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About the Library: Library Policies

Mission Statement

The Oakland Community College Library provides information literacy education, resources, and services to support the curricula offered by the College and the research needs of students, faculty, staff, and administration. The OCC Libraries include a variety of voices and perspectives in our resources and services and will honor and respect all our identities (including race, gender identity and expression, class, religion, age, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, ability, and other visible and nonvisible differences).  The Library supports general information needs, helps to foster intellectual exploration and critical thinking among constituents within the college and community, and promotes and models a respectful, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment.

Collection Development

The Oakland Community College Libraries' collection supports the academic and research needs of the Oakland Community College faculty and students. The Libraries' Collection Development Policy describes the procedures for selecting and maintaining the collection. 

Read the full policy here.

Donated Materials

The Libraries will accept donations at the librarians’ discretion. OCC does not assign a value for tax purposes. A receipt can be provided by the OCC Foundation.

Be aware that:

  • We may add the materials to the collection.
  • We reserve the right to sell or dispose of items that are not added.
  • Some materials may not be accepted:
    • VHS tapes
    • Encyclopedias
    • Magazines/journals
    • Textbooks older than five years

Textbooks

Textbooks

  • Required textbooks for courses are not generally purchased by the OCC Campus Libraries, but double-check in the Library Catalog.
  • Funds are limited, and purchasing textbooks may preclude the purchase of other important library materials.
  • For information about which books will be used as textbooks, check the OCC Bookstore website.

Course Reserves & Textbooks

  • OCC Libraries do not automatically place textbooks on Course Reserve in the Library. Textbooks and other course materials are put on Reserve at the request of the instructor.
  • Faculty may ask that their personal copies of materials or books owned by the Library be placed on Reserve by using this form.
  • Students may search for Reserve materials by using the Reserves tab in the Library Catalog.
  • Reserve materials are usually used in the Library only. If the materials you need are not in an OCC library, the librarian will explore other libraries' materials with you.

Interlibrary Loan

  • OCC Libraries will not request textbooks that are required for courses from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan.
  • Interlibrary Loan only allows you to keep a book for three weeks, which does not provide sufficient time to study a text you will need for an entire semester.

Buying Used and New Books

  • Textbooks should be purchased from the same campus where you are enrolled for the course.
  • For OCC Bookstore location, hours, and detailed textbook information, see the Bookstore.

Interlibrary Loan

If we don't have a book you need, we'll try to get it for you from another library.

To have materials delivered to an OCC campus library from another participating library you must be a currently enrolled student, faculty, or staff member with an activated One Card.

For full details and instructions, visit our Interlibrary Loan Guide. 

Course Reserve Guidelines

The Course Reserve Collection is designed to supplement learning resources for specific courses which are available to students, both electronically and physically.

In order to work within copyright, only materials that meet the qualifications below may be placed on Course Reserve:

Reserve:

  • OCC owned physical copies.
  • OCC electronic sources to which OCC subscribes. Use the “Durable Links” or “Permalinks”  in our OCC databases;  electronic books.  See  For Faculty/Durable Links for explanation. 
  • Personal copy that is donated to the library (once removed from the Course Reserve Collection items will be added to the circulating collection if librarian deems appropriate). 

Material not accepted for Course Reserve:

  • Instructor editions or review copies of textbooks. This includes material labeled Instructor’s Edition, Annotated Instructor’s Edition, Publisher’s Review Copy, Teacher’s Manual, Examination Edition or Review Copy.
  • Workbooks (rationale: students tend to write in them)
  • Reproductions of materials without copyright permission
    • i.e. Photocopies of journal articles, chapters from books, and reproductions of audio materials

How to place an item on Course Reserve

Infopass

Infopass is a special reciprocal borrowing program of the Southeastern Michigan League of Libraries (SEMLOL). It allows patrons of one member library to use resources at another member library when their own library has insufficient resources. Infopass is also the form that lets them use the other library.  More ...

Copyright

As copyright liaisons for the college, your OCC Library Faculty cannot grant you permission to use a copyrighted work, but here’s what we can do for you:  

  • Connect you to guidelines to help you answer your copyright questions.
  • Help you set up links to OCC library resources.  (Using resources available through the OCC Libraries is a great way to comply with copyright.)

For full details, see our Copyright & Fair Use Guide. 

Lending

Currently enrolled OCC students, faculty and staff may borrow materials. Borrowing is also available to eligible OCC Alumni Association members, OCC emeriti, or Oakland County residents (at least 18 years of age).  Library materials may be returned to any OCC campus library.

