Policies

NTU Library facilities and resources are restricted to NTU Library members only. Visitors should approach the Service Desk in the relevant libraries for permission to enter the libraries. NTU Library reserves the right to grant entry privileges.

A. Use of Library Facilities

1. Appropriate behavior

   Library users are expected to show consideration to other users at all times and help to maintain an environment conducive for study and learning. To accommodate different user learning needs our Library has provided the following zones which allow for different levels of noise:

   • Collaboration/Discussion Spaces
     These are found in Business Library (BUSL) and Lee Wee Nam Library (LWNL) and moderate noise arising from discussions and/or collaborative learning activities is allowed.
   • Quiet Zone
     These are demarcated areas or floors designated specifically for quiet learning and reading. No conversation is allowed.
   • General and open areas
     As these are areas with clusters of either study carrels or study tables, brief and quiet conversation is allowed but it should be kept at a level which is not disruptive to other users.
     
     

   Mobile phones should be set to silent or vibrating mode and calls should be answered outside the Library when possible or in designated areas.
   
   Users are not permitted to display or distribute any forms of promotional/informational materials without prior approval from Library management.

   All users are expected to engage with library staff and other users in a respectful and courteous manner. They should behave in a civic minded manner within library premises (e.g. by not putting their feet on seats or tables or littering).

   In general, library users have the right to request others to conform to proper behavior in the Library. The Library reserves the right to ask a disruptive user to leave the Library premises, impose suspension of library privileges and take further disciplinary measures as it sees fit.

2. Food and drinks

   Any kind of food, whether for consumption or safe-keeping, is not allowed in the Library. Drinks in covered containers may be brought into the Library but users should exercise caution to prevent spillage.

   The Library reserves the right to ask users to remove food or drinks from any area of the Library.

3. Seating and Library facilities

   Various types of seats and desks are provided in the Library for users to study, consult and use the library collection and resources. Users should refrain from sleeping and depriving others of their proper use.

   Seats in the Library may not be reserved. During busy periods, the Library exercises the right to remove the belongings of any user who has not occupied his/her seat for more than half an hour so as to enable other users to use the seat.

4. Computers and Equipment

   Use of Library computers and equipment is restricted to NTU Library members only. The following are not allowed:

   • using more than one workstation at any one time
   • allowing others to use your NTU network account or vice versa
   • copying, storing, transmitting or using any unlicensed copyrighted software or materials
   • accessing, storing or downloading data which is obscene, distasteful, vulgar, sexually suggestive or graphics which are prohibited by the laws of Singapore
   • using any obscene, distasteful, derogatory, vulgar, sexually suggestive or discriminatory language
   • unauthorised access to any system
     
     

   Action will be taken against those who abuse the use of computers and equipment. The Library reserves the right to direct the offender to leave the library premises and to impose a suspension of library privileges. In addition, the offender may be referred to the University Administration for further disciplinary action.

   In addition, users are required to adhere to rules and regulations for computer account holders as spelt out in the Centre for IT Services (CITS) policy.

5. Safety and security

   Library users should exercise caution and care over their personal belongings and not leave them unattended. The Library shall not be responsible for any expenses, claims or demands in the event of any accidents occurring to any persons engaged in connection with the use of the facilities. The Library is not responsible and liable for the security, loss or damage of any items brought in by the user.

   Library users who attempt any theft of library materials or commit any misdemeanor or crime in the Library shall be handed to Campus Security and the police for investigation.

   The Library installs CCTV in selected areas in its premises to ensure better security of our members and the security of our collections. These surveillance areas are indicated by appropriate signage. Only Library staff and university security personnel will have access to footage from the surveillance recordings during security investigations.

   The Library shall not be responsible for any personal hurt or injury suffered by users while inside the Library. However users should approach Library service desks or any Library staff for assistance in any medical emergency.

   Children should be supervised at all times by a responsible adult whilst on library premises.

   All library users should familiarize themselves with the designated emergency exits in each library. They are to exit the building through the nearest exit when prompted by announcements, alarms, or Library staff during a fire or security emergency.

   In addition, users are required to adhere to the Campus Security Policy as set out by Campus Security Division (CSD).

