Library & Learning Commons Policies

Overdue Items & Fines

No daily fines are collected for overdue material. When an item is overdue, the patron receives a courtesy notice informing them of the overdue status and providing the opportunity to renew the material. The patron is blocked from checking out any library material until the overdue item is returned or renewed. If there is no response to this notice within a week, a second courtesy notice is sent.

When an item is overdue for 30 days, a letter is sent notifying the patron of the material's "long overdue" status. At this point, a campus-wide hold is placed on the patron's record and is in effect until the patron has returned or paid for the material. He or she is unable to register for classes or obtain grades and transcripts. Return of the material will result in the removal of the campus-wide hold. However, failure to return course reserve material when due may result in suspension of reserve material borrowing privileges.

If a patron fails to respond to the "long overdue" notice within the time period specified on the notice, the library will post a replacement fee for each long overdue item against the patron's record. A notice of this fee and consequences is mailed to the patron at the time of posting.

• Patrons will be charged the actual replacement cost for books and DVDs, a $40 flat fee for playaways and playaway/book sets, and a $50 flat fee for playaway/book/DVD sets.
• After a fee is posted, no arrangements may be made with the library.
• Return of the materials will not negate the posted fee.
• To restore campus privileges, the patron must pay all replacement fees, plus a college-imposed processing fee of $10.00 per incident, through Cashiering Services.
• All materials remain the property of the library.

Borrowing Privileges for MiraCosta Students

Currently enrolled MiraCosta students will need to present a SURF ID card or alternate photo ID (drivers license, Real ID, military ID, passport) when checking out materials from the Library. This includes items in the Closed Reserves section.

Reciprocal Borrowing Privileges

MiraCosta College Library offers free reciprocal borrowing privileges to students, staff, and faculty of both Palomar College and Cal State San Marcos. Students must present a valid student ID card from their own institution. If the ID card does not bear an expiration date or current sticker, an additional proof of enrollment must be presented. Faculty and staff members from Palomar College and Cal State San Marcos must also present a valid, current employee ID from their own institution.

Community Borrowing Privileges

Current San Diego County residents are welcome to apply for a library card at no charge. Please visit the library during our open hours and bring a photo ID to register. Community members may borrow Books, CDs, DVDs and Playaways.

Learn More About Borrowing   Access MyAccount

Standard Practices for Collection Development

• Under the direction of the Dean of Instructional Services, the Library provides instructional support services to faculty, staff, and students. Library materials and electronic services and access are provided in support of the instructional program.
• Except for reference materials and those with heavy and continued use, materials will not be duplicated at both campuses.
• Electronic resources, including databases and e-books, provide valuable information that supports the MiraCosta College curriculum and complements the materials currently collected by the college library. Remote access to all electronic resources will be made available to current students, faculty, and staff of the college with a valid SURF identification number and password. Electronic resources support and enhance MiraCosta's goals to provide distance education and to blend technology with learning.
• Interlibrary loan transactions will be analyzed for future purchases.
• Librarians will work directly with the faculty developing new courses and programs, ensuring that at the inception of the new curricula, sufficient materials for student success will be in place in the collection.

Guidelines for Selecting and Discarding Materials

• The selection and evaluation of materials is based on curricular demands, the recommendations of current professionals’ review of media, standard selection devices, and the suggestions and requests of members of the college community. Maintenance of high quality in the libraries’ collection requires that materials considered for purchase be appraised by such criteria as factional accuracy and objectivity, authority, excellence of expression, lasting literary, historical or other value, suitability of format and subject matter, timeliness, and maturity level.
• Materials that may be appropriate for discard include those that are in poor condition, beyond economic repair, superfluous, or obsolete.
• Library faculty and discipline faculty have a joint responsibility for collection development and maintenance. The librarians are responsible for the selection of reference materials, general materials not related to specific curricular areas, and for maintaining a balance among the various subject areas and among materials in various formats. The final decision to order the purchase of materials is the responsibility of the Dean, Instructional Services.
• The librarians recognize that members of instructional departments have special expertise to evaluate the suitability of the library holdings in their respective disciplines, and the faculty acknowledges that an aspect of their instructional responsibilities is to help ensure the availability of pertinent and current learning resources.  Instructional department members are highly encouraged to survey the materials in their disciplines and make recommendations to the library staff for retiring outdated or unusable resources, and for purchasing new materials for the collection.

Donations

Due to an impending move to temporary space, the Miracosta College Library is not currently accepting donations.  We do not anticipate accepting donations before Spring 2025. For more information please contact the Collection Development Librarian: Glorian Sipman.

