About Milne Library

All items from the circulating collection are charged out at the Circulation desk. To borrow materials all library users must present their currently valid I.D. cards (SUNY ID, Community Borrower card or photo ID).

Charges for lost materials include the replacement and processing costs. Appropriate charges will be made for damaged materials. A hold will be placed on the student's account until all fines are paid. It is the borrower's responsibility to return books by the due date. Non-receipt of the courtesy notice does not excuse the borrower from liability for fines.

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Non-Circulating Collection

Reference books, periodicals, and microforms are used within the library; any special arrangements should be made with the Reference Office or Bibliographic and Digital Services.

Special Collection (SCC) and Archival materials are in the Alden Room and are used within the library. Some limited loans of SCC books may be made by arrangement with the Special Collections Librarian.

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Reserve Materials

Restricted reserves are for use for a four-hour period within the library. The fine on restricted reserve items is one dollar for each individual hour (or part). The fine accrues during hours the library is open.

One-day, two-day and four-day reserve items may be charged out anytime during the day, and returned any time on the date due. Fines on one-day, two-day and four-day materials are five dollars per day or part thereof. The fine accrues during days the library is open.

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Distance Learning

Who Qualifies for Distance Learning Services?

Students who are enrolled in a distance education course at SUNY Oneonta, who do not reside on campus, and who do not attend any other classes on the Oneonta campus are eligible for these services. Distance Learning students are welcome to come to the SUNY Oneonta campus and use the library during open hours.

Faculty who teach distance learning courses, and who are not simultaneously teaching a course on the Oneonta campus, are eligible for distance learning services.

How to Borrow Materials

Materials owned by Milne Library

Distance Learning students should use their ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan) account to request items held by Milne Library. Copies of articles or book chapters, whether owned by Milne Library or not, may be requested.

Materials NOT owned by Milne Library

Cooperstown Graduate Program students should submit book requests to staff at the New York State Historical Association Library. All other Distance Learning students may request items via Interlibrary Loan.

All Distance Learning students may request copies of articles or book chapters through Interlibrary Loan.

Renewing Borrowed Materials

Materials owned by Milne Library

Directions for renewing library owned items may be found via your Illiad (Interlibrary Loan) account.

Overdue Fines for Materials NOT owned by Milne library

Books and other materials borrowed from another library through Oneonta’s ILLiad may accrue a fine of $1.00 per day per item. 

Who to Contact for Help at Milne Library

Circulation Office for information about borrowing materials Milne Library owns: 

Cat Fallon, 607-436-2725 or Cathy.Fallon@oneonta.edu

For information in general and help with research:

Reference Desk, 607-436-2722, libref@oneonta.edu

IDS (Interlibrary Loan) Office for information about borrowing materials that Milne Library does not own:

607-436-2726 or libloan@oneonta.edu

Reference Desk for help answering a research question:

607-436-2722 or libref@oneonta.edu

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Renewals

Regular collection items are renewable if the item is not on hold for another patron. Borrowers may either bring their I.D. card or the items to be renewed to the Circulation desk, request renewal by phone or renew online.

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Recall of Materials Checked Out

A recall notice or email stating that the item is being recalled and must be returned by the current due date will be sent to the borrower when a hold request has been received for the item.  The fine for not returning a recalled item by the current due date will be $1.00 per day until the item is returned.

Items needed for course reserves are subject to immediate recall.

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Access and Usage Restrictions

All Oneonta only resources are library subscriptions that are accessible only from the SUNY-Oneonta network. If you use an outside internet Service Provider (ISP) you will be prompted for your username and password. Access and use is restricted by license agreements to purposes of research, teaching, and private study by current SUNY-Oneonta faculty, staff, and students.

The following are strictly prohibited: all commercial use; copying or tampering with any software or code used to display and/or run the resources; the systematic downloading, copying, or distributing of information (including for use in course packs); and removing or altering copyright notices. Misuse of these resources violates the terms of the SUNY Oneonta or SUNY-wide license agreements. Violation of a licensing agreement could result in termination of the resource to the entire campus community.

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Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is defined by SUNY Oneonta to mean "any act by a student that misrepresents or attempts to misrepresent to an instructor or any college official, the proficiency or achievement of that student or another student in any academic exercise for the purpose of influencing a grade on a piece of assigned work, on an examination or quiz or in a Course as a whole, or that is intended to alter any record of a student's academic performance by unauthorized means."

The SUNY Oneonta Academic Dishonesty policy 

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SUNY Open Access

SUNY faculty and students have access to other SUNY library collections. More information can be found here.

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Library Use

As part of its tradition of continuing education and community service, the College of­fers the use of the library's facilities and col­lections to individuals who are not affiliated with the College.

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Requirements for a Library Card

• Must be a resident of the area that includes Otsego, Chenango, Delaware, Broome, Herkimer, Madison, Greene and Schoharie counties.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Must not be currently enrolled in high school.  Sepa­rate arrangements with area high schools govern student borrowing of library materials.
• Must present identification that shows their current mailing address. If the identification presented does not list a current mailing address, a piece of mail postmarked within the past 3 months will be accepted as proof of address.  A piece of mail by itself is not considered identification.
• Must complete application card.

Community Borrower library cards may be issued whenever the Circulation Desk of the library is open if the application process has been successful.  If not, circulating library materials already selected by the patron may be held for them at the Circulation Desk for a maximum of 5 days while they complete the application process.

