Access to our book stock is available during our staffed hours, from 08:30-19:00 Monday to Friday and 11:00-16:00 Saturday and Sunday. Weekend services cease between July and September. The Library's ground floor is open 24/7, giving you access to study spaces and self-service facilities. Opening hours and access may be limited during public holidays and any changes will be communicated in advance.
The Library’s official communication channel is via the Student Hub. Library news and alerts are also communicated via our social media pages, Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.
All members of the institution are entitled to use the Library. A Library card is issued to you at registration and will be needed for the duration of your course/employment. If you lose your Library card you must inform the Library immediately. A charge of £5 will be made for a replacement card, whether damaged or lost. If your card has been stolen, a new card will be issued free of charge on the production of a crime number.
All cards are assigned a default PIN of 1111. We recommend that you change this via the Library Catalogue as soon as you can, to ensure your account is protected. You will need your card to use the self-service machines on the Ground Floor of the Library and it is essential that you present your Library card to borrow items. You are responsible for all items issued on your card and any debts incurred, even if you borrowed on behalf of someone else.
Library cards are also needed for using our MFD printers & photocopiers, as well as submitting assignments at the Student Administration Office.
You should never allow anyone else to use your card, or lend Library items to anyone else - all items issued on your card are your responsibility, and so are any debts incurred. If you do need to authorise someone else to borrow/collect books, renew your books or pay your fines on your behalf, you must email libraryenquiries@marjon.ac.uk beforehand, giving written permission for a named person. The authorised person will need to bring some form of ID with them.
Most books are issued as standard loans, however titles in demand may be placed in restricted loan categories. Although items can be borrowed and renewed in the Library and online at weekends, we guarantee that items will never be due back on a weekend and fines will not generate on these days.
The number of items you can take out of the library will depend on which course you are enrolled on. A guide to allowances is shown below:
| Borrower Type | Loan Allowance | TP Card Allowance (ITT students only) | E-Resources? | InterLibrary Loan |
| Marjon Foundation, 1st or 2nd Year Undergraduate | 15 | 0 | Yes | 5 per year. |
| Schools Direct | 15 | 20 | Yes | 12 in total over whole course. |
| Church College Certificate | 15 | 0 | Yes | No |
| Marjon 3rd Year Undergraduate | 20 | 0 | Yes | 12 per year. |
| BEd Year 1+2 , PGCE, Schools Direct | 15 | 20 | Yes | 5 per year. |
| BEd Year 3 | 20 | 20 | Yes | 12 per year. |
| Interrupted Students | 5 | 0 | Yes | 0 |
| SCONUL Access | 5 | 0 | No | No |
| External Borrowers | 5 | 0 | No | No |
| Marjon Taught Masters | 20 | 0 | Yes | 20 in total over whole course. |
| PhD | 30 | 0 | Yes | 100 in total over whole course. |
| Temporary Staff | 25 | 0 | Yes | 25 per year. |
| Permanent Staff | 30 | 0 | Yes | 25 per year. |
The amount of time you can borrow an item will depend on which course you are enrolled on and the type of resource you wish to take out of the library. A guide to our borrowing periods is listed below:
| Loan Type | How can I recognise it? | How long can I keep it for? | Overdue fines (per item, per day) | |||
Student |
Masters |
Staff (Permanent) |
||||
| Standard | White label inside cover. No sticker. | 3 weeks | 4 weeks | 12 weeks | 20p | |
| Weekly | Green label inside cover. Green sticker. | 1 week | 1 week | 1 week | 75p | |
| Reference | Yellow label inside cover. Yellow 'R' sticker. | These books may not be removed from the library | ||||
| Teaching Practice: Resource Loan | Pink label inside cover. Red sticker. | 5 weeks | 5 weeks | 12 weeks | 5p | |
| Teaching Practice: Restricted Loan | Green label inside cover. Red and Green stickers. | 1 week | 1 week | 1 week | 75p | |
| Static Loan | White Label inside cover. 'Static Loan' printed inside cover. | 3 weeks | 4 weeks | 12 weeks | 20p | |
| Multimedia Packs | They are stored in the Teaching Practice area. Items marked MMP are packed in files or boxes. Items marked XLMMP are stored in large plastic boxes. |
MMP Restricted Loan | 1 week | 1 week | 1 week | 75p |
| MMP Resource Loan | 5 weeks | 5 weeks | 12 weeks | 5p | ||
| DVDs, CD-ROMs, CDs, Videos | Located in the Teaching Practice area. | Weekly Loan | 1 week | 1 week | 1 week | 75p |
| Standard Loan | 3 weeks | 4 weeks | 12 weeks | 20p | ||
Borrowed items can be renewed:
Although there is no limit to how many times you can renew an item, you will be unable to renew if:
The Library system sends automated reminder notices the day before your books are due, and the day after. These notices are sent to your Marjon email address, or if you are a student at a partner institution, they are sent to your institutional email address. However, this is a courtesy service and should not be relied upon. It is your responsibility to know when your books are due for return and ensuring that your books are renewed or returned on time. If you have any problems, please contact us at the earliest instance:
Items can be returned to the Library via the self-service kiosks, which are available 24/7 during term time. Make sure you collect a receipt to confirm that the books have been taken off your account or check with Library staff. During holiday hours, we have a book return box outside of the Library when we are closed.
