Borrowing & Returning Material

Borrowing & Returning Material

Borrow‧Return‧Renew

TTo borrow and return books, please head to the Circulation Desk of the Main Library, Audio & Visual Center, Humanities and Social Sciences Branch, Mathematics Branch, Physics Branch, and Chemistry Branch.

Borrow

  • When borrowing books, please present your own library card and make sure the checked out items are correct. All transactions are recorded on My Account.
  • Patrons must sign the Statement of Patron's Privileges before accessing borrowing rights.
  • Patrons must follow the copyright law and the motion picture rating regulations when borrowing audiovisual materials. If violated, the patron will be responsible of the legal liabilities.
  • The maximum number of books borrowed and loan period depends on the patron type. Please refer to Patron Type & Loan Periods.
  • Special Requests
    Patrons looking for past newspapers, microfilms, and other special materials in the compact bookstacks collections, please refer to Request for Materials in Compact Bookstacks.　Patrons looking for special materials in the archive, please refer to Regulation on accessing Archive Material.

Return

  • Patrons can return the materials of the main library, Humanities and social sciences branch and Nanda branch at the front desk of the three libraries. The Mathematics Branch, Physics Branch and Chemistry Branch only accept their own materials returned. Regarding the use of book drops to return materials during closing hours alternatively, DO NOT put audiovisual materials and UST materials into the book drops. Books put into the book drop will be processed on the next working day, and the return date will be recorded as the date previous to the day processed.
  • Please remember to check the records on My Account after returning.
  • Overdue will lead to fees charged and privilege suspension.

Renew

  • Renewals are allowed if the items are not reserved by others. Log into My Account to renew.
  • Items can be renewed from the next day after check out. Renewal is limited to once per day, and patrons are subject to a maximum loan period depending on the patron type. For more, go to Patron Type & Loan Periods

For service hours, please refer to Library Hours.

Collection Types

  • General Collections: books, CDs, DVDs, cassettes, and VCDs.
  • Restricted Collections: NTHU theses and dissertations, journals, newspapers, microfiches, and course reserve materials are for library use only.

Reserve & Recall

Reserve

  • Patrons can reserve items that have been checked out, either in the online catalog or in person.
  • After reservation, patrons can pick up at the Main Library, the Humanities and Social Sciences Branch, or the Nanda Branch at their own choice. The pick-up location cannot be changed once the reservation is made.
  • Pick-up notices will be emailed to patrons on the day after the reserved items are returned. Patrons need to pick up the items within 3 days after receiving the notification email (weekends or NTHU-planned holidays not included).
  • If patrons do not pick up the reserved items within 3 days, the items will be passed on to next patron in queue, and 1 penalty point will be added to your library record. If 3 penalty points are accumulated within 1 month, you will be deprived of reservation rights for the next 30 days.
  • Patrons can cancel the reservation online via My Account before the pickup deadline.

Recall

  • When others put down a reservation on items you borrowed, the library will start the recall procedure:
    • If the item is more than 14 days away from due date, the library will send a recall notice email to you, whom should return the material within 14 days upon receiving the notice.
    • If the item is less than 14 days away from due date, the due date remains unchanged.
  • All checked out items can be reserved by others, thus book recalls can take place even during winter and summer breaks. If patrons cannot return the recalled items in person, one can ask others to help you return, or mail the items to the Main Library’s Circulation Desk. Be aware that the arrival date will be taken into account, not the mailed date.
  • To avoid missing out on any of the notification emails, please make sure that the registered email address is correct. To update email address, please login to My Account. Please see Recall Policy for more information.

