Policies and Information

ACCESS POLICY

The University Libraries have an access policy in force. Patrons are admitted to library facilities upon presentation of a valid University of Tulsa ID card or Library Associates membership access card. Alumni of the University receive a complimentary access card upon completion of an alumni application form. Individuals seeking a Library Associates access card may complete an application form which is available at the Circulation Desk in the Mabee Legal Information Center; however, all applications are subject to approval. Access is limited to attorneys. All applications are reviewed by the administration. An application may be denied for any reason. For information about or assistance with the application form, patrons may contact the Circulation Department (631-2404) or Access Services Librarian (631-2023)

The Mabee Legal Information Center is a selective federal depository library. The purpose of the depository program is to provide the public free and unimpeded access to federal depository documents. It is the policy of the Mabee Legal Information Center to provide this access.

ACCESS BY CHILDREN TO THE LAW LIBRARY

Children under 12 shall not be admitted beyond the entrance foyer of the Legal Information Center, i.e., the Circulation Desk area, except under exceptions outlined below. Children under 12 will be admitted to the entrance foyer for brief transactions with or on behalf of MLIC students, faculty or other patrons, such as renewal or return of materials, obtaining change, etc. Children are not to be left in this area while their parents conduct research, retrieve materials, or go to classes. Individual children above the age of 12 and under the age of 18 who need to use the Legal Information Center for research should make or submit a request to the Director or Associate Director of the Legal Information Center. Such requests are ordinarily made by a principal, teacher or other appropriate representative of the student's school.

Exceptions would be made for children of any age who are part of an organized school visit or tour group for which prior arrangements have been made through the College of Law or Mabee Legal Information Center. Also, a student member of a law school journal or of the Board of Advocates (BOA), student organizations with offices in the Legal Information Center, may bring a child or children to the respective journal or BOA office if the child's or children's visit is limited to that office, and as long as the child or children is/are not left unattended in that office.

Special circumstances may warrant other exceptions and any other requests for access can be made or submitted to the Director or Associate Director of the Mabee Legal Information Center.

ANIMALS

Service animals are welcome in the library, but pets are not permitted.

CARRELS

There are 301 carrels throughout the MLIC and 245 of them are wired to the internet. Carrels in the second and third floors of the MLIC are not assigned and may be used by any patron. Students may rent carrels in the first floor reading areas. Contact the Circulation Desk for rental rates and periods.

CELLULAR PHONES

As a courtesy to library users, cell phones must be turned off or the ringer set to vibrate while in the MLIC. Cell phone use is restricted to the 3rd floor Belsky Gallery, photocopier areas on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor and the Martin Frey Plaza [See: "Telephones," below.]

CHANGE

A change machine is located in the canteen area of John Rogers Hall. It accepts $1 and $5 bills. The photocopiers accept nickels, dimes and quarters. [Also see: "Vendacards for Photocopying," below.]

CIRCULATION

The Law Library has an automated circulation system. A currently valid TU ID or access card is required for use of this system. Circulation privileges for materials which circulate can be arranged for our outside users for an additional fee. Please note that journals, reference books, statutes, law reports, digests, encyclopedias, loose-leaf services, all multi-volume and some other treatises do not circulate. Ask if there is a question about a specific title. Please be aware that there is a security entrance/exit system, and an alarm will sound if books are not checked out properly.

COMPUTER ASSISTED LEGAL RESEARCH - EDUCATIONAL USE POLICIES

LEXIS and Westlaw accounts provided to students, faculty and staff have educational use restrictions. This means that students are prohibited from using these services for clerking and work assignments. The MLIC does provide public access Shepards through LEXIS through its "Get a Document" feature. This LEXIS access enables the user to obtain a case or a statute and check the value or history of the citation. As of spring 2005, the MLIC will also offer Westpack - Westlaw Public Access. Our public access Westlaw account allows our patrons to access a wide range of Westlaw databases.

COMPUTER USE

Users of the MLIC's computers must abide by the University of Tulsa's Ethics Code and Policy for Computer Use.

COPYRIGHT REVISION ACT

On January 1, 1978, the Copyright Revision Act became effective (P.L. 94-533). Although photocopying of library materials is allowed under §107 (fair use) and §108 (library copying), guidelines are suggested for limiting this copying privilege. It is the responsibility of the person making the copies to adhere to the provisions of the Copyright Act.

DISABLED ACCESS

Access to all MLIC levels is available through the use of the elevator located on the west side of each floor. The front doors of the MLIC have disabled access buttons that open the doors automatically. Patrons with physical disabilities that impair mobility may request access through the door adjoining the vending area on the 1st level. Contact the Access Services/Interlibrary Loan Librarian for details.

DOCUMENT DELIVERY

The MLIC provides a fee-based photocopy service for the Legal community of Tulsa and out of town firms. Photocopies of cases, statutes, journal articles and book chapters will be provided upon request. Operational hours of service are 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays, excluding weekends and holidays. A legible cite is required and copyright compliance will be practiced. Orders can be sent via fax, phone, or in person. Standard turnaround time is 24 hours. For the fee schedule, call 918-631-2023.

