Lewis Music Library Student Manual: Home

• If you feel personally threatened, or for a medical emergency, contact the MIT Police:
  • The panic button to the MIT Police is just under the edge of the front counter, by your left hand as you face the windows.
  • Or dial 100 from a campus phone. (Not x3-100).
    From a cell phone or off-campus phone: 617-253-1212.
  • Whenever MIT Police are called, an Incident Report must be filled out.
• If a library user is being disruptive:
  • Library use policy specifies a two-hour limit on public terminals and no recreational use
  • It's okay to call Hayden x3-5671 and ask advice if a user's behavior is borderline
  • For situations that are disruptive to normal library business but do not warrant calling the police, send a message to muslib@mit.edu so we are all in the loop.

• Fire alarm or order to evacuate:
  • All fire alarms require evacuation
  • Tell users they must leave, but don't wait for them
  • Exits are the front door and the alarmed door by the Audio Lab
    (the courtyard doors are locked)
  • Leave the front door unlocked
  • Return only when allowed by the MIT emergency officials
     
• Front door alarm: everyone has an individual code to the keypad.
  • If you open the library, you must enter your code within 30 seconds to avoid a near-deafening siren.
  • When you close the library, wait for the green light, then enter your code to start the countdown. Lock the front door and leave. If you can't get it to arm, just lock and leave; it will rearm at a preset time.
     
• Risk to MIT Libraries collections:
  • Link to Disaster response guidelines
    (If you get to Step 3, "If after 5pm or before 9am," remember that our phone numbers are listed above, in the "Need Help?" box on the right)
  • Our React Pak (disaster response kit) is a plastic crate on the reserve shelves, bottom shelf.
  • The Wet Book Kit is a clear zip-top envelope kept in the green metal holder on the circulation counter. It contains instructions and bags of various sizes, including large ones for wet scores. In a pinch, a "rainy day" MIT Libraries plastic bag could be used to isolate a wet volume.

• There is a very loud alarm on the fire door by the Audio Lab. It is a battery unit, not wired to Campus Police. If it is set off accidentally, use the key kept in the fines drawer to turn it off. The key is on a bright red plastic key tag that says "Exit Stopper." Take a pair of earplugs from the drawer to protect your hearing (don't put a used set back for re-use). Once silenced, call Campus Police to alert them of the false alarm, and then email muslib.
   
• The Security gate alarm will go off:
  • if you forgot to desensitize a book or score
  • if the user forgot to check them out
  • if items from another library weren't checked out properly
  • if a textbook or paperback owned by the user has a security strip (they're often published that way)
  • Check the items; if you can't find a reason, thank the user and let him/her go.

Updated 4/1//2020 cg

Guidelines for the use of the MIT Libraries (public policy)

MIT Libraries’ food and beverage guidelines (public policy)
 

Behavior:

• No food or beverages spills, please! We have had rodent and insect problems here. Yuck! And please minimize food at the desk.

• Avoid personal phone calls during your shift. It's just unprofessional. If you have a special situation, arrange something with your backup (Cate or Forrest).

• No guests while working a shift. The only people behind the counter should be ourselves and members of the Music & Theater Arts faculty.

• No headphone use while on the desk or shelving. We want a friendly face ready to help our users.

• No games on the circulation desk terminals: it's really unprofessional! We almost always have library work that you can do during a shift. We do, however, take pity on our students during midterms & finals and other crunch situations.

• No bare feet on duty: shoes or sandals required. (It's an Institute Safety Office rule.)

• Watch the noise level at the desk; an ordinary conversation can be heard upstairs with perfect clarity.

• Students may not make exceptions to our policies; refer the question to Cate or Forrest, If it's an evening or weekend and you need to call us, you have our home phone numbers in the "Need Help?" box to the right.

Rules of the House:

• Ours is not a public phone. However, MIT Police and MIT Facilities (Physical Plant) employees are allowed to use any Institute telephone.
   
• If a user insists that there is an emergency, make sure they are trying to reach MIT Police and then dial 100 for them. (Most "emergencies" turn out to be someone late for lunch.) There is also a "blue phone" just outside our building which connects directly to MIT Police.

• Our public computers are intended for library use and that is the first priority. The MIT Libraries have a written use policy. We do not have a public Athena terminal; there is a cluster in the Hayden basement and elsewhere in the Libraries. We do have wireless MITnet and some net drops (see "Computers and software" on Equipment tab).

• Recording is not permitted because of copyright laws (see mention of music copyright on Equipment tab).

Updated 5/16/18 FL

For Help, contact:

• Audio Lab, listening equipment, music software on the iMacs: leave a note or e-mail Forrest
• Binding and repair things or ordering questions: ask Cate
• Circulation, Reserves, student schedule and payroll: Cate
• Bigger problems: contact Nina
• Really an Emergency: still let Nina know

If there is a question of Lewis Music Library policies, it may be documented in this guide. You may also call Cate, Forrest or Nina at the numbers below. Never feel that you need to argue with patrons about our policies. Use e-mail if you just want to tell us about something.

• Nina:
  c 617-791-0961
  MIT  x3-5636

• Forrest:
  h 401-728-0838
  MIT x3-0982

• Cate:
  c 617-767-4142
  MIT x3-7389