Student Life

The aim of any library is to support the educational and research processes through the provision of the latest sources of information in different forms and in an organized manner that makes it convenient for the student/researcher to track the information he/she needs. To achieve this most effectively, the Library of MSA University is thriving on keeping pace with the latest developments in Information Management, Storage, Retrieval and Transmission.

The Library tries to achieve this aim through achieving the following objectives:

• Being the gateway for local and global information.
• Providing sources of information to meet the needs of all staff members and students.
• Training users on how to search for and retrieve information.
• Helping the beneficiaries to take advantage of the real sources of information available.
• Promoting cooperation among all units of the university as well as sharing resources with other libraries locally and regionally.

Summarizing all of the above, the Library of October University for Modern Sciences and Arts has the following mission:

"To provide the best possible information services to the students and staff of MSA University using the most effective media, and to help students and staff derive the greatest benefit from the library's hybrid collection of printed and electronic resources."

2. Our Policies

2.1. General

1. The library is a quiet working environment in which talking and mobile conversations are prohibited. Mobile phones should be set to Silent before entering the library.
2. Eating, drinking and smoking are not permitted in the library. Waste paper and other waste should be disposed of in the bins provided.
3. Library computers should be used only for academic work.

3. Books must not be taken from the library unless they have been officially borrowed and stamped with a return date.
4. Users should not attempt to re-shelve books. Instead, they are required to  leave them on the table to be re-shelved by the library staff.

2.2. Borrowing Books

1. To register as a user, go with your University ID card, to the Library Circulation Desk.
2. Students may have up to two books on loan at any one time for a period of seven days each (except for books labeled REF). Loans may be renewed for seven more days if the book is not required by another user. If you wish to renew the loan of a book, you should bring it back to the library for re-stamping. During the extended loan period, a book may be recalled at any time, and must be returned immediately.
3. Staff may have up to three books on loan at any one time for a period of one semester.
4. All books borrowed should not be passed on to other students or staff.
5. If you reserve a book, you must collect it before 12:00 PM on the second working day after its return. Otherwise, it will be returned to the shelves and will be available for other users.
6. Users will be charged the full cost of replacement or repair of lost or damaged books.
7. Fines will be charged for the late return of books unless the delay is caused by illness or other reasons beyond the user's control. Evidence of illness or other circumstances will normally be required at the time of return.
8. The level of fines charged will be displayed in the Library and on its website and may vary from time to time.
9. CDs may not be borrowed.

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10. The following penalty system will be applied for the late return or non-return of books borrowed from the Library:

• Two LE per book for each overdue working day during the first week after the return date stamped in the book.
• Any book overdue for more than 4 weeks will be considered lost, In such a case, the user will be charged its cost plus 25% of the current price of the book (with a minimum of 20 LE) to cover the administrative overheads.
• The previous overdue penalties will be added to the user’s fees due at the end of the semester (if not paid before then).
• To help ensure that no student will disadvantages others by keeping books for long periods before examinations, penalty fees will be doubled for four weeks before University examinations and during the examination period.
• Penalties will also be doubled for the non-return of books that are recalled for the use of other readers.

3. Library Services

3.1. Library Catalogue

The "Koha1.2.3" Library catalogue is part of the open source Library system that MSA University uses. You can use the catalogue to search for books by title, author, subject heading, or keyword. You can also combine 2 or more search fields to achieve more accurate results. Ask the library staff if you need more help with this. By clicking on the required book you will have more details on where you can find it.

3.2. Information Desk

The enquiry or information desk is meant to help users find the information they need regarding a specific subject. Questions can vary from simply asking about the availability of a book to questions about having articles about any Subject.

3.3. Reading and Studying Spaces

The individual study area is located in the ground floor of Building A (Room A104). This area is provided for reading and studying individually. Talking or using cellular phones is not allowed.

3.4. Computers and Printing

The Library provides 20 computer machines for the use of students and staff. The use of computers is restricted to accessing databases or internet access for academic work only. MSA Library also provides the facilities of printing and scanning.

3.5. Online Databases

3.5.1. EBSCOhost

 http://search.ebscohost.com

EBSCOhost is a powerful online reference system accessible via the Internet or direct connection. It offers a variety of proprietary full text databases and popular databases from leading information providers. The comprehensive databases range from general reference collections to specially-designed, subject-specific databases for public, academic, school, medical, corporate, and government libraries.

3.5.2. Questia

www.questia.com

Questia is the world's largest online library of books, with over 72,000 full-text books, 2 million articles, and an entire reference set complete with a dictionary, encyclopedia, and thesaurus. Your subscription to the entire Questia academic library also includes digital productivity tools for highlighting text, taking notes, and generating footnotes and bibliographies in seven different styles.