B. Use of Library Information Resources

Reproduction of library materials

1. All materials available at the Library are copyrighted. Users are not to photocopy, scan, distribute, publish, transmit, broadcast, reverse engineer, decompile or modify, download or reproduce the materials in any form or manner, in whole or in part, unless permitted by the Singapore Copyright Act.
2. Fair Dealing
   1. Exception to copyright infringement is provided under “fair dealing” where a certain amount of copying is permissible for the purpose of study or research, criticism or review, and news reporting.
   2. The following points are taken into account when determining whether fair dealing is applicable.
      1. the purpose and character of the dealing, including whether such dealing is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit educational purposes;
      2. the nature of the work or adaptation, or audio-visual item;
      3. the amount and substantiality of the part copied taken in relation to the whole work or adaptation, or audio-visual item;
      4. the effect of the dealing upon the potential market for, or value of, the work or adaptation, or the audio-visual item; and
      5. the possibility of obtaining the work or adaptation, or audio-visual item, within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price.
   3. The Copyright Act allows a reasonable portion of the work to be copied for the purposes of research or study.
   4. For literary, dramatic or musical works, ‘reasonable portion’ refers to
      1. Not more than 10% of the total number of pages of a published work that contains more than 10 pages, or
      2. Not more than one chapter of a published work that is divided into chapters.
      3. Not more than one article from a periodical.
   5. For literary, dramatic or musical works in electronic format, ‘reasonable portion’ refers to
      1. Not more than 10% of the total number of bytes of a published work stored electronically and not divided into pages, or
      2. Not more than 10% of the total number of words or 10% of the contents if it is not practical to use the total number of words as a measure, or
      3. Not more than a single chapter of a published work divided into chapters.
   6. Exceptions

      In addition to fair dealing, reproduction is permissible for the purpose of judicial proceedings or professional advice; or when temporary reproduction is made during the communication, for example caching.

3. Copying for Education Purposes
   1. Multiple copying or communication, 14 days after the previous copy was made or communicated, of insubstantial portions of works by any person is permissible if the copying or communication is carried out or initiated from the premises of the University for the purposes of a course of education provided by the University. “Insubstantial portions of works” here refers to
      1. not more than 5 pages of a work that is less than 500 pages, or
      2. not more than 5% of a work that has more than 500 pages.
   2. Under the statutory licence for educational institutions, multiple copying of a reasonable portion (amount permitted under fair dealing) of a work by the University for educational purposes is permitted. Written record of the copying shall be kept. Teaching staff should check with their respective schools on how these records are maintained.
4. Copying beyond Copyright Limits
   1. Permission must be obtained to use copyrighted materials if it exceeds the legal limit. Staff or student need to contact the
      1. copyright owner to negotiate for permission or a licence to use the material; or
      2. collective society that administers the rights of copyright owner. In Singapore, The Copyright Licensing and Administration Society of Singapore Ltd (CLASS) has a group of international and local academic book publishers and local authors as members. The Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) deals with music copyright and the usage of musical works.
   2. If copying exceeds the limits allowed under the Copyright Act, the University will not be liable for any infringement of copyright action which may be taken against the perpetrator.

Viewing of AV materials

1. Users may view unrestricted AV materials within the Library at workstations provided. They can also be borrowed out on short term loan.
2. Restricted AV materials include NC16, M18, R21 and relevant unclassified films.
   1. NC16 and M18 titles are to be viewed by students within the library premises only.
   2. Students have to be at least 16 and 18 years old in order to view NC16 and M18 titles respectively.
   3. R21 and relevant unclassified films can only be viewed by students enrolled in the course in which the item is used as course material, or academic or research staff undertaking research on the title.
3. AV materials borrowed out of the Library by a user are meant for personal viewing and are strictly not to be screened for groups or the public.
4. Borrowers must comply strictly with copyright laws and ensure that AV materials charged out under their names are not communicated or reproduced in part or in whole in whatever ways possible.
5. Group film screenings in the Library are for two possible purposes
   1. Teaching/learning. Required viewing of legally acquired course-related films for the students enrolled in a specific course is supported by Library policy.
   2. Non-course related/leisure. Only titles acquired with Public Performance Rights can be screened. Most films acquired by the Library prohibit public performance and as such the Library cannot support their screening.

Use of Electronic Resources

Access to electronic resources

1. Electronic resources provided by the library are mostly subscribed from vendors and publishers. Only Library members have access to e-resources either within the Library or remotely via their NTU staff or student network accounts. Library members who are not staff or students of NTU may access most of these onsite at Lee Wee Nam Library only.
2. License Agreements
   1. Access to and use of electronic resources subscribed by the Library is governed by license agreements negotiated between the Library and publishers/vendors/ content providers. These license agreements are legally binding contracts that allow staff, students, employees and other authorised users to access the resources for non-commercial, educational, scholarly and research purposes.
   2. While licenses are different for each resource, there are general clauses that are applicable to all electronic resources in general. These clauses prohibit:
      1. large-scale or systematic downloading of single or multiple copies of abstracts, tables of contents or full text documents in print or electronic copies or permanently retaining them on any file or on any hard drive, server or other form of memory
      2. utilisation of software programmes or routines designed to continuously and automatically search and index the resources, such as spiders, web-crawlers and robots
      3. alteration, amendment, modification, abridgement, translation or change in any manner of and including the removal of copyright information from the licensed materials
      4. sales and exploitation of licensed materials for any commercial purposes
      5. publication, distribution, mounting on any electronic network, or retaining portions of licensed materials or combining them with any other material
   3. Resources where additional restrictions apply will require Library users to agree to the terms and conditions of use via an online click through acceptance page before proceeding to use the resource.
3. Singapore Copyright Act
   1. In addition to License Agreements, use of electronic resources is also governed by the Singapore Copyright Act.

