Library Policies

The following policies dictate use of library resources, services, and spaces. They are enforced to ensure a safe and positive learning environment for the college.

For policies relating to Circulation, view our Borrow Materials page. 

Computer Use

Who May Access Computers

Computers in E. H. Butler Library are for the use of Buffalo State students, faculty, staff, and emeriti faculty and staff. Buffalo State usernames and passwords are required to logon to a computer.

Guest logons are available for individuals who have a temporary educational affiliation with Buffalo State, such as visiting scholars or students from other colleges or universities, or for members of the Friends of E. H. Butler Library.  Issuance of guest passes is at the discretion of the library. Guest logons are only available for computer use within the library.

Acceptable Use

Computers are intended for the academic use of students, faculty, and staff.  Playing games, while permissible, may be cause for a staff member to ask the user to transfer the computer to another who needs it for academic use.

Computers which feature specialized software may be reassigned if the patron is not using the specialized software and another patron needs it.

Using New York State resources to operate a for-profit enterprise is strictly prohibited. Displaying, downloading, or printing sexually explicit pictures, cartoons, or the like may be considered sexual harassment. Butler Library will report to University Police any complaints of sexual harassment that may result from displaying, downloading, or printing sexually explicit materials on the computers in the library.

Additional links to campus computer policy information for students, faculty, and staff:

CIO Policies and Guidelines

Student Email Policy

Children

E. H. Butler Library welcomes patrons of all ages. However, concern for the safety of children as well as proper stewardship of library resources prompts the following:

• A child is defined as anyone who appears to be under the age of sixteen.
• A responsible adult must accompany children in the library at all times. The presence of unaccompanied children will be reported to University Police.
• A child who is disruptive, uses library resources inappropriately, or damages library materials or equipment, will be reported to University Police.
• Butler Library computers are intended for the use of Buffalo State students, faculty, and staff. As computers do not have content filters, adults may not log children on to use the computers.

Library staff members are not expected to act as police officers nor are they expected to search for accompanying adults or determine the ages of children. All problems or issues will be reported to University Police.

Exhibit Space

In supporting the mission of Buffalo State College to foster cultural enrichment, intellectual development, and social awareness, E. H. Butler Library provides several exhibition areas for faculty, staff, students, and the community to present artwork, informational displays, or scholarly works. Glass cases or wall space for hanging pieces or sculpture can be reserved, normally on a monthly basis. A few pedestals are available for sculpture displays.

Exhibit spaces are temporarily offline due to the library's recent renovation.  For an update on the library's plans to offer new exhibit spaces, please contact the library administrative offices.

Food and Drink

• Consumption of food and drinks in Butler Library is restricted to the entrance lobby area, the StudyQuad lounge, and the Argo Tea Café. Food and drinks may also be consumed in the Program Center (BUTL 210) during meetings and special events.
• Library patrons possessing closed beverage containers will be permitted in other areas of the library.
• Library patrons with food or uncovered beverage containers will be directed to the designated areas indicated above.

Why is eating and drinking restricted to certain areas of the library?

Food attracts mice, rats, cockroaches, ants, and other insects. These unwanted guests not only destroy library materials, but also pose a health hazard to library users and staff. Extermination of rodents and insects can be costly, toxic to the environment, and inhumane.

Spills cause stains and damage books, journals, library equipment, and furnishings. The moisture from a spilled drink is a breeding ground for mold and mildew. Mold growth physically destroys materials, may produce offensive odors, and can produce adverse health effects, especially in individuals with allergies or asthma.

By restricting food to a few locations away from books and computers and requesting that beverage containers are covered, we limit the chances of infestation and damage, and our custodial staff can more easily keep the building clean.

What can I do?

• Observe the library’s Food and Drink Policy
• Dispose of your trash. There are garbage cans located throughout the library—please use them!
• Report any spills to library staff for clean up.
• Cooperate with library staff and University Police Student Assistants if they ask you to take your meal into the lobby.

Noise

E. H. Butler Library constantly strives to provide an atmosphere that is comfortable and casual, but above all, conducive to reading, research, and study.

Library users are expected to be considerate of other users by keeping noise to a minimum.

Cell Phones

The use of cell phones contributes to noise problems in the library. Library users are asked to:

• Make all calls in the lobby areas of the library.
• Use the silent signal function as the alert for incoming calls.
• When a call is received, please place the caller on hold and move to the lobby to talk.

