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Library Membership and Access – Terms and Conditions

Health Library Ireland – Terms and Conditions of Library Membership and Access

This access policy specifies access rights to designated library services from Health Library Ireland (full list here)

The aim of the access policy is to:

Library Membership & Accessing Online resources

Authorised service users (a list of ‘Authorised Service Users’ is below) can register online to be able to borrow items and access online resources

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

You can view the complete list of libraries for contact details and for any queries you may have.

Your Contact Information and communication from the library – Data Protection and Privacy

In order to set up your library account and to allow us to communicate with you about the items you have on loan, to send overdue reminders and notifications (for example to let you know an item you reserved is now available) we need the following minimum information from all registered library members:

The information you provide to us for membership is accessible to staff in your home library service only, it is never made available to third parties. We will only use your contact details to contact you in relation to your library account. Library members can access and view the details the library stores on them in the library management system by logging in to their personal account on the library catalogue. Library users may request details of the information the library holds on them and may withdraw consent for access to this information (bearing in mind this may limit their library borrowing and access).

More on the information we collect and your data protection HERE

Authorised Library Service Users

Authorised service users are defined as follows:

Category Description Access Entitlements
HSE or Department of Health Staff Permanent, temporary or retired members of staff of the HSE or Department of Health staff entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service and to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via online sign-in
Agency Staff Staff employed via an agency for the duration of their employment with the HSE or Department of Health. This category does not include all staff registered with any specific agency Agency staff employed for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more are entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service and to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via online sign-in. Agency staff employed for a period less than 4 weeks are entitled to reference access to library collections and to onsite access to purchased electronic resources via generic online sign-in.
Seconded Staff Staff on secondment to the HSE or Department of Health from another institution or organisation for the period of their secondment. Seconded staff employed for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more are entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service and to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via online sign-in. Seconded staff employed for a period less than 4 weeks are entitled to reference access to library collections and to on-site access to purchased electronic resources via generic online sign-in.
Contract Staff Staff contracted to the HSE or Department of Health for the duration of their contract. Contract staff employed for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more are entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service and to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via personal online sign-in.
Students on Clinical Placement Undergraduate or postgraduate students on clinical placement at a HSE or Department of Health location for the duration of their clinical placement Where appropriate service level agreements are in place, students on clinical placement for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more are entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service. They are also entitled to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via personal online sign-in. Students on clinical placement for a period less than 4 weeks are entitled to reference access to library collections and to on-site access to purchased electronic resources via generic online sign-in.
 Tutors Tutors providing training at a HSE or Department of Health location for the duration of the educational programme. Subject to authorisation by the Regional Librarian or Library Manager, tutors are entitled to reference access to library collections.
Walk-In Users Subject to authorisation by the Regional Librarian or Library Manager, walk-in users are entitled to reference access to library collections.

Authorised service users wishing to join a library should be aware that confirmation of their eligibility is required and may mean that a decision cannot be made instantly. However, all decisions as to the eligibility of a given applicant will normally be communicated to the applicant within 3 working days.

Loan Services

Authorised service users with loan rights as specified in “Authorised Service Users” above are eligible to take items on loan from library collections. Loan entitlements and the loan periods of library materials are determined by the policy of the local library service. In the event of overdue items residing on a library account, no additional items may be taken on loan. In the event of permanent departure from the HSE or Department of Health, library users must ensure that all loan items are returned to the library. In the event of repeated breaches of library circulation policies, Health Library Ireland reserves the right to suspend loan privileges indefinitely. Each library user is responsible for the replacement costs of items lost or damaged while on loan to the user.

Library Electronic resources

Authorised service users are entitled to access purchased electronic resources via personal or generic online sign-in. Access to and reproduction of electronic resources and online content made available through Health Library Ireland is governed by license agreements with vendors. In accessing licensed electronic resources, all library users should:

In general, library users may not systematically download, distribute to non-authorised users or retain large amounts of licensed information: eg download all articles in a journal issue or engage in large-scale archiving of online content to create a separate repository.

Photocopying and printing services

The supply of photocopies of extracts from documents in library collections is regulated by and provided subject to the provisions of the law of copyright. The supply of photocopies of extracts from documents in library collections is provided subject to such charges as may be imposed by the local library service. The supply of extracts from documents held in electronic resources is regulated by agreements in force with commercial and other suppliers concerning the copyright in those documents. The supply of extracts from documents held in electronic resources is provided subject to such charges as may be imposed by the local library service.

Enquiry and research services

All authorised service users regardless of geographic location may avail of simple enquiry and research services. At the discretion of the Regional Librarian or Library Manager and subject to such charges as may be imposed by the local library service, additional enquiry and research services may also be provided. Additional enquiry and research services may include mediated searching and complex enquiry services: eg clinical queries and the research request service.

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