Library Information and Regulations

The University of Fiji Libraries provide customer-focused, quality innovative services, information resources to support the teaching, learning and research needs of the University community in two Campuses, Saweni and Suva. Libraries are now furnished with new library technologies, to serve its users with latest information resources on Medical Sciences, Information Technology, Law, Business, Economics, Accounting, Language & Literature, and on other areas. Our users enjoy researching with unlimited full access to thousands of eJournals from ProQuest Central, LexisNexis Legal, JSTOR, HINARI and other online resources. These resources are accessible for any library users from any network.

Collection

The libraries maintain a wide range of collection of print resources on all areas of the study & research and on general readings as well. We maintain a strong reference collection. We have developed some valuable special collections also; some of our notable special collections are Pacific Collection, Hindi Collection, and Fijian Collection etc.

Facilities

Computer /internet: library is equipped with computer facilities to support the students in order to access the internet and growing number of web-based educational resources.

Regulations

1.Admission and Registration: Admission to the Library shall be conditional upon compliance with the regulations and rules of the Library and such directions as may be given from time to time by the University Librarian.  The Library may be used by members of the University Council, registered students, University staff, and other classes of persons as may be determined by the University Librarian.  Staff and students leaving the University are required to obtain clearance from the Library.

2.Borrowing Conditions: Borrowers shall observe the conditions of borrowing posted in the Library, which may be amended from time to time by the University Librarian.

(a) No book or other item held by the Library may be borrowed without the loan of it having been officially recorded by the Library staff.

(b) The University Librarian may recall items on loan, and they must then be returned within the time stated.  Neglect of a Recall Notice shall be treated as a disciplinary matter.  It may be reported to the University Discipline Committee, and/or may involve loss of Library privileges, and/or may incur a fine.

(c) The borrowing of certain classes of books or other items held by the Library and of individual books may be restricted or prohibited.  Such books or other items held by the Library shall be clearly marked by the Library to indicate the restrictions that have been placed upon them.

(d) Borrowers shall be held responsible for books or other items held by the Library while in their charge and may be required to pay the cost of replacement, including a non-refundable administrative cost for items damaged or lost.  If items are returned after being declared lost, an overdue fine is levied, and any replacement payment will only be refunded within 30 days of the declaration.

(e) No item(s) belonging to the Library shall be privately lent by any borrower.  Borrowers in whose names those items have been issued shall be held responsible for their safe-keeping.

(f)  At the end of each borrowing period, by the date stamped in the book for this purpose, borrowers shall return all books issued to them or make formal application at the Library for renewal of the loans.  The Library shall be under no obligation to notify borrowers when books or other items held by the Library are overdue.  Failure to return or renew an overdue book or other items shall be treated as a disciplinary matter and shall involve the imposition of a fine.  A fine for overdue items shall be charged.

(g) After accumulating a maximum amount in fines, borrowing privileges shall be withdrawn until the whole fine is paid.  Library clearance, for examination results or withdrawal from courses, shall not be given until all Library items are returned and charges paid.

(h) Items on loan may be reserved by a reader, and on return to the Library will be held for seven days after which they will be returned to the collection by Library staff if not claimed.

3.Other Conditions of Library Use:

(a) Silence shall be observed in the Library.  Any person who fails to observe the rules on noise control in the Library will be fined on the first two occasions by the authority of the University Librarian.  Borrowing privilege shall automatically cease on the imposition of the fine.  This privilege will be restored upon payment of the fine.  On the third occasion, a thirty-day debarral period from the Library will be imposed.

(b) Smoking, the consumption of food and drink, and the use of matches, open lights, mobile telephones and personal stereos is not permitted.  Laptops are permitted in the Library but only with the permission of the University Librarian, which permission may not be unreasonably denied.  When allowed, laptops are strictly for the purposes of study; playing of music, games or movies on laptops is not permitted.

(c) Mobile telephone users must switch off their telephones before entering the Library. Penalties apply.

(d) Bags, briefcases, outdoor clothes, parcels and umbrellas, shall be left in designated areas.

(e) The Library shall reserve the right to remove personal belongings of readers that are left in the Library and shall not be held responsible in the case of loss of such belongings.  Valuables such as money, jewellery, etc. must not be left unattended.  The University does not accept responsibility for the loss of any such item.