Controversial Materials

• Materials representing various sides of controversial subjects are included in the library collection as a matter of routine. No material that is otherwise appropriate will be excluded in order to keep its ideas from students. None will be excluded solely because its ideas will be considered by some distasteful or harmful. Attempts by individuals of groups to influence what students read, listen to, or view are considered legitimate only if they are advanced in a way that does not violate the liberties of students and does not interfere with the professional responsibilities of the faculty, the administration, and the Governing Board.
• If the suitability of particular material is questioned, the specific objections should be submitted in writing to the Dean, Instructional Services. The Dean will refer the matter to the Academic Affairs Committee for consideration and action. The Senate Council will ratify the Committee’s decision and advise the Superintendent/President of the disposition of the complaint. The complainant shall be advised in writing of the Committee’s disposition of the complaint.

Library Bill of Rights

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that basic policies should guide their services.

This document covers procedures directly related to library materials. Please also review MiraCosta College Administrative Procedure 3750 (Use of Copyrighted Material).

The MiraCosta College Libraries hold many periodical titles in paper, microform, and full text online. As an alternative to providing the photocopied articles on reserve, the faculty member may provide the student with citations only, leaving the decision to copy to the student.

Articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers (periodicals)

All single or multiple photocopies of periodical articles shall contain:

• Information identifying the material as belonging to the faculty member requesting the reserve.  The library staff will provide labels for this purpose if the material is not already labeled as such.
• Full bibliographic information, i.e. article title, author(s) name(s), periodical title, volume number, issue number, and/or date of issue.

A notice of copyright. The library staff will provide the appropriate stamp bearing this notice.

• The same articles may not be used from term to term without written permission from the copyright holder. The library staff will provide faculty members with the appropriate form to request such permission and will retain copies of all permission forms once received.
• If permission has not been granted to use the material in the subsequent semester, it will be removed from reserve and returned to the faculty member at the end of the then-current semester. The material cannot be placed on reserve again until permission is granted and received in writing.

Photocopies from sources other than periodicals

Unauthorized copies may not be used to create, replace, or substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works, whether or not such unauthorized copies are collected and bound together or are provided separately. The library staff will provide faculty members with the appropriate form to request permission from the copyright holder and will retain copies of all permission forms once received.

Multiple copies (not to exceed six) will be accepted for reserve without written permission of the copyright holder if they meet the following criteria:

• When an individual teacher is "inspired" to use a work, and the inspiration and decision to use it and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.
• If the following limitations with regard to the amount of copying of a work are applied:
• If a complete article, story or essay is copied, and the work copied is less than approximately 2,500 words; or
• If a prose work is excerpted and copied, and the excerpt is no longer than approximately 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is shorter; or
• If a chart, graph, diagram, cartoon, or picture is copied, and not more than one such illustration is copied per book or per periodical issue; or
• If a short poem is copied, and the poem is less than 250 words and printed on not more than two pages; or if an excerpt from a longer poem is copied, and the excerpt is not longer than 250 words.
• The copying is for only one course (though there may be multiple sections or more than one faculty member).
• Not more than one short poem, article, story, or essay, or two excerpts are copied from works by the same author. In addition, no more than three works or excerpts may be copied from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term and no more than nine instances of such multiple copying may occur for one course during one class term. (These guideline limitations do not apply to current news periodicals, newspapers, and current news sections of other periodicals.)
• The original copyright notice must appear on all copies of the work.
• The same material may not be used from term to term without written permission from the copyright holder. The library staff will provide faculty members with the appropriate form to request such permission and will retain copies of all permission forms once received.

Audio recordings (records, disks, and tapes)

• The library will accept for reserve only those single recordings which meet the criteria set forth in Administrative Procedure No. VII.B-05.
• Multiple copies of recordings will be accepted only with written permission from the copyright holder.
• All recordings must be presented in their original formats and labeled to indicate source.

Videotapes

• The library will accept for reserve commercially produced videotapes which are owned by MiraCosta College or by the individual faculty member.
• The library will accept for reserve only those off-the-air videotapes which meet the criteria set forth in Administrative Procedure No. VII.B-05. All off-the-air videotapes must be fully labeled and contain the name of the program and the date of the off-air taping. The library staff will remove from reserve all off-the-air videotapes ten consecutive instructional days after the date of airing.

Sources Consulted:

• Bruwelheide, Janis H. The Copyright Primer for Librarians and Educators. Chicago: ALA, 1995.
• California Department of Education. Suggested Copyright Policy & Guidelines for California's School Districts. Sacramento, CA: 1991.
• National Association of College Stores, Inc., and the Association of American Publishers. Questions & Answers for the Campus Community. 1991.
• Talab, R. S. Commonsense Copyright: A Guide for Educators and Librarians. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999.

