Borrowing

Summary of Borrowing Privileges

Loan Type Loan Period Renewals Replacement Fees
General Book, Score,  CD, and LP Collections 56 days 1 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
New Books 56 days 0 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Children's Collections 35 days 1 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Course Reserves 3 hours (standard), overnight, or 7 days if no one is waiting Applied 24 hours after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
DVDs, Videos, & Films 35 days 1 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Equipment 3 days 0 Applied 7 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Laptops 7 days If available Applied 2 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan) Varies (determined by lending library) Determined by lending library Determined by lending library
EZborrow 84 days 0 Determined by lending library

 

Loan Type Loan Period Renewals Replacement Fees
General Book, Score, CD, and LP Collections 6 months 1 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
New Books 6 months 0 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Children's Collections 35 days 1 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Course Reserves 3 hours (standard), overnight, or 7 days if no one is waiting Applied 24 hours after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
DVDs, Videos, & Films 35 days 1 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Equipment 3 days 0 Applied 7 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
ILLiad (Interlibrary Loan)* Varies (determined by lending library) Determined by lending library Determined by lending library
EZBorrow* 84 days 0 Determined by lending library

*ILLiad and EZBorrow are not available to retirees.

Loan Type Loan Period Renewals Replacement Fees
General Book, Score, CD, and LP Collections 35 days 0 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Children's Collections 35 days 0 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
DVDs, Videos, & Films 35 days 0 Applied 35 days after due date, non-refundable if item is replaced
Reserve Books Library Use Only n/a n/a

For information about getting a WCU library card, see our borrowing policies.

Requesting Items

Current students and employees can request items through the library catalog to be held for pickup at the library or mailed to your home address. Items will be retrieved, and you will receive an email when it is ready for pick up or in the mail. If the item is checked out to someone else when you request it, you will receive an email when it is returned. You can also consider requesting the item through Interlibrary Loan if a copy is not available at University Libraries.

Borrowing and Renewing Items

Loan periods and renewals vary. Please refer to the Summary of Borrowing Privileges for more details. Items may be borrowed at any University Libraries Help Desk by presenting a current WCU ID or a University Libraries Community Card. Sign in to My Library Account  to view and renew eligible items currently borrowed or requested.

Returning Items

Borrowed items can be returned to the Library Help Desk, IMC Help Desk, or the Presser Music Library Help Desk. If the University Libraries are closed, place items in the drop boxes located outside the main entrance of FHG Library and the High Street Entrance of Swope. If you had items sent to you through the Home Delivery Service, you should use the pre-paid mailing label supplied to return items.

Overdue, Lost, or Damaged Items

Notification

Courtesy notices are emailed before items are due as well as overdue email reminders past the due date. Links are provided to renew eligible items.

Lost Items

Overdue fines are not charged by the University Libraries. However, items that are not returned or renewed within a certain period are considered lost and a replacement fee is automatically applied to your account. 

Damaged Items

Damage can be classified as accidental (liquid, animal damage, etc) or intentional (tearing out pages, writing on pages, etc). Library staff document existing damage before an item is borrowed. You will be responsible for the repair or replacement cost for any damage that is determined to have occurred while the item was borrowed. 

Replacement Fees and Replacement Copies

Payments can be made at the Library Help Desk with cash, check, Rambucks, or credit card. Credit card payments can also be made online by contacting the Library Help Desk.  Please note, credit card payments can only be processed using an active WCU email address. 

If you’ve lost something that you’ve borrowed, and you would like to provide a replacement copy in lieu of paying the replacement fee please contact us to determine an acceptable replacement. University Libraries reserve the right to deny a replacement copy if criteria are not met.

General Criteria

Books, CDs, DVDs:

  • New or Like New Condition (no writing, hi-lighting, dog-ears, overly worn corners, etc)
  • Same edition (ISBN matches) or newer
  • Same format (ex. If the original copy was hard cover, replacement should be hard cover)

Equipment:

  • Replacements not accepted

ILL Items:

  • Check with the ILL office. Not all libraries accept replacements.

Blocked Borrowing and University Holds

If you have one or more lost items on your library account, you will be unable to borrow new items until that item has been returned or the replacement fee has been paid. For students with lost items, a university hold will block the receipt of diplomas and transcripts. 

For high demand items, such as equipment and course reserves, abuse of established policies will result in a loss of the ability to borrow these items.