Hold & Recall

  • Patrons can reserve items that have been checked out, either online or in person.
  • Pick-up notices will be emailed to patrons on the day after the reserved items are returned. Patrons need to pick up the items within 3 days after receiving the notification email (weekends or NTHU-planned holidays not included).
  • If patrons do not pick up the reserved items within 3 days, the items will be passed on to next patron in queue, and 1 penalty point will be added to your library record. If 3 penalty points are accumulated within 1 month, then your library account will be blocked for 30 days.
  • Patrons can cancel the hold online via My Account, as long as it is within the pick-up dates.  
  • All checked out items can be reserved by others, thus book recalls are possible even during winter and summer breaks. 
  • In case if patrons cannot return the recalled items in time, you can ask others to help you return, or mail the items to the Main Library’s Circulation Desk. Be aware that the arrival date will be taken into account, not the mailed date.
To avoid missing out on any of the notification emails, please make sure that the registered email address is correct. To update email address, please login to My Account. Please see Recall Policy for more information.

Overdue, Damage & Lost

  • If patrons fail to return items on time, overdue fees of 5 NTD/day will be charged and you will temporarily lose your borrowing privilege. For special materials that are limited to overnight loan, a fee of 10 NTD/hour will be charged.
  • If items are damaged or lost, you will be responsible for compensation. Please inform the library and finish the compensation procedure within 60 days, otherwise overdue fee is still charged.
  • If any item is lost, you must inform the library before the due date, and buy a new copy of the item for the library, along with an extra processing fee of 100 NTD.
  • The new copy should be exactly the same with the lost item, with the same ISBN, author, and publish date. If the exact same copy is not available, a newer version is also accepted, but only with the approval of the librarian in charge.
  • The new copy should be in mint condition, and within the regulation of the Copyright laws. For compensation of audiovisual materials, one should look for the public-viewing edition.
  • In the scenario where one volume of a series is damaged or lost, patrons can just compensate for that one volume. However, if the original version is out of print, and that one volume in the new version fails to correspond to the rest of the original collection, patrons need to compensate for the entire series.
  • If the missing item is out of print, there will be a compensation fee of 3 times of the cataloged price of the item.
  • If the cataloged price is not in NTD, the compensation fee is calculated with the current exchange rate of the Taiwan Bank; If the price of a single volume of a series is not available, the compensation fee is calculated by dividing the price of the whole series by the number of volumes.
  • If the catalog price is unavailable, the compensation fee is charged according to the following rule: Chinese books $2,000 NTD/item, foreign language books $3,000 NTD/item, home-edition audiovisual materials $1,000 NTD/item, and public-viewing edition audiovisual materials $5,000 NTD/item.
  • If patrons need to resolve the compensation process promptly, but the new item has yet to arrive, one can put down a deposit of the same amount as the purchase, and take back the deposit with the new item in hand within 60 days.

My Account & Notices

  • Please check on My Account for all transactions.
  • For first time users, please use the bar code number on your library card and the default password to log in. The default password is set to be your personal ID number.
  • Use My Account to check the loan list, loan history list, hold requests, booking requests, and cash transactions. Changing password, editing profile and contact information are also done on My Account.
  • The system will automatically send out notices such as due date, overdue, recall, and pick-up notices.

Authorized Borrowing

NTHU professors, special guests, and handicapped personnel can authorize others to borrow for them upon further application. For more information, go to “NTHU Authorized Borrowing“.

Interlibrary Loan

Faculty members and non-NTHU patrons can borrow from other libraries via the Interlibrary Loan Service System. For more information, go to “NTHU Interlibrary Loan Service “.

FAQ

Please go to the FAQ on borrowing materials.

Lost Item

If an item is shown in the online catalog to be on shelf, but can not be found in the library, please help us fill out the Lost Item form. The patron will be informed once the item has been searched for by librarians.

Borrowing With Home Delivery

  • The library offers a paid service to deliver the borrowed item to your house. For more information, visit "Borrowing with Home Delivery"
  • Patron Type Books Availability Max. Items per delivery
    Patrons with borrowing privilege On-shelf collection from the Main Library, Compact Bookstacks, Humanities and Social Sciences Branch, and Nanda Branch 5
  • Each application for delivery is limited to 5 items each. Payments are made via cash on delivery.
    Sum of length, width, and height Fee
    90 cm or less150
    90～180 cm180
    180 cm～270 cm210
  • Instructions for applying is in “How to Borrow with Home Delivery“
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