Terms and conditions for Library Membership Cards and carrel rental

1.1 Users may use their Membership Card for the following services:

• to borrow items from Senate House Library
• to print and photocopy in University libraries, using pre-loaded credit;

1.2 The card is not covered by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and these terms do not entitle students to any purpose other than stated in 1.1 above. The card is not a credit card and all use is limited to the amount of pre-loaded and standing credit on it and any other limits referred to in these terms and conditions.

1.3 There is no interest payable to users on the credit balance of the card and it does not amount to a deposit with the Library.

1.4 Users are solely responsible for the management of the credit balance on their card.

1.5 Users must carry their card at all times when in the Library and must produce the card at the reasonable request of a University official.

1.6 Users are only permitted 3 temporary tickets. On the fourth occasion users will have to pay £5 for a replacement card.

1.7 Should University of London members arrive at the library without their card, entrance will only be permitted on production of a valid college ID.

2.1 Users must take all reasonable precautions to prevent loss, theft or misuse of their card.

2.2 Users must never knowingly attempt to use their card in any device which has not been approved for the purpose of the card.

2.3 Users must not lend their card to anyone to allow them to gain unauthorised access to Library facilities.

2.4 If a card is lost, stolen or otherwise liable to be misused, students must co-operate and provide reasonable assistance to the Library, the police and any other persons the Library reasonably directs them to. If a user can produce a crime number in respect of a lost or stolen card then there will be no charge for a replacement.

2.5 Any losses incurred as a result of the card being lost, stolen or misused shall be borne solely by the cardholder. The Library shall bear no responsibility, financial or otherwise, except to the extent that it is proved to have acted negligently in respect of that loss.

2.6 Whenever a card is used, it shall be presumed that the transaction has been undertaken by the rightful owner in all circumstances.

2.7 In circumstances where a card has been lost, a replacement will be issued by the Library at a cost of £5 payable by the user.

3.1 Users must take all reasonable precautions to ensure the card does not become damaged.

4.1 In the event of a dispute, the Library may rely fully on the data held on the card or associated account and related hardware as conclusive evidence of transaction history.

4.2 The University may also rely on any data on the card as conclusive evidence of the matters recorded in them and that the transactions described by them actually occurred.

5.1 The Library may share information held on the card and related hardware concerning users and their use of the card with appointed agents:

• to provide users with the service applied for; or
• to help resolve a complaint, for analysis and/or management information; or
• for purposes of fraud prevention, audit or debt collection; or other cardholders, but only where it is considered necessary for resolution of fraud or dispute, which will be done in accordance with the current data protection legislation.

6.1 Where it is considered that there are reasonable grounds for doing so, the Library may suspend or terminate the use of a card at any time without prior notice.

6.2 The Library reserves the right to withdraw all cards, suspend some or all of the services related to them or replace the cards with one or more alternatives at any time and without prior notice to users.

7.1 All Users will be issued with a card.

7.2 Any unused credits are non refundable or transferable.

8.1 Nothing in these terms and conditions will confer on any third party any benefit under, or the right to enforce, any of these terms and conditions.

8.2 The Library may assign any of its rights and obligations under these terms and conditions to any other person or business, subject to such party continuing the obligations in these terms and conditions.

8.3 These terms and conditions will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts, and construed in accordance with the laws, of England and Wales

9.1 The Library does not issue refunds for unused print credit.  You are advised to use all outstanding credit before your card expires. For additional information please view our Print Terms and Conditions.

1.1. Carrels may be booked on a carrels may be booked on a Monday-Sunday basis. Where the library is closed during a Monday-Sunday period, the rental fee will be adjusted pro-rata.

1.2. Where a user books a Monday-Saturday period that has already started, no refund or price-adjustment is available for unused days.

1.3. Carrels must be booked via the University of London Online Shop, with payment taken at the time of booking with a debit or credit card.

