Circulation of Library Materials
Most materials are checked out for three weeks to undergraduates and for one semester for graduate students. Circulation privileges expire at the end of each semester. If the material checked out by graduate students is recalled by another student or faculty member, the material must be returned by the date specified on the recall notice regardless of the original due date.
Materials returned late, or which are lost, by distance education students will be assessed fines and other costs just as they are for other UNI students. UNI absorbs the cost of mailing books and articles to UNI distance learners. Books should be insured at a value of $50 per item when you return them. Please be aware that materials are NOT considered returned until they are received in the library. Be sure to allow time for mail delivery. It is a good idea to save the package in which the books were sent to you and return them in the same package. Use the pre-addressed label when returning books. If you have misplaced the label, send the package to:
Interlibrary Loan – Distance Education
Rod Library
University of Northern Iowa
1227 W. 27th Street
Cedar Falls, IA 50613-3675
Not all books in the library circulate or circulate for the time periods mentioned above. For example, books in any of the reference collections within the library normally do not circulate. However, if only certain pages are needed from particular reference works, those pages can be photocopied and mailed to you (there will be a 10 cent per photocopy charge for such copies).
Different Loan Periods for UNI Distance Learners
For a couple of library material types, UNI Distance Learners have a different loan period than on-campus students.
- Youth Books - 10 days with no renewals (The Youth Book loan period for on-campus students is for 3 days with 1 renewal)
- Videos/DVDs - 14 days with no renewals (The Video/DVD loan period for on-campus student is for 7 days)
Any exceptions to this stated circulation policy will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Recall of Books
Library books can be recalled sooner than the original due date by another library patron. All library patrons have at least a three week loan period for normal circulating books. If another library patron wishes to have the book, and you have already had the book for three weeks, you will be given one week to return the book to Rod Library. Recall and overdue notices are sent to your UNI e-mail account. You can change your UNI e-mail address to a preferred e-mail address for all communications from Rod Library (see directions). For more information about your UNI email account, visit the UNI Computer Services web pages.
