Policies

For information about circulation policies, please visit our Borrow, Renew, Request page.

Butler students, faculty, and staff may print in black and white at the Libraries using their PrintSmart accounts. See IT’s PrintSmart Knowledge Base article for more information.

Color printing is available at both Irwin and Science Libraries for currently enrolled Butler students, faculty, and staff. The cost is $1 for up to 4 pages, 25 cents for each additional page, and must be paid via credit/debit/Apple Pay/Google Pay at the Information Commons desk. Color print jobs will need to be released by a staff member, so please visit the service desk at either library location for assistance.

Butler alumni, guests, or special borrowers may not print. Guest users may save documents to a flash drive or attach files to an email. Information Commons staff is available if assistance is needed.

Butler faculty, staff, and students may photocopy using the library machines in public areas. Simply swipe your Butler ID card at the machine to gain access; if you do not have your ID, you can enter your Butler username and password. The machine will not print color copies.

Butler alumni, guests, or special borrowers may make copies for $.25/page, with a $1 minimum charge. This must be paid via credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. In order to access the machine, please ask for assistance at the Information Commons desk.

Requests for photocopies of materials held in Special Collections and University Archives can be made by filling out and sending the photocopy request form to Evan Miller (enmiller@butler.edu)

Scanning is available at no cost. Scans can be sent via email or saved to flash drives. You can customize the format (pdf, jpeg, etc.) and can scan in color. A Butler login is necessary for the machine, so guests will need to visit the service desk at either location for assistance.

Butler University faculty, staff, and students are expected to act as responsible users of the copyrighted works of others, which includes making informed, good faith decisions that comply with copyright law. When permission to use copyright protected material is required, that permission must be obtained prior to use of the materials. Infringement of another person’s copyright is a violation of federal law. The legal ramifications of infringement include fines that range from $200 to $150,000 per infringement. The Libraries provide the following resources to assist in making informed decisions regarding copyright and fair use:

Butler University faculty, students, and staff wishing to include their work in Digital Commons @ Butler will need to fill out this non-exclusive license and send it to digitalscholarship@butler.edu.

The Butler University Faculty Senate adopted an open access policy on April 28, 2020. This policy shows Butler University’s commitment to disseminating the fruits of research and scholarship as widely as possible. Open access policies increase authors’ rights, readership and citation rates for scholarly articles. The opt out provision ensures that all faculty authors have the freedom to publish in the journal of their choice.

Following the adoption of the 2013-16 Strategic Plan, library faculty and staff worked to develop a new Collection Policy based on the plan and its initiatives.  The new policy document was finalized and adopted in August of 2013. View the collection development policy.

In accordance with our desire to maximize the benefit of Butler University Libraries to our patrons, we have established the following policy regarding acceptance of gifts:

Archives and Special Collections staff will review offers of unique or rare books, personal papers, photographs, or collections that support the teaching mission of the university or document its history, for inclusion into their collection. Materials accepted for the Archives and Special Collections will be processed and made available for use through that department, as well as through Digital Collections platforms if possible. To discuss a potential donation to Special Collections, contact Special Collections University Archives, and Rare Books Librarian Sally Childs­-Helton at 317­-940­-9265 or schildsh@butler.edu.

The Library does not otherwise accept gifts of books, journals, magazines, or other physical materials, and does not accept unsolicited or anonymous gifts of any kind.

Butler Faculty wishing to donate their scholarly work should contact their liaison to make appropriate considerations.

Monetary gifts to support ongoing collection expenses are especially welcome; if you are considering making such a gift please contact University Advancement.

For general questions about the Gift policy contact Josh Petrusa, Associate Dean for Collections & Digital Services at 317-­940-­9236 or jpetrusa@butler.edu.

Butler University Libraries is not responsible for unattended personal items.

The lost and found for the Irwin Library is located at the Information Commons desk on the main floor. You can inquire about items at the desk, by phone (317-940-9227), or by email (infocommons@butler.edu).

Valuables with personal information (e.g., wallets, IDs, credit cards) are kept in a secure location. If possible, Information Commons staff will attempt to contact the owner via phone or email. Non-valuable items (clothing, umbrellas, notebooks, etc.) are donated to Goodwill or recycled at the end of every other month.

The lost and found is located at the Information Commons desk in the Science Library. You can inquire about items by calling (317-940-9401) or stopping by.

Valuables with personal information are kept in a secure location. If possible, we will attempt to contact the owner via phone or email.

Items found will be kept until the end of the year. At that time they will be donated or recycled.