1.4. Booking a Carrel does not guarantee occupancy of a specific Carrel. Carrels are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis when the user collects the key.

2.1. The Research Carrels service is available throughout the year to members of the Library.  Priority, which includes being able to book a carrel for up to six months at a time is given to those:

Employed by the University of London in an academic capacity
Engaged in a research degree with the University of London

However, all members of the Library, including all University of London  postgraduates, undergraduates, academic staff and students from other Universities and private researchers may also book a carrel but only for one week at a time

All Library memberships should be valid until at least the end of the carrel booking period.

2.2. Bookings made by any other user will be cancelled by the Library and the amount paid refunded, in accordance with 4.1.

3.1. Academic staff and research students may book any and all weeks available in the Online Shop at any given time, which will usually make it possible to book up to 24 weeks in advance.

3.2. All other members of the Library, including all University of London post graduates, undergraduates, academic staff and students from other Universities and private researchers may book for a single week at a time only and must wait until Thursday before booking the following week. Monday-Saturday periods booked prior to the preceding Thursday will be cancelled by the Library and the amount paid refunded, in accordance with 4.1.

4.1. Where a booking is cancelled by the Library in accordance with 2.2 and 3.2 the payment card used to make the payment will usually be refunded within 10 working days.

4.2. In the event that Library business has prevented a user from accessing their Carrel, the payment card used to make the payment will be refunded on a pro-rate basis for the affected day(s), usually within 10 working days.

4.3. Except in accordance with 4.1 and 4.2, payments for Carrel bookings are non-refundable.

5.1. Bookings are extended via the Online Shop in accordance with 1.3.  Academic staff and research students may extend at any time and book any and all weeks available in the Online Shop, which will usually make it possible to book up to 24 weeks in advance.

5.2. All University of London post graduates, undergraduates, academic staff and students from other Universities and private researchers must wait until the Thursday before the week they require to extend their booking for an additional week.

6.1. Keys are collected from the Service Desk when the user is ready to take up occupancy; no refunds are available for unused days if a user collects their key later than the first day of the period booked.

6.2. Carrels are allocated to a named individual and are not transferrable.

6.3. The Library accepts no responsibility for theft and/or damage to personal property left in the Carrels. It is the user’s responsibility to lock the Carrel when not in use.

6.4. For health and safety reasons, Carrels must not be locked from the inside.

6.5. Occupancy will be deemed to have expired if the applicant fails to extend their booking and the Carrel will be made available to other eligible users.

6.6. Any personal property left in a Carrel after the end of the occupancy will be boxed up, retained in lost property for one month and then disposed of.

6.7. Carrel keys should be returned to the Service Desk during staffed hours or to the small black box on the security desk next to the exit gates during unstaffed/self-service hours, on or before the final day of occupancy. Loss of a Carrel key will result in a £20 replacement charge. Keys returned later than the due date will incur fines at the daily rental rate for each day overdue. 

6.8. Library staff reserves a right of access to Carrels in order to ensure that these Terms and Conditions are adhered to or to conduct Library business.

6.9. The Library Regulations apply to Carrel occupants – including but not limited to provisions relating to food and drink, noise, fines, renewals and mobile phone use.

6.10. Library materials may not be left in Carrels unless they have been issued to the occupant’s Library account or Carrel Allowance account.

6.11. Occupants are entitled to have up to 20 circulating items issued to the Carrel at any one time. These items must remain within the Carrel while issued. Items are issued for 1 week, and can be renewed in accordance with the Library’s normal renewal policy.

6.12. During the occupancy of the Carrel, the occupant is expected to keep the Carrel reasonably neat and tidy. Occupants should place their waste in the recycling bins located at the entrance of each reading room. Carrels will be routinely cleaned once a month.  A deep clean will take place once a year during the library summer vacation operating hours.  Access to the carrels will be restricted during this period.

6.13. The Library reserves the right to terminate a user’s Carrel occupancy without refund at any time if any of these terms and conditions are breached.