Borrowing & Renewals

Registration
Check Out
Loan Periods, Limits and Renewals
Overdue and Lost Items
Holds

Renew UMass Lowell Libraries materials online

These Circulation Policies have been instituted to insure equitable access to materials for as many patrons as possible. The University Libraries are open to adult members of the public, but direct borrowing privileges are restricted to

·         UMass Lowell Students, Faculty, Staff and Alumni

·         Friends of the UMass Lowell Libraries

·         Massachusetts Public University, State or Community College Students and Faculty

·         Boston Library Consortium Card (BLC) Holders

·         UML Libraries Corporate Membership Holders

·         Lowell Public Library Card Holders

·         Massachusetts State Park Rangers. 

Other individuals may ask their public libraries to request UMass Lowell material for them.

Registration

Those wishing to borrow library materials, including Reserve items, must register with the UMass Lowell Libraries. Registration must be done in person at the circulation desk at either Lydon or O'Leary Library. Photo identification is required. 

·         UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff must register with their UMass Lowell IDs. 

·         UMass Lowell Alumni must register with a UMass Lowell Alumni ID card (available through the Alumni Office) and a valid driver’s license or state issued photo ID.

·         Massachusetts Public University, State or Community College Students and Faculty must register with a current photo ID from their school.

·         BLC Card holders must register with the BLC card issued by their home institution and valid school photo ID or driver’s license.

·         Lowell Public Library Patrons must register with a valid Lowell Public Library card and driver’s license or state issued photo ID.

·         Friends of the UMass Lowell Libraries must register with a driver’s license or state issued photo ID.

·         Massachusetts State Park Rangers should contact Ellen MJ Keane to arrange borrowing privileges.

Check Out

Patrons may check out material up until 15 minutes before closing time at O’Leary and Lydon Libraries.

·         UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff must present their UMass Lowell IDs to borrow items from the Libraries. 

·         UMass Lowell Alumni must present their UMass Lowell Alumni ID card to borrow.

·         BLC Card holders must present the BLC card issued by their home institution at check out.

·         All other patrons must present their UMass Lowell Libraries issued Special Borrower’s Card at check out.

Loan Periods, Limits and Renewals for UMass Lowell Libraries Books

*Material may not be renewed if another patron has placed a request for it.
Items obtained through the Virtual Catalogs may not be renewed. Interlibrary Loan items may be renewable with permission.

Other types of material have different loan periods. The loan period is the same for all patrons for non-book materials.  DVDs and videotapes are available through Media Services. 

Overdue and Lost Items

Overdue fines are not charged at the University Libraries.  Patrons are asked to borrow responsibly and please return material on time so that
everyone may use it fairly. If material is needed for longer than the borrowing period, it may be renewed online. If the overdue policy is abused, fines will be reinstated.

When an item becomes 28 days overdue it is considered lost.  A $130.00 replacement fee and a $30.00 processing fee is charged.  A lost book may be replaced by a new copy of the same book in its most recent edition and a $30 processing fee. If the lost book is no longer available in print the fee must be paid.

Fees may be paid by check or exact change at either O'Leary or Lydon Library:

O’Leary Library Monday, Tuesday & Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Lydon Library Monday & Tuesday 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

UMass Lowell faculty, staff and students may place a hold on a book charged out to another user by placing a request through the staff at the Circulation Desk. The item cannot be renewed by the user when another patron has placed a hold on it. When it is returned, the requester will be notified by email. The item will be placed on a "hold" shelf for 10 days. If it is not picked up within the 10 days, it will be returned to the book shelves. The University Libraries will not disclose the identity of the patron who has borrowed the item for which the requestor is placing a hold. Items owned by the University Libraries that are checked out or otherwise unavailable may be requested through the BLC Virtual Catalog or the Massachusetts Virtual Catalog by UMass Lowell faculty, staff and students.
 

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