If all copies of the item you need have been taken by other users, you can place a reservation. Reservations can only be placed once all copies of the item have been taken by other users. This can be done via the Library Catalogue or by asking a Librarian. This will ensure that you are next in the queue to receive the book once it has been returned. You will be notified by email when the item becomes available. The item can then be collected from the reservation shelf on the Ground Floor of the Library, where it will be held for seven days.
We also have a step-by-step Help Guide on how to place a reservation.
Library items returned or renewed after their due date will incur overdue fines. The item's due date will show on the Self-Service kiosk screen when checking items out of the Library, as well as on the paper receipt provided. Due dates will also show when logging into your online Library account, and can be confirmed by contacting the Library. If for any reason you cannot return the items within their due date, please contact the Library at the earliest instance, as we will be more likely to resolve concerns before fines are applied.
Non-payment of debts means you will lose any entitlement to borrow from the Library until your debt is settled. Fines are accured daily (apart from Saturday and Sunday), up to a maximum of £20 per item, per renewal. Please note that these accruing fines will not show up on your account until either the item has been renewed or returned to the library. Please see our Help-Guide for more information and examples.
The Library is open during Reading Weeks, Christmas holidays (bar our advertised closure days), the Easter holiday and the summer. Fines will continue to accrue during those periods.
Items are not automatically issued over a teaching or clinic placement, so you must remember to renew your books for your placement. We advise not borrowing weekly loans during your placement, if you can avoid it. If your placement is overseas, please contact libraryenquiries@marjon.ac.uk beforehand.
If another user reserves an item that you have on loan and it is more than one week overdue, you will be emailed directly by the Library. Recall fines of 75p per day will be charged on the item, in addition to fines already accruing. Recall charges will apply 3 days after the the Library has contacted you by email.
If an item you have reserved is more than one week overdue, please inform the Library. We will recall the item and the current borrower will be charged 75p per item per day in addition to any fines already accruing.
The replacement cost will be charged for all items lost, stolen or damaged, plus a £10 administration fee. Alternatively, you may purchase a replacement copy, providing that it is the same edition and format as the lost copy, and is in acceptable condition. If these conditions are met, we will waiver any applicable administrative charges. There is a fixed charge of £30 when items are out of print or no longer available for purchase. No refunds will be made once a replacement item has been ordered. Items returned before a replacement is ordered will receive a refund less the £10 administration charge.
Information for Marjon students
Billing notices for lost books and fines totalling more than £25.00 will be emailed to your Marjon email account. Billings not responded to within 28 days are passed to the Finance department as official debts, and a paper invoice is sent to your home address.
Once an invoice is passed to the Finance department, it becomes an institutional debt, and Finance will follow set procedures and set timeframes. Any debts not resolved within the timeframe advised by Finance will ultimately be passed to a debt collection agency for resolution. Unpaid institutional debts may cause complications when enrolling onto programmes of study and graduation.
Information for students at partnership colleges
If you are a student at one of our partnership institutions, billings and invoice emails will be sent to the address registered with the Library. Any invoices from the Finance department will be posted to the partner institution. Should these remain unpaid, the Library and Finance Department will liaise with the partner institution, and invoices may be sent to your home address.
Library staff monitor the noise levels in the Library on a regular basis. However, we are ultimately dependent on students to respect the rights of others to work in a peaceful environment, and to alert Library staff to any problems. A text alert service is employed to allow students to anonymously alert Library staff to any issues.
We have multiple study areas to suit all types of study:
Ground Floor:
This is available 24/7 during term-time. It is a social learning area, where you can work and talk in groups. There are also 4 bookable Group Work Rooms on the 1st and 2nd Floors.
1st Floor:
This is a quiet study floor. If you are working in groups, please keep noise to a minimum.
2nd Floor:
This is for silent, individual study, and no noise is accepted. Please refrain from working in groups on this floor.
Group work:
In addition to the Ground Floor, we offer 4 Group Work Rooms, bookable at the main Library Desk. Please visit the Group Work Room page for more information.
Flexible study space:
There is one flexible study space next to the I.T. Suite on the 1st floor. This has a mixture of seating types and is not bookable. When using this space, please ‘read the room’ and take your cue from other users – if other users are already in the space and studying quietly, please keep noise to a minimum. If the users are noisy when you enter the room, and you’d prefer to study in peace and quiet, please move to the Library’s quiet or silent study areas.
Items not stocked by the Library can be obtained from an outside library. Please visit our Inter Library Loan page for full details. Borrowers are governed by the conditions of issue laid down by the lending institution, and these will not be deviated from without prior approval from the institution.
Items not returned on time are subject to charges from the British Library, and all charges are passed onto the borrower. The charge for a lost book is £163.10+VAT, although you may be charged more for expensive items. If the item is subsequently returned, you will be refunded the lost book charge, minus an admin fee of £80.00+VAT.
