Library Policies & Tools

Clearance

1. All users are required to clear from the library before leaving the University.
2. All borrowed books should be returned before the user is finally cleared.

Liability

Users are required to ensure that valuable items (such as money, laptops, phones etc) are not left at the baggage area. The library will not be held responsible for loss of any property left unattended in the library by users.

Rules on the Use of the Digital Library

1. The following will constitute unacceptable use of computers and the internet.
2. Booking or reserving PC machines shall not be allowed.
3. Users are not allowed to transmit or receive any material that infringes copyright, contains obscene material, pornographic material or protected material.

Library Sections

1. Technical Processing Section – where all documents are acquired and processed
2. Circulation Section – For issuing and returning documents.
3. Periodical Section – Journals, magazines, newspapers
4. Reference Section – Reference materials including encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc.
5. Stack Section – Main book collection
6. Study Room Section – Quiet study spaces
7. IT Section – Computer workstations and e-resources
8. Back Volume Sections – Archives of periodicals
9. Special Collection Section – Unique collections
10. Braille sections – Resources for visually impaired users

Lending Regulations and Penalties

• Only registered students and staff are entitled to borrow materials
• Valid Student/Staff ID must be presented for borrowing
• Lost or damaged materials must be replaced at market cost plus KSh. 500 processing fee
• Overdue regular loans: KSh. 5 per day
• Overdue short loans: KSh. 2 per hour

Fines and Penalties for Library Offences

Tom Mboya University College conducts training sessions in Information Literacy Skills for its users. These sessions cover:

• Critical engagement with digital information
• Effective information discovery and evaluation
• Ethical use of information
• Professional communication in academic work
• Assessing credibility and authority of sources

Regular workshops are scheduled throughout the academic year.

Essential tools for conducting academic research:

REF-N-WRITE Academic Writing Tool

A Microsoft Word add-in that helps with academic writing by providing phrase suggestions and templates.

• Imitative writing technique using REF-N-WRITE
• REF-N-WRITE features
• REF-N-WRITE Phrasebank

Statistical Analysis Tools

• GraphPad
• Easy Calculation
• Daniel Soper

Reference Management

• Google Scholar
• ResearchGate

Plagiarism Checkers

• Turnitin
• Scribbr

Through our subscription to the Kenya Libraries and Information Services Consortium (KLISC), we provide access to an extensive range of electronic resources including:

• Academic databases and journals
• E-books and digital collections
• Research databases across all disciplines
• MyLOFT E-Resources Platform