Short loans are part of the library’s short loan collection (SLC) which contains books, photocopies, videos and other material in heavy demand. These items can be borrowed for a limited period and can be reserved up to two weeks ahead. This means more people can read the items that are in heaviest demand and have the chance to plan their reading.
Borrowing short loan items
You can find out if an item is in the SLC by checking the University of NUsearch.
Once you have established its availability, go to the Customer Services Counter and give the details (title, author, the classmark or location (eg. HD30.5 KOT) and the barcode) of the short loan item you require. The item will be retrieved from the SLC and issued to you. You must have your library card with you. You may borrow two short loan items at any one time.
Loan period
From Sunday to Thursday, you can borrow the short loan item for one night only. That is, if you borrow an item on Monday, you must return the item by 10am the next day (Tuesday). If you borrow a short loan item on a Friday, you can have the item over the weekend, and you only need to return the item by 10am, Monday.
Reserving a short loan item
To be sure in advance of obtaining a popular item from the SLC when you need it, it is usually necessary to make a reservation/booking. You are advised to collect the item on the specified date of the advance booking slot from 10am to 2.30pm. The book will be released to the next student (if any) who has reserved the book, if you fail to collect it by 2.30pm.
Go to your library web account, and search for the item that you require. Look for the short loan copy (under Item status) and click on Booking. You will be shown a list of dates over a two-week period starting from the present day. Choose the day(s) that you require.
Short loan items cannot be renewed online. Short loan items must be returned at the Customer Services Counter by the stipulated day and time, and re-issued.
If you fail to return a short loan item by the stipulated time and day, you will be fined, RM1 per hour or part of an hour, till the item is returned.
Short loan restricted—bookable
Some items in the short loan collection are restricted to a three-hour loan period, and can only be used in the library during it’s normal operating hours.
Short loan restricted--bookable items can only be borrowed (and returned) at the Customer Services Counter.
Items can be booked through NUsearch for a maximum of three hours per day. Bookings can be done in advance for 14 days (including weekends). Only two advanced bookings are allowed in 14 days.
Users can book an item to be used at any time provided that there is no booking on the item at that time. Only one item can be borrowed by a patron at a time.
Booked slots without collection will be released to other patrons after 30 minutes. For example, a patron books an item to be used from 3pm to 6pm but does not come to collect the book by 3.30pm. In this case, the item is automatically released by the system to other patrons at 3.30pm.
The borrowed item must be returned when the loan period is up.
However, once the item is returned, and no one has placed a booking on the book for subsequent hours, the item can be re-issued for more than one time in a day to the same patron.
Without booking, a patron can also borrow the book at the Customer Services Counter provided that no other patron has placed a booking on the book at that time.
Any book returned late will be fined at RM2 per hour or part of an hour. The maximum fine for late return per loan transaction is RM20.
High demand collection
The high demand collection contains books known to be in heavy demand by students. The books have been recommended by teaching staff as essential texts on the course reading lists or reference books which are heavily in use by students.
The high demand books are shelved at level B of the library, and are designated by pink labels on the spine of the books.
High demand books are for reference only in the library.