, the Director of the Resource Center may not allow these items to be checked out, or may limit the number of items allowed. If a guest has an item needed by the University students or faculty, the Director will notify the guest to return the item as soon as possible. Guests will be subject to all policies of the Center including overdue fines and charges for lost materials.

Check Out Procedure
Persons checking out items must present a Amridge University student number or social security number to the Director. Those not registered as a student will be required to furnish information such as address and phone number the first time material is checked out of the Center. Books are checked out by computer so the cards in the books do not need to be signed

Renewal
Books may be renewed if they have not been requested by another person. The renewal may be either by phone or at the circulation desk. It is beneficial to bring the items into the Center for renewal so that the due date may be changed. Distance learning students should submit renewal requests to scu@uah.edu.

Overdue Books 

Fines for regular loan items will be $.25 per day per item for a maximum of $25.00. If the fine is not paid when the book is returned, the Center will send a reminder notice of the fine. If the fine is not paid within two weeks, it will be added to the borrower's account in the Business Office.

Lost or Extremely Late Material 

Any lost material should be reported promptly. The cost of the item will be billed a standard replacement charge. If the charge is not paid to the Center within two weeks, it will be added to the borrower’s account in the Business Office. 

If an item has not been reported lost, but has not been returned after 28 days of being overdue, no further notices will be sent. Instead, the item will be declared lost and the appropriate charges will be turned in to the Business Office. If an item declared lost is returned, the patron will only be responsible for a $15.00 processing fee, plus any accrued fines.

Damaged Materials 

If a book is returned in a damaged condition, a $10.00 bindery fee will be assessed. If the book is judged to be beyond repair, it will be declared lost.

Audio-Video Material

Audio cassette tapes may be checked out under the same policies as books. Other Audio-Video items may be used only in the building except with prior permission from the Center Director.

Periodicals

These are kept in open stacks and are to be used in the Center. Students are encouraged to make copies of articles needed for outside use.

Reserve Materials

Certain books requested by professors, periodical articles and the texts for courses have been placed on “Reserve” at the Circulation Desk to allow more equitable use of limited materials. Special regulations to allow maximum use of these materials are as follows:

One or two hour reserves - Use is allowed for one or two hours in the Resource Center. This material may be checked out one hour before the Center closes to be returned one hour after the Center opens the next day. The overdue fine will be $1.00 per hour per item.

Closed Reserve - Texts for current courses and certain other items may not be removed from the Center. Violation of this policy will result in a fine of $5.00 per item per day.

On-line reserves of portions of selected documents may be made available to students at the professor’s request.