EMAIL REFERENCE

FIRE ALARM SOUNDING REQUIRES EVACUATION

If the fire alarm sounds, the facility must be evacuated. Go across the street to the west or north and await word that it is safe to reenter.

FOOD, DRINK & TOBACCO USE

Food and tobacco in any form are not permitted to be used or stored in the MLIC. Beverages can be brought into the library as long as they are in "spill proof" plastic containers. Styrofoam or paper cups, even those with lids, are not allowed. Soft drinks in cans are also not allowed. Food and drink can damage library materials and attract unwanted pests. If a spill occurs, please notify a library staff member immediately.

FURNITURE

Please do not move furniture to other locations in the library.

HONOR CODE AS IT RELATES TO MLIC MATERIALS

The College of Law Honor Code provides (in part): "With respect to the College of Law Library, a student shall not willfully or intentionally: (1) mark, tear, mutilate, or destroy library material; (2) hide, mis-shelve, or misfile library material; (3) remove library material from the library without complying with library regulations."

INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL)

Student, faculty and staff of the TU College of Law and access card holders with borrowing privileges have access through ILL to materials and articles not owned by the MLIC. Requests for materials owned by other libraries are usually filled in about seven to ten days. Interlibrary loan is free to all eligible TU patrons.

Electronic forms for submitting ILL requests are available on our website here. There you will select the format you need and complete the form with the information that you have. You will be asked to supply your name and ID number as it appears on your TU ID card. When your request is received and processed, library staff will email you to come by the MLIC and pick up the material.

Copyright guidelines require "fair use" limits on interlibrary loan borrowing. This means that we are only allowed to request 5 articles from any one journal during a calendar year. Copyright fees are to be paid after 5 article requests. For more information or questions, please email Carol Arnold at: Carol-Arnold@utulsa.edu

LOST AND FOUND

Lost articles may be inquired for/claimed at the Circulation Desk. You may also inquire at the Law School Dean's Office or with Campus Security.

LOUNGE AREAS

There are several lounge areas in the MLIC. Current issues of general interest magazines and newsletters are placed on the walls near the lounge on the first floor. Current interest newspapers are on the Mezzanine floor of John Rogers Hall. Please do not remove this reading material from the lounge areas. Leisure reading books shelved near the Information Desk may be checked out or read in the lounge areas.

MESSAGES

The MLIC does not provide a paging service. Staff at the circulation desk will take messages and post them on the message board located across from the circulation desk.

MISSING BOOK SEARCH REQUESTS

If you cannot find the materials you need, please notify the staff at the Circulation Desk. If the book is not checked out, a missing book search request form may be filled out. The Library Staff will conduct a search and notify you if the missing item is found. If you have circulation privileges, interlibrary loan may be used to obtain materials which cannot be located.

PAPER RECYCLING

Please recycle your printer paper. Recycling boxes are located throughout the MLIC and in copy rooms.

PHOTOCOPIERS AND TU GOLD CARDS

Photocopiers are located on each floor of the MLIC. There are two copiers located on the 1st floor, one on the 2nd floor and 1 on the 3rd floor. All copiers will take TU IDs as debt cards. The MLIC is phasing out the use of vendacards and introducing a new system called JAMEX. In the past vendacards in denominations of $2, $5 and $10 were sold at circulation. Vendacards are no longer sold but at this time we have one copier on the 1st floor and one copier on the 3rd floor which will still take vendacards until their value has been used up. The library is changing over to JAMEX machines to handle cost of photocopying. Jamex machines allow the patron to use paper money for their copies. A limited number of copy cards are available for purchase for these machines. JAMEX cards allow the user to add money to the card. The new JAMEX machines can be found on the 2nd floor and one on the 1st floor.

RESHELVING BOOKS

Patrons are asked to reshelve books they remove from the shelves. Patrons wishing to keep books off the shelves for research purposes may request a note from the Circulation Desk that indicates they have permission to hold the items for up to twenty-four hours. Books without library issued notes will be reshelved.

RESTROOMS

Restrooms are located adjacent to the elevator on each floor. There are also restrooms on the first floor at the far southeast corner of the library and across from the journal offices.

SECURITY

Patrons are advised NOT to leave personal belongings unattended in the MLIC. The MLIC takes no responsibility for the personal property of its patrons.

SECURITY SYSTEM

An electronic detection system scans for any library materials inappropriately being removed from the library; an alarm will sound.

SMOKING

John Rogers Hall and the Mabee Legal Information Centers are smoke-free facilities. Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the MLIC, including the Martin Frey Plaza.

STUDY ROOMS

Located on the 1st and 3rd floors, the collaborative study rooms are available for group study. These rooms are open during regular hours and individuals may use them at any time. These rooms may also be reserved through our electronic WebEvents Calendar found at the MLIC website. Rooms may be reserved for blocks 3 hours per group per day. Reservations can be made for up to two weeks in advance. Rooms will be forfeited if no one shows up after 10 minutes.

TELEPHONES

Courtesy telephones, for local or on-campus calls, are located in the Clara Flinn Lounge and corridor (just outside either entrance to the 2nd floor Rotunda.) Other courtesy phones within the MLIC are intended for brief public calls or calls to the Circulation, Reference or Information desks for directional assistance. Please do not move phones to other locations in the MLIC.

