Policies & Goals

VISION We have a vision of a community that empowers health care providers, the mentally ill
and their families to have free access to mental health information and to provide services needed
by the healthcare professional, mentally ill and their families. The library is committed to providing quality,
accessible, accurate and current information as well as culturally sensitive services that empower families
to achieve and maintain a high quality of life.

GOALS

• To provide for healthcare provider’s educational needs for staying current, meeting these needs by a
  combination of programs, textbooks, journals, HSTN programs, Distance Learning, audio tapes,
  and in-expensive on-line databases.
• Provide greater availability of data and a wider selection of resources to choose from, both on-line and off-line.
• Work with clinicians to identify and manage the “best” information for clinical care.
• Create and promote guidelines for staff and CSBs on how to separate good information from bad.

Objectives/Programs

• Provide on-site reference services using traditional print and electronic resources.
• Provide timely access to information resources available both within the organization and from external sources.
• To provide the most cost efficient method of information delivery to meet specific needs.
• Provide end-user access to on-line and CR-ROM databases, and provide access to the Internet as needed.
• Provide librarian mediated search of databases as needed by staff.
• Provide access to interlibrary borrowing and document delivery.
• Provide training in use of information tools and methods.

POLICIES

Library Use Policy:

The resources and services of the Mental Health Library at Eastern State Hospital are primarily designed to support
the staff, interns, patients, family members of patients and Staff members of the Virginia Department of Mental Health
in their research, patient care and scholarly endeavors related to the health sciences. As such, certain materials
and services, such as access to remote online resources from an off-site location, are reserved to those directly
affiliated with Eastern State Hospital.

The library having entered into license agreements with the producers of various copyrighted electronic online databases,
many of these agreements limit use of these services to the hospital staff and users on the library premises.

Otherwise we are open to the general public—any individual who wishes to use materials inside the library building is
welcome to do so. Most materials are available on open shelves for self-retrieval and help is always available to anyone
visiting the Library with health information related questions.

Library User Conduct Policy

The library seeks to provide all library users with a quiet atmosphere for research, study and reading. To ensure
that the environment is conducive to study and research, all users are to abide by this Library User Conduct Policy.

General Rules of Conduct:

• Library users must help to maintain a quiet environment and refrain from engaging in any behavior that
  interferes with the normal use of the library by others.
• Library materials must be returned or renewed on or before the expiration of the loan period. Library users
  must return borrowed items if requested by Library.
• Library materials, equipment or property must not be taken from library building without proper checkout
  or authorization.
• Library users must handle library materials carefully so that they are not defaced or damaged in any way.
  Library users must not mark, underline, remove or fold pages or portions of pages, remove binding, or use
  post-its and paper-clips.
• Library users must obey applicable intellectual property law, including the U.S. Copyright Law.
• Consumption of food and drink is allowed in designated areas.
• Beverages are allowed in spill-proof containers with re-sealable lids.
• Absolutely no consumption of food or beverages is permitted while using any library computer, copy machine,
  or other equipment.
• Please dispose of all liter in the appropriate containers.
• In compliance with hospital policy, the use of alcohol and tobacco products is not permitted in the library.
• The library is not responsible for personal items left unattended in the Library.

Violation of Rules of Conduct:

Any person who violates these rules of conduct may be asked to leave the library and may be refused future access
to the library, including its resources and services.

Computer Use Policy:

The Mental Health Library computer use is restricted to Eastern State Hospital Staff, DMHMRSAS Staff, interns,
patients (under special conditions), and access may be granted to visitors seeking health or biomedical information.
The library currently provides 10 computers with Internet Connection. Priority for computer use is given to Eastern
State Hospital staff. Computer use is on a first-come, first-serve basis. After one hour, a staff/visitor may be
required to log off the computer is another staff.visitor is waiting for a computer.

The lab is open during the library’s operating hours. When the library is closed, arrangements can be mad
for accessing the computer lab. Reservations are required for ESH training programs. Call 253-5457 to reserve.

Visitors may not use library computers for illegal or inappropriate activities or for activities outside
the scope of health and biomedical research, including:

• Misrepresenting oneself on the Internet or engaging in fraud.
• Viewing, downloading, or disseminating pornography.
• Participating in chat rooms, forums, or personal email use.
• Playing games.
• Violating copyright laws or licensing agreements.
• Hacking, altering, deleting, or damaging computer software, hardware, system network, programs, or data.

Please note that the Library does not monitor or control Internet content and cannot be held accountable for any
information accessed through the Internet. However, be award that VITA does monitor and control Internet content.

Library users must respect the rights of other users and abide by all Library policy, licensing, and contractual agreements.
Library users must not use equipment in an unsafe or harmful manner and should not damage equipment.