Downloading of Electronic Resources

1. Excessive downloading
   1. Excessive downloading occurs when a user downloads files in quick or systematic succession using robots, spiders, automated downloading programmes or other manual methods; or copies the whole or a significant portion of an e-journal, e-book or database for retention, distribution or other purposes that violate the terms of use of the resource.
   2. Detection of excessive downloading of files from e-resource provided by the Library will lead to blanket suspension of access to the whole university community for a significant period of time by the respective publisher. A user who engages in this act will cause great inconvenience for the entire university community and gravely affect the work of members who need uninterrupted access to the resource.
   3. Users who engage in excessive downloading or share login credentials with external party resulting in excessive downloading are liable for disciplinary action.
2. Penalties imposed on violations
   1. On detection of extensive downloading activity by the Library, the user account will be suspended from accessing electronic resources. Depending on the outcome of investigation, access privileges may be restored.
   2. On blanket suspension of access imposed on the entire university community by the publisher due to excessive downloading traced to a user, the offending user will have his access to all library e-resources suspended for a minimum of 1 week and subject to completion of all tasks required by the publisher and the Library to lift the suspension. This may include deleting of all downloaded materials and a written undertaking not to repeat the offence. The offender’s name will be logged in the Library rules violation file.
   3. On subsequent violations, a suspension of all library privileges will be imposed and a formal notification of offense sent to the respective deans of colleges and other supervisory staff for further action.

Digital Rights Management and Circumvention of Technology

1. Users are strictly prohibited to remove or alter the Digital Rights Management (DRM) relating to a material or to undertake any act or provide any device, product or component to circumvent a technological measure which controls access to a material.

Please read this data protection and privacy statement carefully so that you understand the purposes for which we collect, use and disclose your Personal Data. In this document, "we", "us" and "NTU" refers to Nanyang Technological University and its successors and assigns.

We may collect, use, disclose and process your Personal Data for one or more of the following purposes:

1. To process your application to be a Library member;
2. To administer and manage your relationship with us as a Library member ("Relationship");
3. To contact you or communicate with you via various modes of communication such as voice call, text message or fax message, email or postal mail for the purposes of administering and managing your relationship with us;
4. To deal with, administer and manage your use of NTU resources and facilities;
5. To verify and process payment when you pay fines, replace lost or misplaced items, pay for document delivery services and other services;
6. To conduct statistical analysis of users and usage of our resources and conveying such information in broad terms (but not information in relation to specific individuals) to third parties who have business dealings with us;
7. To generate and send you publicity materials for our courses, events and programmes; and
8. Any other purpose reasonably related to the aforesaid.
   (Collectively, the "Purposes").

We may need to disclose your personal data to third parties, whether located within or outside Singapore, so that they can process data for one or more of the above purposes.

You have the right to withdraw your consent given hereunder. However, your withdrawal of consent could mean that we will not be able to continue with your relationship with us. If you wish to withdraw your consent, please send us an email.

"Personal Data" means data, whether true or not, about an individual who can be identified:

1. from that data; or
   
2. from that data and other information to which NTU has or is likely to have access.

Audio-Visual Screening

Audio-visual titles can be screened as required for students enrolled in a course. Lecturers will inform the Library of the film(s) assigned to the class for viewing, and the course(s) in which students are enrolled. 

For leisure/non-course-related screenings, only titles with Public Performance Rights can be screened. AV titles with public performance rights can be retrieved with a simple Library Catalogue search by typing "public performance rights" in "word(s)" field. Users are advised to view the copyright and license notices included in the materials for additional conditions imposed by the copyright holders.

Public Performance Rights apply to literary, dramatic and musical works, with the exceptions for some types of materials. For musical works, the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore Ltd (COMPASS) administers such licenses. More than one category of copyright interest may arise in the public performance of a work. The Copyright Tribunal has jurisdiction over the granting of public performance licenses and the terms and conditions of the licenses.

For more information on screening films in the Library premises, please refer to the policy on Film Screening in NTU Library. 

Electronic Resources License Agreements

Use of electronic resources subscribed by the Library is governed by license agreements negotiated between the Library and publishers/vendors. These license agreements are legal binding contracts that allow staff, students and other authorised users to access the resources for non-commercial, educational, scholarly and research purposes. 

In general, the license agreements prohibit:

• Large-scale or systematic downloading of single or multiple copies of abstracts, tables of contents or full text documents in print or electronic copies
• Utilisation of software programmes or routines designed to continuously and automatically search and index the resources, such as spiders, web-crawlers and robots
• Alter, amend, modify, abridge, translate or change in any manner the licensed materials
• Sales and exploitation of licensed materials for any commercial purposes
• Publication, distribution, mount on any electronic network, or retaining portions of licensed materials or combining them with any other material

In addition, it is strictly prohibited to remove or alter the Digital Rights Management (DRM) relating to a material or to undertake any act to circumvent a technological measure which controls access to a material.

Please refer to individual license agreement provided by publishers' or vendors' websites for full description on the conditions of use. 

For the full policy, please refer to Appropriate Use of Information Resources.