Library Card

A library card is required for checking out materials. Student and Employee One Cards serve as the library card. Identification is required. Eligible community patrons can be issued a basic library card. Former OCC students may be issued an Alumni Library Card with proof of alumni status (an alumni membership card). See the OCC Alumni Association website for information on getting an alumni membership.

Please report a lost card as soon as possible.  There is a $10 replacement fee for a lost Raider One Card.  Basic library cards and Alumni Library cards may be replaced once for free, but subsequent card replacements will cost $2.00.

Checkout Periods

  • Books - 3 weeks
  • Audio Recordings - 3 weeks
  • Video Recordings - period varies

Periodicals and newspapers do not circulate but may be photocopied or printed on microfilm/microfiche printers or from web resources.

Maximum Number Of Items

A student or staff member may have no more than 15 items checked out. A resident, guest, or alumni borrower may have no more than 5 items checked out. No library user may have more than 5 items on a particular subject checked out.

Recalls

All materials are subject to recall for OCC faculty use.

Renewals

All materials may be renewed twice for three-week periods if there is not a hold for another patron or recall for faculty. Renewals may be made in person, by phone, and and online. 

To renew online, go to My Library Account. Sign in with your MyOCC ID and password. Once logged in, click Loans and renew the item. Contact a Library Circulation Desk if you have questions.

Overdue Fines

There are no daily overdue fines on most circulating items. Certain short-term loan reserve items do accrue overdue fines of $20 per day. Contact a Library Circulation Desk if you have questions.

Materials Not Returned / Damaged

For unreturned materials the first overdue notice is issued 7 days after the first due date. If material is not returned, a second notice is issued 7 days later. If required, the third notice is a bill for unreturned material.

Damaged materials (water damaged, stained, badly torn, chewed, or other damage beyond normal wear and tear necessitating replacement) will incur the same charges as unreturned materials.

The charge for an unreturned or damaged item starts at $40.00. The final charge may vary depending on whether or not the library is able to determine a replacement cost for the item.

  • A charge of $15.00 or more will result in the loss of borrowing privileges from OCC libraries until the charge is paid. This does not apply to in-house course reserves
  • A charge of $50.00 or more will prohibit registration for new courses until the charge is paid.

With proper documentation, charges and fees may be reduced in case of stolen materials.

Refunds

Payment for a lost item may only be refunded within 90 days of the original due date of the item. The patron must have a receipt for the lost material payment. This applies to all items that are on loan from the OCC Libraries but not to items that are on loan from non-OCC libraries.

Use & Access

OCC libraries provide information services for students, faculty and staff of OCC and are open to the community for on-site use of all collections and services, except that some restrictions may apply due to demand, pricing structure, or license terms and conditions. See below for details.

Physical Collection Access
Some collections, such as Reference, curriculum videos, and most Reserves, are available to all users for use only in the library. Some Reserve materials can be borrowed for a limited time such as 1-3 days. This is to insure availability for other users when needed. In the case of curriculum videos, OCC is bound by licensing terms and conditions. Most print materials can be photocopied for educational purposes under the copyright laws of United States. (See OCC Copyright Policy).

Electronic Resources
OCC libraries provide access to selected electronic services and databases via the Internet and other digital media. Providers of such services may restrict usage to OCC students, faculty, staff and on-site users by licensing terms and conditions. Most of these are available without restriction to all library users from PCs in the libraries. However, access from PCs outside the library will require a MyOCC username and password for validation of the user's affiliation with OCC. Call a campus library if access is denied and you think you should be eligible.

Computer Use
Use of computer resources in the OCC libraries is restricted to students, faculty & staff due to network security restrictions. Access to Wi-Fi in the OCC libraries is available to students, staff and guest users who are connecting through their own devices.

The Internet is a dynamic resource and the OCC Libraries cannot control access points that often change rapidly and unpredictably. OCC Libraries make no warranty, expressed or implied, for the timeliness, accuracy, or usefulness of information accessed via the Internet. As with other materials, restriction of a minor's access to the Internet is the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian.

All users of OCC computers must comply with Technology Appropriate Use Regulations

Privacy and Ethics
OCC libraries support and comply with the U.S. Department of Education Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the State of Michigan Library Privacy Act and the American Library Association Code of Ethics.

OCC Student Handbook

OCC is committed to empowering our students to succeed and advancing our community.
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