Loan Entitlement
Guidelines for Use of the Library
All registered members are held responsible for loss or damage of items they borrow. Books marked For Reference Only are not to be taken out of the Library. Journals are not to be taken out of the Library. Audio-Visual and multimedia materials, equipment and software are not to be taken out of the Library.
Loan Entitlements
| Category of user |
No. of Books |
Loan Period |
| Academic Staff |
10 |
3 Weeks |
| Academic Related Staff |
10 |
8 Weeks |
| Senior Administrative Staff |
10 |
8 Weeks |
| Accredited Visitors |
10 |
8 Weeks |
| Council Members |
10 |
8 Weeks |
| Graduate Students |
8 |
2 Weeks |
| Undergraduate Students |
6 |
1 Week |
| Non-Academic Staff |
4 |
1 Week |
Short Loan (Reserve) Collection
Items placed on Short Loan or on Reserve are to be used within the Library on a two-hour loan period. Only on special request from the Librarian, permission may be granted to use the Short Loan items outside the Library before 21:00 hours.
Short Loan or reserve items are issued out for overnight use between 21:00 hours and 21:45 hours. Items on Short Loan/reserve borrowed for overnight reading must be returned by 8 am the following day.
Conditions
- No person borrows more than one item from the short loan
- No person uses another person's Identity Card for borrowing items from the Short Loan
- Keeping Short Loan items overdue is not permitted. Infringement of this clause attracts a fine for every two hours from the time the book was due for return.
- Cases of keeping Short Loan items overdue for longer than 24 hours are brought to the Student Disciplinary Committee
- Malawiana and Theses: Malawiana comprises written./electronic materials on Malawi and/or by Malawians on any subject. All Malawiana, theses and dissertations are to be used within the Library only.
Books on Open Shelves:
The loan period for books on open shelves (i.e. not those on Short Loan/reserve) varies depending on category of user (check your loan entitlement). Keeping such books overdue is not permitted. A fine per day is imposed for late return of each item. A higher fine per day is imposed for failure to return an overdue item within 14 days from the date of sending him/her the first overdue reminder. Disciplinary action is taken against a borrower who fails to respond to overdue reminders 21 days from the date of sending him/her the first overdue reminder. All students are required to obtain a clearance certificate from the Library at the end of each semester ascertaining that they have returned all Library materials. |