Groups

• Students who wish to work together in groups should reserve one of the group study rooms in StudyQuad using the online reservation form.
• Students who wish to work together in groups while eating and drinking should gather in the Lobby.
• Students who wish to converse or socialize should gather in the Lobby, the Rooftop Garden.

Individuals

• Students looking for a quiet area should go to one of the library's three QuietQuads: the quiet computer lab on the first floor, the second floor northwest quadrant, or the third floor northwest quadrant.
• Students with disabilities who require an extraordinarily quiet environment should contact Amy Rockwell, the Disability Access Services Librarian, at (716) 878-6321 to make arrangements.

Computers

The Creativity Commons, StudyQuad, and QuietQuad all offer computers for student use. Library staff members are available to assist students with the use of these resources, so a certain amount of conversation is to be expected. Computers, keyboards, printers, and copiers in these areas also contribute to general background noise.

Service Desks

One should expect a certain level of noise at service desks where staff must converse with patrons and each other.

Special Events

Occasionally a special event is scheduled in the library. There may be some noise or other disruption for the duration of the event.

Collection Development Guidelines

General Criteria 

The E. H. Butler Library will focus on collection development efforts in three areas:

• Materials that relate directly to the Buffalo State curriculum, with an emphasis on undergraduate resources. 
• Materials to support faculty research. 
• General materials which meet students' needs for recreational reading, personal growth, and general intellectual development. 

Changes in and additions to the Buffalo State curricula will occur. As an integral contributor to the educational process, academic departments will work with the Library as curricula change to ensure that the collection will continue to support the needs of Buffalo State students. The Library will actively seek information about curricular changes, so that it can respond to the evolving needs of Buffalo State. 

Faculty research interests will be considered in the building and maintenance of the Library collection. However, even the largest libraries cannot hope to provide all the resources its graduate students and faculty researchers might require. Hence, the Library will augment its resources through collaborative arrangements such as resource sharing, interlibrary loan, cooperative collection development, and consortial purchasing and licensing. 

“Special Collections and Archives” are housed in the E. H. Butler Library building along with the general collection. These collections play different roles on campus. The role of the general collection is to provide current, up-to-date information for students and faculty. The role of the special collections and archives is to provide a more historical view of the campus and the library. 

The Library considers reviews to be the most desirable category of selection tool for current materials, especially those reviews which offer evaluation of the resource in question, rather than only description. 

Media Licensing 

In addition to collection development for the Library, the Information Management department will provide media licensing to support the curriculum. This licensing will in part be funded with Technology Fee funds.  

Due to the increasing demand for streaming media and reduced funding, the library has imposed the following restrictions: 

1. All instructors are asked to minimize film requests to the minimum needed to fulfill learning objectives.  
2. Re-use and cross-use of streaming media is highly desirable. The library will seek to provide freely available sources whenever possible or practical. This includes subscription content such as that found in Films on Demand or openly licensed content such as that found in Internet Archive. 
3. The library reserves the right to cap spending at 5 films per section or $750. 
4. Departments looking to license films for promotional or recreational purposes or seeking to license films for campus wide events will be asked to pay licensing costs through a journal transfer. 

The library strongly discourages the use of copyright infringing material or use of sources where copyright is uncertain. 

Requests for media licensing should be submitted with this form: https://forms.office.com/r/16sz2dbPqy

The library can license content with three content vendors: 

• Kanopy Film & Media - an on-demand streaming video service for universities that offers titles on a broad range of subjects including anthropology, architecture, art, gender & race, environment & sustainability, health, law, media, politics and psychology/sociology. Please note that Kanopy films are licensed at a cost of around $150 per year.  
• Alexander Street Video - This site provides capabilities for searching across digital video databases by topic, creator, video type and language. Users can search transcripts, create playlists, and save clips for future viewing.  
• Digital Campus (SWANK) - a streaming video platform that contains mostly feature films. Please note that Digital Campus films are licensed at a cost of around $150 per year.  

See the full Collection Development Guidelines here. 

Copyright

The purpose of the E. H. Butler Library copyright policy is to provide a summary of U.S. copyright law, particularly as it relates to the use of other people’s copyright-protected materials, including published works, and to provide procedures for obtaining copyright permission that will be used consistently throughout E. H. Butler Library. Copyright laws are generally not straightforward, and they have many gray areas. The goal of this policy is to provide guidelines to addressing complex copyright issues.

See the full E. H. Butler Library's Copyright and Fair Use Policy for details.