Statement of Patron's Privileges / Borrowing and Renewal / Returning Materials/ Hold and Recall/

Lost and Damaged Items / Appeal

1. Statement of Patron's Privileges

In order to ensure that all authorized users fully understand the rights and responsibilities associated with borrowing and using materials from the Library’s collection, and in order to ensure the validity of personal information provided by library patrons, all users must sign an online agreement “National Tsing Hua University Library Statement of Patron Privileges” before they can start using the Library’s services. Online agreements are processed daily and user borrowing privileges are granted one working day after an agreement is signed. To prevent delay in the approval of your patron privileges, please complete this online agreement application at your earliest convenience.

Sign the Statement of Patron's Privileges

2. Borrowing and Renewals

When borrowing materials from the Library, you must present a valid library card. You cannot lend your card to another user nor use another user’s card, or your library privileges will be suspended and you will be forbidden entry to the Library for 30 days. For details on user borrowing rights, please consult the

Circulation Rules and Privileges at National Tsing Hua University Library.

Users with renewal rights can renew a material as long as it is not overdue or has been reserved by another user. Book renewals should be made 10 days before the due date, and multimedia materials should be renewed four days before the due date. In both cases the new due date is calculated from the original due date. To renew a material online, go to “View your record” from the Library’s homepage.

3. Returning

All materials borrowed should be returned to the circulation desk before their due date. When the Library is closed, materials borrowed from the Main Library or the Humanities and Social Sciences Branch can be deposited in the return boxes of these two libraries. However, the return date of the materials is based on the record in the Library’s computer. You are advised to check your library account online through the Library’s homepage the day after depositing a material to ensure that the return was registered properly.

If a material is overdue, your borrowing privileges will be suspended and you will be subjected to a fine of NT$5 per day per item. Fines will cease to accumulate after 30 days, but each further day of delay will result in one day of suspended library privileges. The suspension can be lifted by paying NT$5 per item per day of overdue. When students graduate, transfer, take leave, or drop out of school, or when faculty members leave, they must return all materials borrowed from the Library. If your library privileges are still suspended at this time, you must pay the amount due in order for your application to leave the University to be processed.

4. Hold and Recall

If you have holding privileges and would like to borrow materials that have already been checked out, go to “Library Online Catalog” from the Library’s homepage and place a hold on the item. You must collect the item within three days from the day a collection notification was sent. Failing to do so, you will lose your priority borrowing privileges and a record will be left on your account. If you have three such records, your holding privilege will be suspended for 30 days. You can cancel a reservation through your online account before the collection deadline (as stipulated in the notification). If you reserve a material that has already been checked out by another user, the Library will send a recall notification to the user, who must then return the material to the Library within 14 days.

The Library’s Hold and Recall services continues during summer and winter vacations. If you cannot personally return a borrowed material, you can either have someone else return the material for you or send the material by registered mail to:

Circulation Desk of the Main Library, National Tsing Hua University

No.101, Sec.2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu30013, Taiwan, R.O.C. It should be noted that the official return date of the material is the date as recorded in the Library’s system, and not the date the material is mailed.

5. Lost and Damaged Items:

If a material is lost, you must report the lost material to the circulation desk before the due date and compensate the Library with a copy of the same item. You must provide a newer edition of the material if it is available. In addition to replacing the item, you must also pay a handling fee of NT$100 per lost item. For out-of-print materials, you must pay the Library 10 times the value of the material as recorded in the Library’s database.

For lost materials that do not have a price recorded in the database, you must pay a fine of NT$2,000 for Chinese books, NT$3,000 for foreign language books, NT$1,000 for AV materials intended for private viewing, and NT$3,000 for AV materials intended for public screening. If you report a lost material after its due date, you must also pay overdue fines for the material. If a library material borrowed is damaged, you are subjected to the same regulations applicable to lost materials. If you discover that an item is damaged either during or after the check-out process, you should immediately report the damage to staff of the library where the item was borrowed.

6. Appeal

The Library has set up an appeal system to ensure the privileges of library users. If users with borrowing privileges are unsatisfied with the Library’s management or services, and feel that their rights have been adversely affected, they may send an appeal to the appeal division. Appeals must be sent within 10 working days of the incident that led to the appeal, and you must personally submit a written appeal to the secretary’s office of the Library.