Related Copyright Sites:

• Stanford University Libraries, Copyright and Fair Use
• Bitlaw
• Cornell University Copyright Information Center
• Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia

MiraCosta College Administrative Procedure 3750 (Use of Copyrighted Material)

Online Resources:

• Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance for Academic Institutions (Copyright.com)
• United States Copyright Office: What is Copyright?
• Copyright & Fair Use (Stanford University Libraries)
• Creative Commons: Share, Remix, Reuse — Legally

Public Performance Rights

• Library's Public Performance Rights (PPR) Guide

• All exhibits must be organized, sponsored, and overseen by a MiraCosta staff, faculty member, administrator, department, and/or approved student organization. The sponsor and exhibitors are ultimately responsible for the exhibit and for ensuring all campus and/or district policies and/or procedures are followed.
• Exhibits shall affirm the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which states "…library resources should be provided for the interest, information and enlightenment of all people of the community that the library serves."
• Exhibitors are solely responsible for funding all costs associated with the exhibit, including but not limited to shipping, installation, dismantling, and insurance.
• Exhibitors are responsible for publicity beyond that provided by the MiraCosta College Library.
• Exhibits shall comply with campus policies and procedures.
• Items which are especially sensitive to temperature change, daylight, and humidity variation should not be exhibited.
• Photos may be taken and used by the MiraCosta College Library and MiraCosta College for reports and promotional purposes.
• Exhibits are often located in high traffic areas. MiraCosta College Library takes no responsibility for the security or welfare of exhibits at any time, including during transport, installation, or dismantling.
• Insurance coverage, if needed, is the responsibility of the Exhibitor.
• The MiraCosta College Library shall have the final decision on all exhibits and displays and their installation. The MiraCosta College Library reserves the right to reject the exhibit in part or in whole.

Food and drink are allowed in the library with some limits:

• All drinks must be in containers with secure lids to prevent spills.
• Single-serving snacks are acceptable. Messy, strong-smelling, or greasy foods are not permitted.
• Food parties and group meals are only allowed during official Learning Commons sponsored events.
• EXCEPTION: no food or open drinks are allowed in the open computer lab areas or the Library classroom (12-136).

The MiraCosta College Library is committed to providing a welcoming environment that is conducive to a variety of study needs, which includes both group study and individual quiet study. If you have a concern about the noise level in the library, please see the librarian or library staff member on duty so that we may either address the noise issue or assist you in locating a quiet study area.

No daily fines are collected for overdue material. When an item is overdue, the patron receives a courtesy notice informing them of the overdue status and providing the opportunity to renew the material. The patron is blocked from checking out any library material until the overdue item is returned or renewed. If there is no response to this notice within a week, a second courtesy notice is sent.

When an item is overdue for 30 days, a letter is sent notifying the patron of the material's "long overdue" status. At this point, a campus-wide hold is placed on the patron's record and is in effect until the patron has returned or paid for the material. He or she is unable to register for classes or obtain grades and transcripts. Return of the material will result in the removal of the campus-wide hold. However, failure to return course reserve material when due may result in suspension of reserve material borrowing privileges.

If a patron fails to respond to the "long overdue" notice within the time period specified on the notice, the library will post a replacement fee for each long overdue item against the patron's record. A notice of this fee and consequences is mailed to the patron at the time of posting.

• Patrons will be charged the actual replacement cost for books and DVDs, a $40 flat fee for playaways and playaway/book sets, and a $50 flat fee for playaway/book/DVD sets. 
• After a fee is posted, no arrangements may be made with the library.
• Return of the materials will not negate the posted fee.
• To restore campus privileges, the patron must pay all replacement fees, plus a college-imposed processing fee of $10.00 per incident, through Cashiering Services.
• All materials remain the property of the library.

For information on overdue laptops, mobile hotspots and other library technology, please see the Library Technology User Agreement.

Service Animals are allowed in the Library & Learning Commons according to MiraCosta College Board Policies.

There are study rooms available at Oceanside, San Elijo, and Community Learning Center campuses. All of the rooms are available through our Online Reservation System.

Infants and minor children at MiraCosta Community College District locations shall be supervised by an adult in an area normally accessible to the public or in an area specifically approved by the Superintendent/President of the District for infants and minor children.

Under no circumstances are infants or minor children to be exposed to hazardous conditions or left unsupervised; nor are children to be allowed in areas where their presence will interfere with course activities or the normal work of the College (District Board Policy VIII.G-01.j).