Following a recent meeting of the library faculty committee, several more changes to GHC’s libraries are now in place.

Students should be aware that if they wish to borrow materials from a GHC library, they will need to have their student ID as proof of enrollment. If students do not have their GHC ID cards, a driver’s license may be used instead.

Students will no longer be charged a daily late fee for materials borrowed, but will instead be charged $35 if those materials are lost or damaged and may be subject to paying the cost of replacement. Books that are overdue for more than 60 days will be counted as lost.

Susan Vines, assistant librarian for public services, encourages students to renew their books and materials online to prevent them being labeled as “lost.”

Elijah Scott, director of GHC’s libraries, said, “We don’t want students’ money; we just want our stuff back.” Scott pointed out that the prices for lost or damaged books are taken from the “Library and Books Trade Almanac” and are not determined by GHC library staff.

In addition, Vines emphasized that any books that are checked out from a GHC library must be turned in on the last day of class each semester.

Scott and Vines also mentioned that students can receive help when they are not on campus through ask.highlands.edu.

This website allows students to get assistance through live chat, text messaging, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, by telephone and through the “virtual librarian.”

However, these services are only available during the library’s operating hours.

In addition to these policy changes, which affect all GHC libraries, the Floyd campus library is undergoing renovation.

The Floyd library will have four new group study rooms and a dedicated quiet study area in its northeast corner. Derrick Mitchell, an art major at the Floyd campus, said, “A quiet study area is a great addition because I like to do research without a lot of distractions.”

Fourteen skylight-style lighting fixtures are being installed in the library’s central area along with new, brighter paint throughout the building. Mitchell said, “The brighter paint and lighting make it a more comfortable environment.”

The unisex restroom will be removed in order to clear a space on the back wall of the library to display student art work, and both the men’s and women’s restrooms will be made handicapped accessible before the renovation is complete.

All the computer terminals in the Floyd campus library, including the central GALILEO terminals, are being moved to the southeast corner of the library to make room for the quiet study area.

The renovations to the Floyd campus library are scheduled to be complete before fall semester 2011.