Library and Computing Policies
Course of Study 2013-2014
Kenyon College's Division of Library and Information Services (LBIS) supports the academic mission of the College by providing library and computing resources, services and facilities that are essential to teaching, learning, research, and general scholarship. Housed in the Olin and Chalmers libraries, LBIS is responsible for providing access to and maintaining the most effective physical and online collections. LBIS maintains the infrastructure, facilities, and resources of the campus network, computing labs, and computing services.
- Library Resources
- nformation Services
- Rights of Members of the Kenyon Community
- Responsibilities of Members
Library Resources
Kenyon community members have access to many different types of resources and services. The physical collections of books, journals, music, and videos are housed in the Olin and Chalmers libraries. Through the web site, http://lbis.kenyon.edu, we provide access to online resources that include e-books, full texts of academic journal articles, and databases of scholarly materials. Kenyon community members may borrow millions of resources from other libraries in the state of Ohio through the OhioLink consortial library system. The circulation and usage policies for all these resources are available through the web site at http://lbis.kenyon.edu.
The library buildings also contain computing labs, classrooms, a wide variety of study and reading spaces, student carrels, and group work spaces. The building areas are divided into regions with different expectations of quiet, clearly designated by signs and on the website. Some areas welcome a reasonable level of noise, while others, which serve as a work space for activities requiring deep concentration, require significant quiet.
Library users are permitted to bring food and drink into the buildings, subject to the guidelines found on signs and on the web site. Food and drink pose a risk to library collections, equipment, and furnishings because of both accidental spillage and the potential of attracting vermin. The food policy guidelines limit the types of food and containers to mitigate this. Special receptacles for food trash can be found on each floor.
nformation Services
Technology Resources and Services
The Library and Information Services division supports and maintains the campus computer and telephone networks, the technology inside each classroom, and the computers, printers, and other technology in offices, laboratories, and public sites. LBIS supports the administrative services and web sites of the the college and manages all computer and network accounts necessary to access these resources. Help for using these resources can be found on the web site ( http://lbis.kenyon.edu ) and through the HelpLine, a phone-based service at 427-5700.
The campus computer environment is generally open, allowing students and community members to connect personal computers, tablets, smart phones, and game devices to the network and to the Internet. Open access to the College's information services requires an intellectual environment based on mutual respect and trust, information-sharing, collaboration with peers, free inquiry, the free expression of ideas, and a secure information infrastructure.
The health and well-being of such an environment is the responsibility of each member of the Kenyon community. All community members are expected to behave in a responsible, ethical, and legal manner regarding the use of the College's information services. The policies set forth below, defining the rights and responsibilities of individual members of the community, are intended to ensure that such an environment is maintained. By using Kenyon's information services, a member of the Kenyon community implicitly agrees to abide by these policies.
Rights of Members of the Kenyon Community
1. Fair and reasonable access. Open access to information is a precondition to one's personal and professional development and to the sense of community at Kenyon. Access to information, however, must be qualified by other people's right to privacy and their intellectual property rights.
2. Ownership and acknowledgment of intellectual works. Community members have ownership rights over their own intellectual works. Kenyon seeks to create an environment in which people may feel free to create and collaborate with peers without fear that the products of their intellectual efforts will be violated.
3. Collection and disclosure of personal information. Members have the right to be informed about personal information collected about them, and about how it is to be used, as well as the right to review and correct that information.
4. Security. Members have the right to expect reasonable security against intrusion and damage to their electronically stored information.
5. Freedom from harassment. Members have the right to pursue their College work without harassment by another person through electronic means.
6. Due process. Members have the right to due process in cases of alleged policy violations. They shall be dealt with according to established College judicial processes.
Responsibilities of Members
1. Respect for the rights of others. The standards of common sense and courtesy that apply to the use of any shared resource apply to the use of Kenyon's information services. They should be used wisely and carefully, with consideration for the needs of others. Anyone who uses these services to harass, intimidate, or threaten another will be referred to the appropriate College judicial authority.
2. Respect for the privacy of other's information, even when that information is not securely protected. Information stored electronically is considered confidential unless the owner intentionally makes that information available to other groups or individuals. Personal information should not be looked at, copied, altered, or destroyed without the owner's explicit permission, unless authorized to do so by College regulation or required by law.
3. Respect for authorized and intended use of information services. Members must use only those information services which they have been authorized to use and only for College-related purposes. Prohibited activities include: political campaign activities, activities jeopardizing the College's tax-exempt status, and activities for commercial profit or for the direct financial benefit of non-Kenyon organizations.
4. Respect for the intellectual work of others. Since electronic information is easily reproduced, members are expected to honor the work of others by strict adherence to academic honesty policies, software licensing agreements, and copyright laws.
5. Respect for the common resources. Members are responsible for using information services prudently, remembering that the members of the community share them. They are expected to refrain from all acts that are damaging or wasteful or that hinder others from using information resources.
6. Respect for the security mechanisms and integrity of the systems and networks. Members must not disrupt or threaten the systems at Kenyon. Members are responsible for the use of their accounts and should not share them with others or use others' accounts.
7. Respect for the responsibilities of personal computer ownership in a networked computing environment. Personal computer owners are responsible for maintaining their computers and complying with College rules and regulations in order to connect to the network.