Use of License Databases:

Databases provided by the Mental Health Library are intended for non-commercial, educational, or personal research
purposes only. Commercial use of licensed materials is prohibited.
When using licensed electronic resources, users must:

• Limit uses to non-commercial, educational, or research purposes.
• Not facilitate unauthorized access by others.
• Not engage in systematic downloading of licensed content (example, downloading entire issues of electronic
  journals or large-scale downloading from databases to create other collections of data.)
• Comply with license terms associated with specific resources.
• Give proper attribution when quoting from material.

Collection Development Policy:

The Collection Development Policy of the Mental Health Library guides the development of the library’s collections
from acquisition to retention of materials over time. The Library collects materials to support the mission and goals
of the Library and of Eastern State Hospital. This policy constitutes a commitment on the part of the Library to
maintain a collecting program that meets the needs of the DMHMRSAS staff, patients and family members.

The library acquires journal, books, and non-print items that support the needs of staff in providing for the best care
of patients, reference service, and research needs. The library aims to support as broad a range of campus programs
as possible. Selection is based on the librarian’s judgements on the relevance, coverage and potential usage of specific
resources. The recommendations of staff are also taken into consideration.

Journals, in both print and electronic form, make up the majority of the collections expenditure. Evaluation of periodical
subscriptions is ongoing. New subscriptions, as well as maintenance of existing subscriptions, are based upon availability
and funding. Primary emphasis is one the acquisition of current titles in the field of mental health, psychiatry, psychology,
and psychiatric nursing.

Materials written by current or former staff are collected as they are of historical interest; selected materials issued
by other local health care institutions are also collected.

Decisions with regard to format ( e.g. subscribe to a journal in print or electronic format) are based of a range
of criteria. These include price, license restrictions, availability and demand.

The library welcomes staff input on the collection. The library solicits input from staff in each department.
Suggestions for purchase may be submitted through the suggestion form, provided in the library, by email or
interoffice mail. All request for additions are given serious consideration and are evaluated based on the library’s
collection development goals and priorities.. Budgetary constraints often prevent the library from purchasing all
suitable items immediately; these items are added to a “wish list” for future purchase. Materials not added to the
collection may be obtained through interlibrary loan.

Gifts:

The library accepts gifts of materials within the scope of its collection policies that support the research needs
and activities of the campus. The library will evaluate gifts on a title-by-title basis and reserves the right to
determine retention, disposition and other factors relating to the gift.

Withdrawal:

Non-renewal or withdrawal may be considered for items that are not heavily used, prices have increased, or material
is redundant, obsolete or outdated.

Borrowing Privileges:

Borrowing privileges are extended to Eastern State Hospital staff, DMHMRSAS employees and Community Services staff
campus upon presentation of a valid Identification card.

Loan Periods:

Books	Journals	Audio Visual	Reference Materials
Four week (28 days); two week renewals.	Do Not Circulate	Two Weeks	Overnight

Renewal request can be made by telephone, in person, or through email or interoffice mail. Local history and special
collection materials do not circulate.

Item Borrowing Limits:

Certain categories of materials have limits as to how many items of that type may be on loan to a borrow at any
given time. See list below.

Books	Compact Disc	Equipment	Videocassettes
10	5	1	10

Overdue Fines:

There are no overdue fines charged. Lost items Replacement cost of item + $5.00 processing fee.

Interlibrary Loans:

No library can meet the needs of all users. The library promotes cooperation with other libraries to more effectively
meet the needs of all users.
Material not part of the library’s collection can be obtained through interlibrary loan. Books, videocassettes, CDs, and
journal articles can be interlibrary loan. Journals articles are received by mail, fax or email. There is no cost for the
user for interlibrary loan services. There is a limit of 20 per person at any given time.
Most reference and audio-visual materials often cannot be obtained through interlibrary loan.
All Interlibrary loan materials must be returned to the Mental Health Library on or before the due date.

Returning:

Library materials can be returned to the Mental Health Library, Patients’ Library or sent through interoffice mail
on or before their due dates.

Food and Drink Policy:

The library permits food and drinks, within reason, to be consumed in most locations. The use of spill-proof containers
are preferred. Extra care should be taken in areas such as the computer lab where damage to equipment could take place.
Food and drinks are prohibited in the use of Historical Collections.
Please keep these guidelines in mind:

• Avoid snacks that may disturb other users or damage furniture or equipment.
• Limit eating and drinking at computer work stations.
• Recycle and dispose of all trash before leaving the library.

Phones/Pagers:

Please keep phones and pagers on soft or vibrate in order to limit disturbance to users of the library.
A phone for answering pages is located in the computer lab and in the lobby of Bldg. 3.

COPY RIGHT WARNING

Requesters of photocopying or interlibrary loan services need to be aware of the copyright law of the United States
(Title 17, United States Code), which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.
Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other
reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose
other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or
reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment fulfillment of the order
would involve violation of copyright law.