(f)  The charge for the replacement of a lost or damaged (i.e. marked, defaced or mutilated) book or other items held by the Library shall consist of the current value of a new copy, as well as the fine due for last return and a non-refundable administrative charge.  If the replacement value cannot be determined, there is a standard fee charged for a Social Science and Humanities title and another for a Science title.

(g) Persons leaving the Library shall allow books, papers and other possessions to the examined by the staff at the exit control point.

(h) Books or other items taken from the shelves for consultation in the Library must not be re-shelved by readers, but must be left either on the tables or in the special places reserved for them to be re-shelved by the Library staff.

4.Inter-Library Loans: Readers for whom books or other items have been borrowed from other libraries shall comply with the loan conditions imposed by the lending libraries.

5.Opening Hours: Hours of opening shall be approved by the University Librarian and may be amended at his/her discretion. Notices of opening hours shall be prominently displayed in the Library.

6.External Borrowers: Classes of persons other than registered students and University staff are registered as External Borrowers of the Library upon the payment of appropriate fees as specified in the fee schedule of the University.

7.Registration of Readers: The presentation by a reader of a valid borrower identity card shall be sufficient proof of her/his entitlement to borrow from the Library.  A valid borrower ID card is, for students and staff, the University identity cards, and for all other borrowers, the cards issued to them by the Library.

8.Borrowing Periods: Materials held by the Library shall be available for loan for periods and conditions as displayed at the issue desk.  The University Librarian may recall items on loan at any time, and such books or other items held by the Library shall be returned within one week from the date of the recall notice, subject to the provision that they need not be returned until they have been on loan for one week.

The category and number of items issued per category is specified below:

Students

Three (3) Books from the general collection for up to seven (7) days

One (1) book from the Reserve collection an overnight.

Academic Staff:  Seven (7) Books from the general collection for up to 3 months; One (1) book from the Reserve Collection for up to Seven (7) days.

 Non-Academic Staff: Three (3) Books from the general collection for up to Fourteen (14) days. One (1) book from the Reserve collection for an overnight.

Return

Books will be issued with a return date and this is the official notification to the borrower for the date on which the books should be returned.

Renewal

An item loan may be renewed on the condition that the material is not reserved by any other user.

Recall

An item on loan can be recalled by the library staff at any time.

Reservation

A book on loan may be reserved by users at any time.

It is the user’s responsibility to check for the availability of the resources at the issue desk.

9.Circulation of Books: Readers shall borrow items held by the Library on production of a valid borrower’s identity card.

(a) Each item borrowed shall be stamped at the issue desk with the due date.  This stamp constitutes the official notification to the reader of the date by which the item(s) must be returned.

(b) When an item is returned it must be handed in at the appropriate point in the Library.

(c) The Library shall not be responsible for items which are returned without formal cancellation of their issue, whether the items are returned directly to the shelves or left anywhere else in the Library.

(d) The loan and return of Library materials shall cease at the issue desk at the time specified by the Library.  All readers must vacate the Library 15 minutes before closing time.

Databases:  A database is a collection of information in electronic format that is organized in a manner that allows a user to easily retrieve information about its individual entries. Databases are usually collections of journal, magazine, articles, dissertations, reviews, abstracts etc. The UniFiji Library accesses to more than 15,000 online journals though various databases.

ProQuest Central – The Library subscribes to ProQuest Central, the largest multidisciplinary database with over 12,800 titles in full-text.  It serves as the central resource for study and research at the University. This enables the library users to access  ABI/INFORM (world’s class business journal database),   Accounting & Tax ( a  comprehensive coverage), Business Monitor International (BMI) Industry Reports, over 1250 international newspapers,  reference materials and so on.

JSTOR: With more than 2300 academic journals and over 1 million images, letters, and other primary sources, JSTOR provides trusted sources for academic content.  This includes academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as selected monographs and other materials valuable for academic work.

LexisNexis Legal: We provide our patrons access to 80,000 legal documents like cases, legislations, etc. to do their study and research on Law.

For Library fines, refer to ‘Other Fees & Charges’