VENDACARDS FOR PHOTOCOPYING

Vendacards are available for purchase at the circulation desk and can be used at every photocopier and microfiche machine in the MLIC. They can be purchased in the amounts of $2.00, $5.00 and $10.00. The MLIC accepts cash or checks for the purchase of these cards. Because these are recycled, we ask that you not deface them in any way.

ADDITIONAL POLICIES DIRECTED TO LAW STUDENTS ONLY:

LAPTOP POLICY

Equipment: The library has two Dell laptops for checkout to students. Both machines have nearly identical software available on them, including MSOffice 2000 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet Explorer), Corel Suite 9 (WordPerfect, Presentations and QuatroPro), and Netscape Navigator 4.x. Both machines are capable of being connected to the TU network via ethernet card. Each carrying case contains: the laptop, a CAT5 ethernet connector, a battery/AC-adaptor, a brief user's manual and one CDROM drive and one 3.5 inch floppy drive. Circulation or borrowing of laptops for limited periods

Authorized Users

Laptops circulate to authorized law students and MLIC staff.

Borrower Requirements

All persons borrowing a laptop should be asked to produce current, valid TU identification.

Loan Period

The loan period for both machines is two (2) hours. Laptops can be renewed for an additional two hours unless requested for use by another patron.

Exceptions

Normally, students will not be granted an extended loan period. However, rare exceptions are made and anyone wishing to request an exception should first talk to Carol Arnold.

Building Use Only

Laptops circulated to law students do not leave the College of Law complex (John Rogers Hall and the Mabee Legal Information Center).

Responsibilities

Circulation Department staff

  1. Circulation staff are responsible for checking for valid ID before circulating laptops. Circulation staff are responsible for communicating the restrictions on use of the laptop to the borrower. Restrictions are also included on a "Notes to User" sheet in each laptop. Restrictions include such items as limits on where the laptop may be used and the requirement that users not install nonlibrary software on the laptops.
  2. Circulation staff are responsible for checking returned laptop carrying cases for all component parts. Laptops should be checked while the borrower is still present. Circulation staff are responsible for replacing the laptop in the locking closet in Circulation. Laptops should not be left lying out at the Circulation desk.
  3. Circulation staff are not responsible for instructing the borrower on how to use the laptop. Should the borrower, by word or deed, indicate that they do not know how to use a laptop, they should be encouraged to postpone the transaction, and encouraged to contact either Daniel Bell or a member of the Law School Computing Department for instruction. An exception would be if there is a computer lab assistant on duty at the time. The borrower could then be directed downstairs to obtain help from the lab assistant. Reference librarians are not routinely responsible for laptop instruction; however, if an individual librarian is comfortable doing so, that also is an option.
  4. Circulation staff are not responsible for the condition of the software upon return of the laptop. However, if a patron indicates that something did not work, circulation staff should file a problem report by e-mailing: support@mail.law.utulsa.edu . The problem report should reference the machine by TU serial number and provide as much detail as possible about what is wrong with the machine. The staff member should then refrain from checking the laptop out again until it has been checked over by tech support staff.

Responsibilities

Borrower

  1. The borrower is responsible for understanding the mechanics of laptop hardware and software use.
  2. The borrower is responsible for using the laptop under safe conditions.
  3. The borrower is responsible for returning the laptop to Circulation in good condition and at the appointed time.
  4. The borrower is responsible for following the guideline prohibiting the installation of software not owned by the Legal Information Center on any of the laptops. If installation of software is necessary for the authorized use of a laptop, it should be uninstalled before the laptop is returned to Circulation.

JOURNAL OFFICE MATERIALS POLICY

  1. The purpose of this policy is to make sure that materials are available for all patrons of the library as well as the journal staffs and to insure the journal editorial staffs have the access their cite checking assignments require.
  2. Only those materials which are checked out shall be stored for more than 24 hours in the Editorial Offices of any of the student journals. Materials may be checked out either from the Circulation Desk at anytime or from the Information Desk on the 1st floor, weekdays 1-5 pm. All materials checked out to a journal will be checked out to the journal's departmental patron record.
  3. Shelving carts will be designated for each journal office for materials checked out to the journal office. Once a week a part-time circulation staff member of the MLIC will inventory all library materials stored in each journal's office. These materials, if not checked out, will be checked out to the journal's departmental patron record.
  4. No reporters (Federal, Regional or State) or statute volumes (Federal or State) shall be stored in journal offices. If found when offices are inventoried, these volumes will be removed and placed in the reshelving carts unless presently in use by a staff member.
  5. Library materials checked out and kept in a journal office must be available for retrieval by MLIC staff members for use of other patrons who need them. When the materials are retrieved, a flag will be inserted by the Circulation staff in order to insure that they get back to the appropriate journal office that same day. (The material will not be discharged and again checked out to the Journal, as the flag will suffice to ensure the material is returned to the Journal.) Upon return to Circulation, the materials will be returned to the journal office from which they were obtained unless they are no longer needed.