Principal Library Policies
This page is a summary of Monroe Library's principal policies regarding use of resources and the building. For full versions of each policy, please visit the links in the relevant sections. Not all library policies are listed here.
All Monroe Library policies are in accordance with the policies of Loyola University of New Orleans. In creating and enacting policies, the Library leadership ensures that policies local to the Library align with wider institutional mandates. Any questions about Library policies should be directed to the Dean of Libraries.
Use these links to navigate to specific policies on this page:
- Alumni
- Borrowing
- Classrooms & Meeting Rooms
- Collection Development
- Course Materials
- Donations
- ILL
- Media Services Equipment Rentals
- Noise
- Printing
- Public Use of Building
- Responsible Use of University Computing Resources
- Special Collections & Archives
Alumni
Applies to: alumni
Loyola University New Orleans alumni are welcome to continue using Monroe Library after they graduate. Be aware that some library resources are only available to currently-enrolled students or other current members of the Loyola community. Alumni are able to use the public spaces in the library, use the public computers, use the pay-to-print system, and check out up to ten books. A valid ID is required for checkouts. Alumni are not able to log in to any student workstations, use the student print system, access library electronic resources from off-campus, reserve/use study rooms, or check out any material other than books.
Borrowing
Applies to: all users
Material from the stacks, including books, music scores, and CDs, can be checked out at the circulation desk. Checkout times for these items are generally 6 weeks for students, staff, and community borrowers and longer for faculty. There is also a variety of equipment at the circulation desk which can be checked out by students; this equipment is generally not available for checkout by staff, faculty, or community borrowers. Material which is returned late can accrue overdue fees, and material which is lost will be charged replacement fees.
For a full list of loan periods and fine policies, please see the Borrowing Policies page here.
Classrooms & Meeting Rooms
Applies to: current students, staff, faculty
Media Services oversees classrooms and meeting spaces within the Monroe Library. Rooms are reserved by request on a first-come, first-served basis at least two business days in advance. Library rooms are available only for current Loyola faculty, staff, and students for special classes and meetings. Classrooms for regularly scheduled classes are reserved through the Office of Student Records. Please see our Student Use Policy for allowable activities in library rooms.
For more information, please view the full Media Services policies page here.
Collection Development
Applies to: all users
Monroe Library collections grow within the scope of our support for students, faculty, and the curriculum. To request that the library purchase an item for the collection, please fill out the form. Not all requests are guaranteed to be filled.
A new Collection Development Policy is in progress.
Course Materials
Applies to: faculty, staff
Professors may work with Monroe Library to make course materials available to their students in electronic or physical formats. Electronic material can be uploaded to a course in Canvas and can include ebooks, scanned book chapters, scanned or downloaded articles, or streaming video. DVDs can be digitized for streaming only if the library has purchased a copy for the collection, including separate streaming rights where required. Physical reserves are held at the circulation desk and can be checked out by students for two hours, one day, or three days, as determined by the professor. Please note that all scanning, digitization, and streaming requests must comply with fair use copyright guidelines.
Donations
Applies to: all users
Monroe Library gratefully accepts monetary donations through a variety of funds and endowments. Not all donations of physical materials can be accepted. Any materials offered for donation will be considered on the basis of currency and applicability to the Loyola University New Orleans curriculum. Before donating physical materials, please contact Laurie Phillips about your offer.
ILL
Applies to: current students, faculty, staff
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service through which materials not owned by the Monroe Library may be requested from other libraries. It is intended for private study, scholarship, or research.
- Due to limited availability and time restrictions, we will not borrow required textbooks from other libraries.
- There are no overdue fees for late items. However, once an item is late by more than four weeks, your account will be blocked and you will not be able to submit any further requests until the late item is returned. Replacement fees for lost or damaged books are set by the lending library, and can vary.
- Any currently enrolled Loyola student living outside the metro area can use ILLiad to request materials the library owns. If you need an article or book chapter owned in print by the library, you can request it be scanned. Books can be mailed to your home by USPS Priority Shipping. Please note that you will need the item mailed to you in your request.
