Borrowing Policy
Eligible borrowers
All faculty, staff and currently registered students of UMass Dartmouth (UMassD) are eligible upon presentation of a valid UMass Pass. They are not eligible for Special Borrowers’ cards.
Non-registered students finishing an incomplete are also eligible. They must provide a written or e-mailed approval of the professor under whose guidance the work is being done, along with the presentation of a valid UMass Pass.
Registered students, faculty, and staff of member institutions of cooperating consortia
- BLC (Boston Library Consortium) upon presentation of a current BLC card.
- SACHEM (Southeastern Association for Cooperating Higher Education Institutions in Massachusetts)
- SMCL (Southeastern Massachusetts Cooperating Libraries)
- WILL (Walk-In InterLibrary Loan — includes all MA state colleges and universities.)
Patrons must present current ID cards from their respective institutions or a picture ID, such as a driver’s license, and a current printed class schedule. If someone wishes to borrow library materials but is not on the list, he/she may apply for a Special Borrower’s card as a Massachusetts resident.
Library associates
Individuals from out of state or Massachusetts residents who need to borrow more than the usual limit of 5 books may join the UMassD Library Associates for an annual fee of $20.00. This entitles the patron to borrow up to 20 items.
Special borrowers
Residents of Massachusetts 18 years and older may obtain a Special Borrower’s card with proper identification, such as a driver’s license or another photo ID and a copy of a bill with their name and address on it. There are no annual fees for Massachusetts residents.
High school students in grades 9-12 who are residents of Massachusetts may also obtain a Special Borrowers’ card with proper identification as listed above. However, a parent or guardian must be present at time of application and must sign the application accepting responsibility for all overdue fines and lost item fees.
All Special Borrowers must be individuals, not organizations or groups, and are required to provide a valid email address upon applying for a library card.
There is a $2 replacement fee for lost library cards for all Special Borrowers.
Restrictions
ALL library patrons, no matter what their status, must not have any overdue library materials/equipment in order to have borrowing privileges.
Borrowing guidelines
Types of materials that may be borrowed
- Annual reports
- Audio books
- Books from the general collection and compact storage (CS001 and CS007)
- New books on display
- CD-ROM’s
- Compact discs
- DVD’s
- Government documents
- Maps
- Slide sets
- Kits
- UMass Dartmouth theses (copy 2 only)
- Videotapes
Several types of materials are for Library use only, including Reference books, periodicals, and Archives & Special Collections materials.
Types of audio-visual equipment that may be borrowed
AV equipment is available for use by current UMassD faculty, staff, students and student organizations. Requests may be made at the Circulation Desk on a first come, first served basis. Availability is limited. Valid identification (UMass Pass) is required. This service is not available to any Special Borrowers or organizations. The types of AV equipment are:
- Audio recorder, digital
- Audiocassette recorders
- Calculators
- Camcorders – digital
- Cameras – digital
- Cell phone charger
- Data video projector
- Document cameras
- DVD players
- Headphones
- Laptops with power cord
- Laser pointers
- MAC adaptors
- Microphones for classroom use
- Portable PA system
- Screens
- Tripods
Item limit:
- UMass Dartmouth community: All UMassD undergraduate students may borrow up to thirty (30) items. Faculty and staff and graduate students may borrow up to fifty (50) items.
- Other colleges and universities: Any student from one of the member institutions may borrow up to ten (10) items.
- UMass Dartmouth Alumni: Alumni from the UMass Dartmouth Alumni Association have a limit of twenty (20) items.
- Claire T. Carney Library Associates: Members of the Library Associates have a limit of twenty (20) items.
- Massachusetts Residents/Special Programs: All residents of Massachusetts and any participants in UMass Dartmouth special programs have a limit of five (5) items.
Length of loan:
- Students/Claire T. Carney Library Associates/Special Borrowers/Alumni: Books should be returned as soon as they are no longer needed and are due thirty days after they are borrowed. Participants in special programs are limited by the length of the program.
- Faculty/Staff/Graduate Students: Books should be returned as soon as they are no longer needed and are due 200 days from the day they are borrowed. All loans are subject to recall.
- Loan periods for AV materials varies for all borrowers.
- AV equipment and laptops are due one hour before the circulation desk closes on the same day the equipment is borrowed.
Renewals:
Books and other library materials may be renewed one time either in person or by telephone, as long as no one else has requested them and the items are not overdue. At the end of the semester, students must be registered for the coming term to renew library materials.
Reserve material, AV equipment and laptops may not be renewed.
Recalls:
Materials may be recalled for use by UMassD students, faculty and staff any time after the first fourteen days of the loan. All library materials needed for Reserve can be recalled at any time. After a recall notice has been sent, all patrons have one week to return the material. If a library borrower does not return the item within ten days, borrowing privileges will be suspended.
Library courtesy notices/borrowing activity letters
All library material, equipment and laptops have a due date stamped on the due date slip attached to the item, notifying the borrower when the item is due. When materials become overdue, borrowing privileges are suspended. Non-receipt of an overdue notice does not remove responsibility for returning library materials. Both Courtesy notices and Borrowing Activity letters are sent out via email.
- Courtesy notices are sent one day before the due date.
- Borrowing Activity Letters are sent out via email on the 2nd of each month. Included in the Borrowing Activity Letters are current loans with due dates and overdue loans with due dates.
AV Equipment and Laptops: Fines amounts vary depending on type of equipment. Fines are charged by the hour for each hour the item is overdue including overnight hours. Fines range from one dollar ($1.00), to ten ($10.00) per hour with maximum fines ranging from fifty dollars ($50.00) to five hundred dollars ($500.00)
- Reserve items: A $1.00 per hour fine is charged, with a maximum of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per item.
Lost or damaged equipment
If any library equipment is damaged or is lost, the patron is billed for the replacement cost of the material
Faculty, staff, students and all Special Borrowers are responsible for paying replacement fees.
Replacement costs
AV equipment and laptops:
If audio/visual equipment or laptops are damaged or lost, the patron is billed for the replacement cost of the equipment.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Adapters (mac & others) | $30.00 |
| Art pen | $30.00 |
| Audio recorder — digital | $240.00 |
| Audio recorder case | $15.00 |
| Audiocassette recorders | $100.00 |
| Calculators | $150.00 |
| Camcorder case | $50.00 |
| Camcorders — digital | $900.00 |
| Camcorders — VHS | $600.00 |
| Cameras — digital | $170.00 |
| Camera case | $25.00 |
| Cell phone charger | $20.00 |
| Data video projector | $800.00 |
| Data video projector case | $75.00 |
| Document cameras | $1200.00 |
| DVD players | $150.00 |
| Extension cords | $10.00 |
| External disc drives | $75.00 |
| Headphones | $30.00 |
| HDMI cable | $20.00 |
| Laptops | $1800.00 |
| Laptop case | $75.00 |
| Laptop power cord | $30.00 |
| Laser pointers | $50.00 |
| Portable PA system | $350.00 |
| Screens | $250.00 |
| Tripods | $200.00 |
| Touch tablet | $175.00 |
| Touch tablet case | $25.00 |
| USB stereo headphones w/ mic | $35.00 |
The library reserves the right to add/withdraw equipment and update replacement fees at any time. The policy will be reviewed annually and revised if needed.
Last Revised: September 2021