Library
Library user regulations
Updated 30.8.2023
The right to lend
The prerequisite for the right to lend is that the library customer is registered as a present pupil or student at the Helsinki Conservatory or that the library customer has a valid employment relationship at the Helsinki Conservatory. The lending right is valid for the duration of the study right or employment relationship.
Lending rights can be granted separately to persons participating in the choir and orchestra activities of the Helsinki Conservatory.
To lend, you need a library card, which you can get from the library. Receiving a library card requires acceptance of the library’s user regulations and privacy policy by filling in the library card application available from the library. The guardian fills the form on behalf of the child under the age of 15.
The library card and the PIN-code associated with the card are personal and the customer is responsible for all material borrowed with the library card. The guardian is responsible for the loans of a child under the age of 15. A lost library card must be reported to the library immediately.
The customer is obliged to notify the library of changed contact and personal information. The guardian of a person under the age of 15 must also notify of a change in their contact and personal information.
Lending
A customer can have a maximum of 50 loans at a time.
The loan period for library materials is 28 days, with the following exceptions:
- reference library material: 1 day
- Christmas music: 7 days
- the right to use the performance material of orchestras and choirs and their loan period are agreed on a case-by-case basis.
Returning and renewals
Loans must be returned or renewed no later than the due date.
Borrowed material is returned on site at the library using the returning machine or at customer service. When the library is closed, it is possible to leave returns in the return box outside the library. Library materials to be returned may not be left anywhere else.
The customer must ensure that the material is in the same condition when it is returned as when it was borrowed and that it contains all supplements, parts etc.
Loans can be renewed 10 times, if the material is not reserved. Renewing loans requires that the customer is not subject to a borrowing ban.
Reserving
Customers can reserve material both on loan and on the shelf. Reserving is free of charge. Reference library material can not be reserved.
Reserved material is available for pick-up for five weekdays after the customer has been sent a pick-up notification. A reservation that has not been picked up expires and the material moves to the next in the reservation queue or is released for borrowing normally.
Overdue fee
An overdue fee is accrued for a loan that is returned or renewed late, according to a separate price list. The price list is available in the library and on the library’s website.
Late fees are paid on site at the library’s customer service (in cash).
A late payment fee is not collected for loans of customers under the age of 15 or the staff of the Helsinki Conservatory.
Loss of lending rights
The customer will be banned from lending if late fees of 20 euros or more have accumulated. The customer will also be banned from lending if more than 40 days have passed since the due date of the unreturned material.
In order to lift the borrowing ban, the customer must return or replace the borrowed material and reduce the late payment balance to less than 20 euros.
If the customer repeatedly fails to follow the library’s rules of use, the customer can be permanently banned from borrowing.
Compensation for lost or damaged materials
The customer is obliged to compensate for lost, damaged or defective material returned. The material is also considered lost if more than 40 days have passed since the due date of the unreturned loan.
Primarily, the material is replaced by delivering a corresponding copy to the library. Material replacement must always be agreed in advance with the library.
If it is not possible to deliver the replacement material to the library, the Helsinki Conservatory will invoice the customer for the replacement amount according to a separate price list. The price list is available in the library and on the library’s website.