Full policies are on the ILL Policies page
Services for Distance Ed and Online students
Media Services Equipment Rentals
Applies to: current students, staff, faculty
Media Services loans out portable audio-visual equipment to current Loyola students, faculty, and staff for academic purposes only. Equipment is reserved by request on a first-come, first-served basis at least two business days in advance of pickup. All loans are short-term and made for up to a week at a time. Equipment must be picked up and returned during regular business hours, from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday, excluding university holidays. Equipment should be returned in the same condition, otherwise patrons are responsible for damaged or lost items.
For more information, please view the full Media Services policies page here.
Noise
Applies to: all users
The first and second floors of Monroe Library are engagement and collaborative work floors. Students and others working on these floors may talk and engage in group work while speaking at a normal level for discussion. Library spaces are a shared resource. Raised voices or loud group activities that disturb others are not allowed. The third floor of the library is a monitored, quiet floor for independent, quiet study. Quiet voices are required, and extended conversations are discouraged. Library staff members will ask patrons who disturb others to be quiet or move to another floor. Students working in study rooms should be mindful of their noise levels to not disturb students in adjacent rooms and public areas. Headphones are required when listening to sound on computers on all floors of the library.
Printing
Applies to: all users
- The printing of articles, reserve materials, papers, notes, and other work that supports Loyola course assignments, academic projects, and research are permitted. It is not permitted to print entire e-books. E-books may be accessed remotely from your home computer.
- When printing PowerPoint slides, please print multiple slides per page. Users should also use black text on a white background.
- The printing of handouts, flyers, invitations, advertisements, and announcements is not permitted under any circumstances. Multiple copies are not permitted.
- Printing is available to currently enrolled students, faculty, and staff. Printing for non-Loyola patrons is available through a print card that can be purchased at the Bursar's office.
For information on how to use our printers and printing system, please see our Printing page
Public Use of Building
Applies to: the public
The following services are available to the public:
- Reading print materials from the library's collections in public seating areas
- Searching our online catalog for information about library holdings
- Using reference assistance to find information
- Reading microform materials
The following services are available to the public with restrictions:
- Members of the local community may purchase a Community Borrower's Card for an annual fee of $125. The Community Borrower's Card allows the user to borrow books and selected other materials.
- Alumni of Loyola University may obtain an alumni borrower's card at no charge. The Alumni Card allows users to borrow books and selected other materials. For more information contact the Learning Commons desk at 504-864-7111 or email us at libref@loyno.edu.
For more information on community and alumni borrowing, see our Borrowing Policies page
Responsible Use of University Computing Resources
Applies to: all users
From the Loyola University Information Technology "Policy on Responsible Use of University Computing Resources":
All users of university computing resources must:
- Comply with all federal, Louisiana and other applicable law; all generally applicable university rules and policies; and all applicable contracts and licenses.
- Use only those computing resources that they are authorized to use and use them only in the manner and to the extent authorized.
- Respect the privacy of other users and their accounts, regardless of whether those accounts are securely protected.
- Respect the finite capacity of those resources and limit use so as not to consume an unreasonable amount of those resources or to interfere unreasonably with the activity of other users.
- Refrain from using those resources for personal commercial purposes or for personal financial or other gain. Such use is prohibited.
- Refrain from stating or implying that they speak on behalf of the university and from using university trademarks and logos without authorization to do so.
Special Collections & Archives
Applies to: students, faculty, staff, researchers
As part of the Monroe Library, Special Collections & Archives collects, preserves, and makes available published materials, manuscripts, and archives that are rare, unique, or in some other way extraordinary. Special Collections & Archives emphasizes the importance of collecting original materials related to the Society of Jesus, Loyola University New Orleans, the city of New Orleans, and specific fields in which Loyola faculty and alumni have excelled or in which Jesuit values have found expression.
Special Collections & Archives also collects published materials that support its unique manuscript and archival holdings. These may include but are not limited to the following: bibliographies and other reference books, books by authors and other individuals with manuscripts in the collection, and books pertinent to organizations whose records have been collected.
Study Rooms
Applies to: current students
Group Study Rooms are located on the second and third floors of the Monroe Library. Rooms are only available to current Loyola students for a 6-hour checkout period, and operate on a first-come first-served basis. Students MUST have a valid Loyola student ID with them to check out a room, as we hold the ID until the key is returned. Rooms are available from 8:00am through 11:45pm. The week before, and the week of finals, the Monroe Library activates the "waiting list." Students are allowed to put themselves in the queue to be contacted when a room become available, and during this time frame, there are no renewals.