We would like to welcome all new and returning students to Embu College Library and to wish you a happy and successful academic Journey. The Embu College Library is located in a serene environment ideal for vibrant academic study and research.

The Library’s services and collections are entirely dedicated to support the Embu College community of faculty, students and staff. The Library offers excellent internet connectivity and we are planning to have an extra efficient online access to rich e-resources and digital content through an advanced information and communication technology-based facilities in the near future.

In addition to printed books and journals, the Library intends to subscribe to a growing number of electronic databases which contain e-versions of thousands of journals and books. Staff will be glad to help you to identify and use the e-resources that you need for your studies.Training sessions will be held regularly on how to use the databases most effectively when undertaking your research.

The Library has grown and its physical book stock has increased rapidly during the previous years. The Library’s book stock is organized by subject on the shelves and you’ll soon find your way around it. If you look up a book in our catalogue you will find its classification number (we use the Library of Congress classification scheme in which all books have an alphabetical notations ranging from A to Z usually followed by a decimal point and further numbers to indicate their subject).

The staff will be glad to help you gain maximum benefit from using the Library. We are pleased to offer our expertise in answering your inquiries about any library-related issues

The Library’s patrons have access to various research portals to help you conduct expert research and retrieve relevant resources. Our Library is also committed to obtaining requested documents that are unavailable in our collection from the document suppliers and inter-library document delivery.

Embu College Library website will also provide informative guidelines and answers to our frequently asked questions (FAQ). Be sure to use the Library in its many forms and ask for assistance through the diverse channels available.

We look forward to meet and serve you in the library very soon and your comments and suggestions are welcome.

LIBRARY RULES AND REGULATIONS

Operating Hours

Mondays to Fridays                             8:00am to 9pm

Saturdays                                              8:30am to 4 pm

Sundays and public holidays:           closed

Discipline

All users must observe total silence in the library and its environs at all times.

All users are required to show their college identity cards upon request by any library staff as well as Access cards when necessary.

Use of mobile phones in the library is strictly prohibited

All bags, cases, folders etc must be left in the luggage area outside the library.

any responsibility for the loss of personal property or books already checked out to a user.

All users are required to show all items to the librarian at the circulation desk before leaving the library.

No student is allowed to enter the circulation area without the consent of the library staff

Anyone caught marking, defacing or mutilating books or any other library material will be expected to pay the material with the most current edition of the same, according to the policies of the library.

Good order must be observed in the library at all times for example, placing of feet on the furniture. Eating and drinking, smoking, sleeping etc. is not allowed.

Group discussions are not allowed in the library.

Use of sound emitting equipment like radios, Walkman, cell phones, etc. is strictly prohibited within the library and its environs and such shall attract a fine of Kshs 300 or suspension from the use of the facility or both in extreme cases.

Seats may not be reserved in the library

Users are not allowed to reshelf books after removing them from the shelves for a misplaced book is a lost book.

No library equipment may be moved, modified or tampered with without the permission of the library staff.

Anyone who shall be found stealing any material from the library shall be required to pay five (5) times the price of the material.

Borrowing Procedure

All registered students, faculty and staff have borrowing privileges in the library. Other people who are not members but are somehow affiliated to the college may be allowed to use the library but do not have borrowing privileges.

Borrowing period is strictly between the stipulated working hours.

A user must be a duly registered student in the current semester to be able to access the library services.

All students must present their college IDs before borrowing any library materials and any other document that may be requested by the librarians.

Library materials may not be taken from the library unless the library staff has properly issued them out.

Students are allowed to borrow a maximum of 2 items for  period of seven days (i.e. one week)

All borrowed material must be returned on or before the due date.

Students are not allowed to borrow books on behalf of others or transfer borrowed materials to other students.

Students with overdue materials and overdue fines will not be allowed to use the facility and such charges shall be remitted to the college finance department for billing.

All reserve materials must be returned at the specified period.

The Following Materials Can Only Be Used Within the Library

Reference materials which include specific library materials identified by the library staff

• Dictionaries
• Bibles
• Encyclopedias
• Newspapers
• Journals and magazines
• Past papers
• Syllabuses

Damage/Loss of Library Materials

All users will be held responsible for any damage or loss of library materials in their possession and will be required to meet the cost of replacement and processing.

Users must ensure that the books they borrow are in good condition to avoid being held responsible for any damages noted while returning the books.

Lost books must be reported to the librarian immediately and replaced or paid for within a semester

Lost library books that are recovered must be handed to the librarian as they remain the property of the college library.

Overdue Charges/Fines

General collection books Kshs 20 per day

Books not returned at the end of the semester      :Ksh 500 plus the daily overdue charges                                                                                

Exclusion from the Use Of The Library

The library committee shall have the power to suspend or exclude from use of the library, any user who disregards the library rules and regulations

The library staffs have a right to ask students to leave the library if their behavior is deemed to be inappropriate or causing disturbance to other users or in any way not adhering to the college rules or by any means proving to be a threat to the library materials.

Admission

The following people are allowed to use the library:

• All registered students of the college
• Faculty and other staff in the college

LOAN PERIODS

The length of time that the books maybe borrowed is as follows:

• Students        2 books for one week
• Faculty           3 books for 1 month
• Other staff     2 books for 2 weeks

Damage and Loss of Library Material

Any user who causes damage to or loss of any library property will be charged twice the amount as replacement. Marking of books and any other material is also considered as damage.

NB: These rules and regulations are subject to review by the library committee from time to time.