Building Use Policies

The George C. Gordon Library is intended for the use of WPI students, faculty and staff in accordance with the research and educational aims of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Additionally, persons not affiliated with WPI, who wish to use the Library in accordance with those aims, are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult and be supervised at all times. Any person in the Library whose behavior falls outside of the above mentioned guidelines may be asked to leave by library personnel, be evicted from the campus by Campus Police, referred to the Campus Hearing Board and/or be subject to arrest by Campus Police.

Decisions concerning behavior consistent with the research and educational aims of WPI will be at the discretion of the Director of the Library or her designee.

The following list includes behaviors for which any individual may be asked to leave the Library or may be appropriately counseled or disciplined. This list is by no means comprehensive.

Damage, defacement, or destruction of library materials, equipment or facilities.
Creation of any public disturbance.
Any deviant or abusive behavior, whether in general or directed at any specific person or persons.
Any activity which distracts other patrons from their research or educational activities, including respecting quiet study areas.
Any prolonged use of the facilities without a demonstrated engagement in research or study.
Being in unauthorized areas.

In addition:

Bicycles and roller-blading are not permitted in the library.
Shoes must be worn at all times.
No smoking in any area of the building.

Library personnel will enforce this building policy in most cases. In situations where patrons ignore warnings or library personnel feel threatened, Campus Police will be called. In the Library, routine calls for Campus Police will be channeled through the Circulation Department. Emergency calls may be placed by anyone.

Emergency buttons are located throughout the building for the safety of users and staff. When emergency buttons are pressed, Campus police are notified immediately and will arrive. The building also has security cameras throughout.

Who can use the library?

The Library is open to the public for all to use materials in-house. Borrowing privileges are limited to the following persons:

All WPI Faculty, Staff, and Students (must be currently registered for credit) - You must have a current WPI ID to register with the library.

All WPI Alumni - We will verify your status with the Alumni Office or the Registrar. You will be issued a borrowing card for the Library.

Faculty, staff, and students of those colleges and institutions that have a direct borrowing agreement with Gordon Library. Please contact your home library for an ARC borrowing card before coming to visit us.

Please Note: You must have a current, valid ID from your college to register with the Gordon Library. You will be subject to the policies and procedures of the Gordon Library regarding circulation and return of materials, fines for late return of materials, and charges for lost or non-returned items.

All others wishing to borrow materials from the Gordon Library should contact their local library to arrange Interlibrary Loan requests. You may call us at 508-831-5410, or use the Library Questions form, for more information on our borrowing arrangements or if you are unsure how to proceed.

Food and Drink Policy

Limited food and drink are allowed in the Library. Please help us protect the library's collections and maintain a clean building.

Food and drink in the Gordon Library are limited as follows:

Drinks are allowed in approved spill-proof containers only.
"Dry" snack foods, such as pretzels, muffins, etc. are permissible. Foods that can leave a sticky residue, such as pizza, burgers, and other "messy" items are not allowed.
Exceptions are: Anderson Labs, the Movie Lab, and the Tech Suites, where NO EATING OR DRINKING is allowed.
No food deliveries are allowed.
Exceptions to this policy are authorized special activities held in the following areas:

Gordon Conference Room 303
Anderson Labs A or B for special events
Gallery Areas

Library users who do not adhere to the above guidelines will be asked to either dispose of their food immediately or eat at a location outside of the library. Please be considerate of others and clean up if you have left any crumbs/food remnants.

Use of Computers in the Library

Computers are available throughout the library. Please refer to the floor maps below for locations marked "Search Stop & Computer Areas." WPI students, faculty and, staff may use any of these computers after logging in with a valid WPI Network username and password.

Library visitors may use one of the public access computers located in front of the Information Desk on the main floor. After presentation of a photo ID at the desk, visitors will be logged in to a public access computer by a staff member for a 30 minute session. While all visitors are welcome to use the public access computers, WPI students, faculty, and staff have priority over other users.

Computer Locations: Main (Second) Floor | Third Floor | First Floor | Ground Floor.

Print jobs initiated from library computers are sent by default to the print release station located near the Information Desk. Print jobs also may be sent to a color printer in the Movie Lab on the third floor, or to CCC printers located in Fuller Labs. Black and white prints cost 10¢ and color prints 25¢. Further information on printing in the library is available.

WPI students, faculty, and staff who need to access WPI-licensed PC software, should login to computers marked GLREF, GLLIB, GLLAB, any of the Movie Lab computers, or a laptop. Licensed software is not available on the computers marked LIBPAC. These computers have limited functionality and are used primarily to access library resources on the web.

The library loans laptop computers, for use in the building, to WPI faculty, students, and staff. In addition, faculty, students, and staff can bring their own laptops and connect to the network from the library.

Computer use in the library is subject to the WPI Acceptable Use Policy. A printed copy is available at the Information Desk.

Maintained by lib-webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: Feb 28, 2008, 15:10 EST