"I was nervous when I first arrived on campus. After just a couple of weeks, I knew I made the right college choice for me. Small classes, individual attention, and the availability of technology have helped me succeed academically." Danielle C. Madison, Maine Psychology

LIBRARY SERVICES: Student Policies

Administration Building: Lisa Auriemma, Director of Library Services, x233; Brian Richards, Cataloging/Circulation Librarian, x234; Colleen Burnham, Information Resource Specialist, x256

The Thomas College Library manages the College's research collection of electronic, print, and audio-visual resources. In addition to more than 21,000 in-house print and media items, the Library offers 24/7 on- and off-campus access to general and discipline-specific online resources containing abstracts, full-text articles, and e-books. The Library collection includes a wide variety of computer and audio-visual equipment available for students to borrow for course-related activities, such as digital video camcorders, microphones, computer laptops, and video-data projectors. Any student with a valid Thomas College ID card may borrow materials from the library.

The main floor of the Library contains computer workstations, printers, scanners, a photocopier, DVDs, reference material, and the Information Services Desk. The upper level of the Library holds the stack area (books), group study tables, and individual study carrels and computer workstations. Computer workstations and study areas are available to encourage the use of library professional staff for group or individual assistance in the use of online and physical resources, computer applications, and general research techniques. Library staff members available to students and employees include the Director of Library Services, the Information Resource Specialist, the Cataloging/Circulation Librarian, and the Information Services Desk work-study staff.

Reciprocal borrowing agreements exist between Thomas College and Waterville-area libraries. Holders of a valid Thomas College photo ID card may borrow items from Waterville-area libraries on a walk-in basis. Students may also request interlibrary loan items that are available through the MINERVA consortium as well as members of the Maine INFONET consortium via the Thomas Library online catalog. Traditional interlibrary loan is available for borrowing materials from libraries outside of the State of Maine.

A short distance from the Thomas College campus, the city of Augusta is home to the Maine State Library, the Maine Law & Legislative Library, the University of Maine at Augusta Library, and the Lithgow Public Library. Anyone may enter and use materials on site at these libraries; Maine residents may borrow material from the Maine State Library and the Maine Law & Legislative Library at no charge.

Library Hours

·   ·Holiday, vacation, and summer hours vary and are posted on the library doors.

Borrowing Rules

All Library materials are checked out and returned to the library at the Information Services Desk.

Books borrowed from the library are due on the last day of the semester or trimester in which they were checked out; books are subject to recall before the semester or trimester due date. Students have ten days from the date of the recall notice to return a recalled book without penalty. Videocassettes and DVDs are due on the following day if checked out Monday-Thursday, or on Monday if checked out Friday-Sunday.

Books, videos, journals, photocopies, and other materials assigned by instructors as required or suggested course supplements are placed on reserve, and are stored behind the Information Services Desk. To ensure ready and consistent student access to materials, reserve materials may not be removed from the library.

Due dates for audio-visual equipment and computer borrowing are determined by individual needs.

Due dates for Interlibrary Loan items vary by the lending library and are determined at the time of check out at the Thomas College Library.

Fees & Fines:

Student library users are subject to the following schedule of fees and fines.

The minimum fee for lost or damaged material, or for material not returned by the end of the semester or trimester due date, is $30.00 per item, plus a non-refundable $10.00 processing fee.

Students who fail to return items which have been recalled by the new due date will be fined $1.00 per day, up to $10.00 maximum. If the recalled material is not returned at the time the maximum fee is reached, the user will also be billed for the cost of replacement.

Fines for overdue reserve materials range from $.50 - $10.00 per day, depending upon the value of the item.

Videocassettes and DVDs carry a late fine of $1.00 per day, with a maximum of $10.00 per item.

Interlibrary loan overdue fees vary by the lending libraries; some libraries may charge a flat fee of up to $70.00 for each unreturned item. Students are responsible for all overdue fines and replacement charges.

Late fines for audio visual and computer equipment are calculated at a rate of $1.00 per day, per item. Damaged items will result in a bill to the user for the cost of replacement.