The Library is bound by the Inter Library Lending procedures, abuse of which can result in the withdrawal of loan facilities to the institution. Any abuse of the system will result in that service being withdrawn from the user concerned.
Staff, research students, full-time postgraduates, distance learners, part-time students and students on placements lasting more than 6 weeks are eligible to join the SCONUL Access scheme. Full-time undergraduates are also eligible to join the scheme but will be restricted to reference use only. Full details are available from SCONUL Access or Marjon Library's SCONUL page.
The Library operates a security system to ensure that items which have not been issued are not removed from the Library. This helps us to provide an efficient and effective service to all users. Should the system be activated on your departure from the Library you are asked to co-operate fully with the staff to ensure the correct issue procedure is followed.
Information on the University-wide CCTV policy can be found on this page as a downloadable pdf document: https://www.marjon.ac.uk/about-marjon/governance--management/university-strategies--policies/miscellaneous-strategies--policies/CCTV-policy-12-01-14.pdf
All readers who bring bags, cases, portfolios etc into the Library may be required to open them for inspection by a member of staff when leaving the Library.
Library staff work hard to provide you with your Library service, and deserve to be treated with respect. Rude or unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated, and users may be asked to the leave the Library. The University has a very clear Misconduct Procedure, and action will be taken in accordance with this strategy.
If Library staff ask you to leave the building and you refuse to do so, the Campus Support Team will be called to attend.
In the event of unacceptable behaviour, we will notify your personal tutor, your Head of School, the Head of Student Support and the Pro Vice Chancellor.
A feedback box is provided on the Library's Ground Floor for written comments; please include an email address should you wish the Library to provide a written response. Users can also email libraryenquiries@marjon.ac.uk and your feedback will be passed on to the appropriate member of staff.
Whiteboards are available in the library stairwells for making public comment and asking questions. Library staff will also write their responses via the whiteboards, and all comments shared on the Library's social media pages. The Library also organises various internal surveys during the year.
We also attend the Student Experience Council and Staff-Student Liaision Meetings, and are happy to respond to issues and feedback raised.
If you would like to make a written complaint, please address this to the Head of Library. Users can also follow the University's Complaints Procedure as detailed in the Student Regulations Framework.
These regulations are not designed to penalise the conscientious user who uses the system properly but are necessary to protect the interest of all readers. The Head of Library is empowered to levy fines of up to £100.00 for breach of the Library regulations. Users may also be prohibited from using the Library.
Serious infringements of the regulations will be subject to the Student Misconduct Procedures. It is not intended that any of these measures will be imposed where mitigating circumstances can be shown. Mitigating circumstances will be decided by the Head of Library.
The purpose of the Library’s social media accounts is to communicate with and inform Library members and interested external users.
As of August 2019 Marjon Library has three active social media accounts:
• Twitter: @MarjonLibrary
• Facebook: @MarjonLibrary
• Instagram: @marjonlibrary
Important information relating to Library services and updates are also posted on the Plymouth Marjon University Hub – http://hub.marjon.ac.uk – which is accessible to everyone, without having to join a social media platform.
Social media accounts are primarily used for the Library to inform users of service updates, events, resources and other content that the Library feels would be important for their University life, or generally useful or interesting for followers to know about.
Accounts are usually monitored between 0900 to 1700 on weekdays and posts will normally occur during these times. However, please be aware that while posts are predominantly ‘live’, the Library also uses a post scheduler and posts outside of these times does not mean that Library staff are available.
If you have an urgent question you need to speak to a member of Library staff directly or telephone 01752 761145 during staffed hours, or email libraryenquiries@marjon.ac.uk at any time.
Engagement from followers with the Library’s social media accounts is always welcome and we have some guidance to help with interactions across Library accounts:
• We aim to respond to queries or comments within 1 working day, where we feel a response is needed.
• Photographs or images used in social media content are in line with the University’s data protection guidelines, available here: https://www.marjon.ac.uk/about-marjon/data-protection/
• We will always ask permission to share images of the Library that a user has taken.
• We cannot discuss private account information through social media channels, please contact the Library directly in person, via email or over the phone if you wish to discuss information relating to your Library account.
• Offensive or inappropriate comments or content will be removed, and the poster warned.
• Repeated posts of inappropriate or offensive comments or content, after a warning, will see the user blocked.
Twitter:
• Retweets (RTs) are not endorsements. If something is retweeted it is because we feel the content has potential interest to our followers. We will always credit, though a direct retweet or inclusion of Twitter account ‘handle’, the original posting account.
Facebook:
• Shares of posts/content are not endorsements. If something is shared it is because we feel the content has potential interest to our followers. We will always credit, through a direct share, the original posting account.
Instagram:
• Regramming (sharing) of other user’s images and captions is not an endorsement. If something is shared it is because we feel the content has potential interest to our followers. Permission will always be sought from the original poster if we would like to regram an image and/or caption about the Library. We will always credit the original posting account.
Followers on our social media accounts are always welcome, but please be aware that we will not automatically follow you back. If we do follow you it does not mean we endorse your views or posts.