There is no charge to the borrower for the card. The card is valid for one year. At the end of the year, the card may be renewed if there are no outstanding fines or overdue items.

The Community Borrower card is not trans­ferable to other individuals.  Other adult family members will need to apply for their own card.

Cardholders need to report any change in address, phone number, or name at the Circulation Desk as soon as possible in order to update their record.

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Computer Use

There are a limited number of computers available for community users. Ask for their location at the Circulation Desk.

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Confidentiality

Library employees should never release information about a library patron transaction to anyone without a subpoena or court order that has been approved by college officials.

Law enforcement personnel have a legitimate need to consult confidential library records in the course of a criminal investigation or prosecution. When asked for information or when presented with a subpoena or court order, library employees should immediately refer the matter to the Library Director.

Under the provisions of the USA Patriot Act (Public Law 107-56) the library may receive visits from agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation requesting access to circulation and computer searching records. Library employees should immediately refer these requests to the Library Director. He/she will refer the request to University Police for immediate verification. Once the request is verified as legitimate under the act, the Library Director, in consultation with the Provost and/or the Vice President for Finance and Administration, will direct library employees to provide the requested information. With these requests, staff may not disclose, under penalty of law, the existence of the request or the fact that records were produced. 

Milne Library adheres to the American Library Association Code of Ethics, New York State and Federal law. Relevant excerpts from these codes are in the addendum of this document. 

EXAMPLES OF CONFIDENTIALITY SITUATIONS BY DEPARTMENT OR TOPIC FOLLOW:

ACQUISITIONS

Library recommendations for purchase are confidential. Library staff should not reveal the name of the selector of a specific item. For example:

• A patron who complains that the library owns books on bomb-making should not be told the name of the selector.
• Library staff should not reveal the name of a donor of gifts who wishes to remain anonymous.

CIRCULATION

Personally identifiable information about library users is confidential. Library staff should not reveal any information about what items individuals have checked out of the library. For example:

• A patron may not be told the name of another patron who has an item checked out. If the patron wants an item, he/she may put a hold on the item.
• A faculty member may not be told which students in his/her classes have checked out reserve materials.
• Parents may not be told what items their children (students) have checked out, even if the children are minors.

A police officer may not get a list from the library of items that have been checked out to a patron for any reason. For example:

• A patron reports a burglary to the police and indicates that library materials were stolen. The patron must supply the list, not the library, although library staff can assist a patron to create the list.

Patron records are confidential. Library staff should not reveal a patron's address, telephone number, social security or patron identification number. For example:

• A student may not get a current address from library records for a former roommate.
• Printed lists or computer files of patron data should not be left where they are accessible to the public.

REFERENCE

Requests from patrons for information are confidential. The reference interview, online searches and interlibrary loan requests should not be revealed. For example:

• A patron should not be casually told that another patron had earlier requested the same information. 
• Patrons should not be specifically identified for purposes of illustrating a research technique or for using a particular library resource.

PERSONNEL RECORDS

Personal information about library staff is confidential. Applications for employment, letters of reference, evaluations and Civil Service Lists should not be shared with unauthorized personnel. For example:

• A request at the Reference Desk for a home telephone number or address of a staff member should not be given unless the number or address is published in a public directory.
• Any printed material that contains student or employee personally identifiable information should be shredded.
• A request for confirmation of current or previous employment at the library for non-student employees should be referred to Human Resources.
• Library staff may provide letters of reference upon request from another institution. It is a courtesy that a person gets prior permission to give the name of a staff member as a reference.

SECURITY PROCEDURES

Procedures for security, codes and passwords are confidential. Only authorized library staff should have this information. For example:

• Authorized staff should never give key cards, keys, passwords or codes for alarm systems or computer systems to unauthorized people.

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Electronic Resources (databases, ebooks, articles, etc.)

Electronic resources may only be accessed by community users while they are physically in the library building and using one of the designated computers.

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Loan Periods

General materials in the circulating collection may be checked out by students until the end of the current semester. An item will be recalled immediately if needed for a course reserve. An item will also be recalled if requested by another patron and must be returned by the current due date or after 4 weeks if loaned to a faculty/staff member. The item may not be renewed. A fine of $1.00 per day will be accessed for failure to comply with a recall notice.

Reserve items, reference materials, periodicals, microforms, and other specialized items are available for use within the library building only.

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Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Interlibrary Loan services are not available to community users.  If anyone is interested in pursuing this service, they should be directed to their local public library for assistance.

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Fines and Fees for Lost or Damaged Library Materials

Charges for lost or damaged library materials other than periodicals:

• Book from the children's collection: minimum of $25.00.
• Book from the circulating collection: minimum of $50.00.
• Actual replacement cost plus a $20.00 processing fee will be charged for all items from the Education Materials Center including all media items.
• The library reserves the right to charge actual replacement cost for any item plus $20.00 processing fee.
• Pages torn from books or other damage: processing fee ($20.00) plus the estimated cost of replacing the pages, rebinding, if necessary, or replacement of the book.
• Removal of barcodes or other library markings: $15.00

Charges for mutilation or intentional misuse of periodicals:

• Current issue replacement: $15.00 plus the estimated cost of the issue
• Bound periodical: $30.00 plus the estimated cost of rebinding and the cost of replacement pages or replacement issue
• Removal of barcodes or other library markings: $15.00