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Library About: Middletown

Mission

The TouroCOM Middletown Medical Library strives to be a center of excellence that develops and sustains services and resources to support the educational and research needs of the students and faculty of the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in the areas of biomedical, health and public health care information. Toward this end the library works to understand the changing and diverse needs of our users, be flexible and quick to adapt to changing needs and technologies, and represent the Library's ethic of honesty, integrity, and trust. The library provides services and resources to support faculty and student outreach efforts within the Middletown community.

Borrowing Period (Circulation Policy)

Borrowing Eligibility

Students, Touro faculty and staff may borrow materials from the library. You must present your Touro photo ID with library barcode at check-out. If you do not have your ID with you, you may not take out materials.

Barcodes may be obtained from a librarian at any time during library hours.

Returns

Materials checked out from the Touro-Middletown Medical Library must be returned to the same library.

During hours of operation, materials can be returned to the circulation staff. After hours, please utilize the book drop located right outside the library and to the right (when exiting the library) for returns.

Loan Periods

Reserve Materials

STUDENTS:
2 hour loan period. Books must remain in the library or quiet study area. Reserves may be renewed for an additional 2 hours (Max number of renewals: 1). Overnight loans (Check-outs within two hour of closing) are not renewable.

FACULTY & STAFF:
30 day loan period – Renewable for an additional 2 days (Max number of renewals: 2).

Reference and Historical Collection

Reference and Historical Collection materials are to remain in the library or quiet study area at all times. They do not circulate.

Books and Study Guides

STUDENTS:
2 week loan period – Renewable for an additional week.

FACULTY & STAFF:
30 day loan period – Renewable for an additional month.

Media (DVD’s, CD’s, Videos, etc.)

STUDENTS:
1 week loan period – Renewable for an additional week.

FACULTY & STAFF:
30 day loan period – Renewable for an additional month.

Limits

Depending on the size of the collection, there may be limits as to how many items you may check out at one time.

Recalls

All materials are subject to recall after a specified period of time. If an item you borrowed is being recalled, we will send you a recall notice via email, informing you of the new due date for the item.

RECALL ELIGIBILITY (DAYS AFTER INITIAL CHECK-OUT):

BOOKS & STUDY GUIDES: 6 days for students / 7 days for faculty and staff.

MEDIA (DVD’S, CD’S, VIDEOS, ETC.): 3 days for students / 7 days for faculty and staff.

RESERVE MATERIALS: 2 days for faculty and staff. There is no recall period for students.

 

Library Fines

Overdue Items

Library materials that are overdue are subject to accruing fines on your account. We offer a grace period for certain items.

Grace Periods and Fines:

BOOKS AND STUDY GUIDES: Students: 3 day grace period/ $1.00 for each day overdue.

MEDIA (DVD’S, CD’S, VIDEOS, ETC.): Students: $1.00 for each day overdue.

RESERVE MATERIALS: Students: 15 minute grace period/ $1.00 for each hour overdue.  Overnight Loans: $1.00 per hour for 1st 2 hours overdue; $2.00 per hour for additional hours

Lost Items

If any materials that you borrow are lost, please inform the library as soon as possible.

We declare overdue items lost if they are not returned within a semester after the due date. You are responsible for replacing any items that are lost. Charges for lost items include the cost to replace the item, processing fees and any overdue fines that accrued up to the date that the item was declared lost.

Damaged Items

If an item is returned in very poor condition where it can no longer be circulated, you will be responsible for replacing the item which may include paying for the replacement, and processing fees.

Penalties

The library may suspend the borrowing privileges of students, staff, and faculty members if you fail to return overdue items including recalls and reserves, and/or accumulated more than $10 in fines.

If materials are not returned and/or fines are not paid, Touro College has the right to hold student transcripts until the fines are cleared.

Library Policies

Library/Quiet Study Policies

We try to limit the policies to just a few, but those few are important:

  1. There is NO eating in the Library or the Quiet Study room. Drinks in a CLOSED container (water bottle, travel mug, etc.) are permitted.
  2. Please be courteous to your fellows and do not have loud conversations in the Library or Quiet Study room. Step out of the room to have your chat.
  3. Please NO cellphone use in the Library or Quiet Study.
  4. Please do NOT move the furniture around in the Quiet Study room or Library.
  5. Do NOT leave personal items unattended for extended periods of time. The Library is not responsible for any items lost or stolen.

 

Library Donations

The TouroCOM Middletown Library is pleased to accept book donations from Touro students, faculty, staff and physicians from the local community.

We CAN accept the following materials:

  • Textbooks, study guides, dictionaries in the areas of Medicine (Internal, Family, Osteopathic, etc.), Biochemistry, Microbiology, Immunology, Physiology, Anatomy, Histology, Epidemiology & Public Health, Medical Ethics, Physical Examination & Diagnosis, and Medical Examination review (Boards, USMLE, etc.).
  • Chapter Books/Novels/Leisure Reading materials for our Book Swap Collection.
  • Books that are in good condition (no torn or missing pages/covers, strong binding, no writing or excessive highlights)
  • Medical books that were published less than 10 years If you are donating books for our Historical Collection, we accept materials that were published more than 30 years ago. This restriction does not apply to books for our Book Swap Collection.

 We CANNOT accept the following materials: 

  • Books in poor condition (pages missing/falling out, torn/missing covers, weak binding)
  • Books with excessive writing or highlights on pages
  • Medical Books that were published between 10 - 30 years ago
  • Journals or Newspapers that are part of a current personal/individual subscription
  • Materials that do not fit the scope of the library’s collection

The library reserves the right to deny or dispose of donation materials that do meet the requirements listed above. If you have any questions regarding our donation policies, please contact the library at midmed.library@touro.edu.

Using Other Libraries

Within Touro

Students at the 125th Street campus are welcome to use any Touro College library. However, if you borrow books from another library, you must return it there, as we have no means to shipping books between libraries. However, at this time you will be unable to login to their computer system.

The New York Medical College in Valhalla New York is part of the Touro College and University System, so you can use that library as well. However, at this time you will be unable to login to their computer system.

Outside of Touro

Touro College is a member of the Metropolitan New York Library Council. Some other member libraries allow reciprocal use of their libraries my users of other members. This is usually only to access a particular book or journal that the user’s home library doesn’t have. If you want to visit one of these libraries you need a special pass. Just ask Touro-Harlem Medical Library Faculty or Staff for oen.

Neither Columbia nor NYU offer access, nor allow others than their students, faculty and staff to use their libraries, just as we don’t allow non-Touro students to use our library.

New York Academy of Medicine Library – is open by appointment Tuesday–Friday - 10 AM–4:45 PM.

Public Libraries

New York City has three public library systems:

New York Public Library – NYPL – serves Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island – it has two types of libraries – research and branch.

Queens Borough Public Library - QBPL – which serves Queens.

Brooklyn Public Library – BPL – which serves Brooklyn - 

Anyone living in New York can get a library card to use any of these libraries. They all have wide ranging and unique collections, plus online access to a variety of materials.

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Pharmacy
Harlem Campus 230 West 125th Street New York, NY 10027 (212) 851-1199