Rules and Regulations

1. Authority
    1.1  The Rules and Regulations are issued by the Senate under the authority granted to it under section 22 of the  
           Constitution

    1.2  The Senate, or any Committee of the Senate empowered by it to do so, may adopt implementing measures and
           procedures pursuant to any Regulation provided that such measures and procedures shall have force only in so far as
           they are consistent with the Constitution and these Regulations.

2. General
    2.1 All registered users are presumed to know the Library Rules and Regulations which are available on the Library's web
          pages. These Rules and Regulations may be amended from time to time by the University Librarian.

    2.2 The Librarian is authorised to suspend the Library privileges of any person and to impose appropriate penalties for
          breaches of the regulations. Any action taken under this Regulation document may be reported to the appropriate
          authorities. Any person wishing to appeal against the Librarian's decision must write to the Vice-Chancellor within
          fourteen days of the decision, stating the grounds of the appeal.

   2.3  The Library will send notices, including recall notices for books on loan, to the user's address known to the Library.
          Internal University addresses will be used for all staff. It is the responsibility of users to notify the Library of any change
          of address for receipt of their Library mail.

3. Library operating hours
    3.1 The opening hours of the Library will be as determined from time to time. The hours will be displayed at the entrance to
           the Library and on the Library's website.

4. Admission to the Library
    4.1 A valid Wawasan Open University Student Card must be brought to the Library on each visit and must be produced on
          entering the Library, when books are borrowed and at any other time at the request of Library staff.

   4.2  Categories of Library Membership
          i. Unversity members - Board members, Academic and equivalent administrative staff, Support staff, Registered student
             of Wawasan Open University and DISTED College
         ii.. Tutors
         iii. Adjunct and any other part-time faculty
         iv. Members of the public - Apply for the External Membership

5. User conduct
    5.1  The Library is to be used for the purpose of academic study and research and for the consultation of its collections and
            associated materials only.
    5.2   Smoking, eating and drinking, with the exception of bottled water are forbidden.
    5.3   Silence is required in the study areas of the Library. Handphones and beepers should be either switched off or set to
            silent ring mode.
    5.4   The University accepts no responsibility for loss/ theft/ damage to personal belongings left anywhere in the Library or
            in Library lockers at any time.
    5.5   The reservation of seats is not permitted. The Library staff are empowered to clear all books and personal property left
            unattended for any length of time.
    5.6   Laptop computers may only be used if they do not generate sounds audible to other users
    5.7   Users must not write in or otherwise damage books belonging to the Library. Any damage to, or loss of, books must be
            made good to the satisfaction of the Librarian.
    5.8   All members of the Library staff are authorised to inspect any books in the possession of users leaving the Library.
            This is a standard operating procedures in an open stack system.
    5.9   Users must leave the Library by closing time, immediately on hearing the fire alarm, or when required to do so in an
            emergency.
    5.10  User should immediately report any accident, theft or other incident to a member of the Library staff.

6.  Borrowing
     6.1   Books in the General collection can be taken out on loan. Journals, reference books and archives are to be used in
             the Library only.
     6.2   Library users will be held responsible for all books issued to their library records. If the ID card is lost, the user will
             remain responsible until the Library is informed of the loss. The charge to replace a lost ID card is RM50.00 by
             the Registry Department.
     6.3   Borrowing privileges for the various categories of users are as follows:           

Please note that for WOU open distance learning (ODL) student, borrowing privileges only applies for the Term the student has registered for.


7.   Fines, replacement and damage fees
      7.1  Fines are charged to all users, regardless of status, for any item which is returned after the due date stamped on the
             item, and which has not been renewed. The charges are incorporated into the computerised loan circulation system.
      7.2  Late fees are assessed at the following rates:

       7.3  Replacement and damage are assessed at the following rates: 

8.   Renewals
      8.1  Books can be renewed online, at the Circulation Desk, or by telephone. Please see the Loan Period chart on this page
             to determine your eligibility for renewal.
      8.2  Overdue or recalled materials may not be eligible for renewal. Renewals will be blocked if there are unpaid fines for
             overdue books.

9.  Reservations
     9.1   A user can reserve online, books which are out on loan to other users as long as there are no overdue books or
             outstanding fines. On its return, the item will be kept for the user who placed the hold for a short period of time. It is
             the responsibility of the user who placed the hold, to check to see when the item becomes available.

10. Returning books
      10.1  All books should be returned to the Circulation Desk during the Library opening hours.

11. Document delivery and Inter-library loans service
      11.1  Document delivery service
               Any Wawasan Open University student and staff can request for book and journal articles that are only available in
               the Main Library. This service will be provided free. Requests take time to process and can be expensive so please
               only ask for items that you really need. There is also a limit on how many requests you can make and they will not be
               processed if you have any overdue books or outstanding fines.

      11.2  Inter-Library loans service
               Inter-library loans service is available to all Wawasan Open University students and academic staff. Please email to
               the Library (library@wou.edu.my) with details of your material (printed or  digital format). You will be notified via
               email as soon as the materials arrive. Students are advised to plan in advance when inter-library loans are
               anticipated, since requested items (printed books) can take several weeks to arrive. Availability of printed material
               requested (book) is subject to external Library's permission to loan out. Please note that Inter-library
               loan charges will be transferred to the requestor (if any).

12.   Electronic resources
        Registered students and academic staff are automatically entitled to use all electronic resources subscribed by the
        Library and made available on the Internet. You are encouraged to attend the online library instruction course in order to
        make full use of these information resources. Access to the resources can be made from any computer with Internet
        access both on or off campus.

13.   Copying and printing facilities
        13.1  Photocopying and printing services are available in the Library.
        13.2  Users are reminded to observe copyright restrictions on use of books, audio-visual and CD-ROMs. Failure
                 to observe these Rules may expose you to liability.

14.   Library computer workstations
        14.1  Use of library computers is a privilege that depends on students using the computers appropriately and in
                 accordance with the library policies. They are not to be used for chatting, instant messaging, game playing and
                 viewing pornography. Those caught doing will be denied access to library computers in the future.
        14.2  Library software is copyrighted and may not be reproduced. This includes CD/DVDs that are checked out, DVD in
                 books that may be checked out, and DVDs in reference materials that must remain in the library.
        14.3  Users are not permitted to store any software or other data on the hard drives of the library's computers or alter the
                 programmes currently installed on the systems. Anyone tampering with any library hardware or software will be
                 denied access to library computers in the future, and also may lose their library privileges.