Borrowing & Returning Material

  1. Home
  2. Services
  3. Borrowing
  4. Borrowing & Returning Material

Borrow‧Return‧Renew

To 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.
  • Borrow Limited
    1. The borrowing period is 4 hours and overnight borrowing is available. For details, please refer to the User's Guide for NTHU Course Reserves.
    2. Special materials, dissertations, periodicals, newspapers, microfilms and exhibition books are in-library-use only. Please adhere to the copyright laws strictly when photocopying materials.
    3. 3Interlibrary cards, music scores and instructional tools are offered only for NTHU members.
  • Special Requests
    1. Patrons looking for past newspapers, microfilms, and other special materials in the compact bookstacks collections, please refer to Request for Materials in Compact Bookstacks
    2. 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 materials borrowed from Mathematics Branch, Physics Branch and Chemistry Branch only can be returned to the original lending branch or the main library.
  • The main library, Humanities and social sciences branch and Nanda branch provide book drops to return materials during closing hours alternatively, DO NOT put audiovisual materials, UST materials, and non NTHU Library's collection 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.
  • Books returned by mail or others authorised are accepted. please sent to National Tsing Hua University Library (Main Library or Individual Branches) at 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan R.O.C.

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. 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.

Reserve & Recall

Reserve

  • If the library material that is currently checked out, the patron may place a reservation through the Library Catalog (NTHU Library Discovery System).
  • Patrons with reservation privileges may reserve items that are currently checked out from the Main Library, the Humanities and Social Sciences Branch Library, or the Nanda Branch Library, and may choose to pick up the reserved items at any of the aforementioned locations.

Hold

  • Once a reserved item is returned, the library will send an email notification entitled "Hold Pick-up Reminder." The requester is required to complete the checkout process at the library within three working days from the date the notification is sent.
  • To cancel a reservation, please do so online via the "My Account".

Recall

  • When a borrowed book is reserved by another patron, the library will initiate the recall process.
  • If there are more than 14 days remaining until the due date, the library will shorten the original borrower's loan period at midnight the following day. An email titled " Due Date Change Notice" will be sent to the original borrower, who must return the book within 14 days from the date of the notice.
  • If there are 14 days or fewer remaining until the due date, the original loan period will not be adjusted. The original borrower is still required to return the book by the original due date.
  • The recall service applies to all users with reservation privileges. If a borrower is unable to return the recalled item on time, they may authorize someone else to return it on their behalf or send it by registered mail to No. 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
    Please indicate: "Circulation Desk, National Tsing Hua University Main Library ".
    The postmark date will be considered the return date.
    During winter and summer breaks, if faculty, or students are unable to return a recalled item on time due to special circumstances, they may inform the library with an explanation to request an extension.
  • To avoid missing notifications from the library, each patron is responsible for ensuring that their registered email address in the library system is valid and able to receive emails. If you need to update your email address, please go to "My Account" to make the change.

Overdue

  • 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 5 NTD/hour will be charged. Overdue fees can accumulate over time until books returned.

Damage & Lost

  • 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. 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, canceling reservation, and cash transactions. The system will automatically send out notices such as “Due Notice” before due date, and “Due Today Notice” on due date, and “Overdue Notice” when overdue, and “Hold Pick-up Notice” when the reserved item is on shelf.
  • Notifications will be sent via e-mail, so please make sure to leave your current e-mail address. Please log in to check your borrowing status in the library at any time. All notification emails are for reminder purposes only. Readers can't reject the fine for didn't receive the email.

Authorized Borrowing

NTHU faculty, staff, students and patron with library card issued by the Library 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 with library borrowing cards 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 One Search 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 the result once the item has been searched for by librarians.