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Borrow & Renew

This page contains borrowing information for different types of users:

We also have some additional borrowing information for all users:

Students

Do I need a card to borrow items?

You will need your student ID to check out items; there is no separate library card.

What can I borrow, and for how long?

What can I borrow?How long can I borrow?Can they be renewed?
Books 
From 3rd floor & 'New Books' section
Until the end of the semesterNo
Books 
From Leisure Reading collection, Juvenile collections, Young Adult collection, & Teaching Resource Center
30 daysYes, 1 time
Books 
From Reference collection (1st floor) only
1 dayNo
CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays30 daysYes, 1 time
Laptops, chargers, & other equipmentSee Borrow equipment page for detailsNo

How many items can I borrow?

Students can check out up to 100 items at a time.

What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?

Students' borrowing privileges will be suspended if the student has:

  • $25 or more in library fees on their account
  • more than one overdue item
  • an overdue recall item (meaning that we need that item for Course Reserves, and are waiting for you to return it) OR
  • interlibrary loan materials more than 2 weeks overdue

Faculty & Staff

Do I need a card to borrow items?

You will need your faculty/staff ID to check out items; there is no separate library card.

Alternatively, you can designate a student assistant to check out items for you.

What can I borrow, and for how long?

What can I borrow?How long can I borrow?Can they be renewed?
Books 
From 3rd floor & 'New Books' section
16 weeksYes, 2 times
Books 
From Leisure Reading collection, Juvenile collections, Young Adult collection, & Teaching Resource Center
30 daysYes, 1 time
Books 
From Reference collection (1st floor) only
1 dayNo
CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays30 daysYes, 1 time
Laptops, chargers, & other equipmentSee Borrow equipment page for detailsNo

How many items can I borrow?

Faculty & staff can check out up to 200 items at a time.

What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?

Faculty & staff borrowing privileges will be suspended if the person has:

  • $150 or more in library fees on their account OR
  • interlibrary loan materials more than 2 weeks overdue

Emeritus Faculty

Do I need a card to borrow items?

You will need to apply for a (free) library card. (You can also come to the library and complete a paper application.) Please bring a photo ID when you come to the library to get your card.

What can I borrow, and for how long?

What can I borrow?How long can I borrow?Can they be renewed?
Books 
From 3rd floor & 'New Books' section
16 weeksNo
Books 
From Leisure Reading collection, Juvenile collections, Young Adult collection, & Teaching Resource Center
30 daysNo
Books 
From Reference collection (1st floor) only
1 dayNo
CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays30 daysNo

How many items can I borrow?

Emeritus Faculty can check out up to 200 items at a time.

What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?

Emeritus borrowing privileges will be suspended if the person has:

  • $50 or more in library fees on their account OR
  • interlibrary loan materials more than 2 weeks overdue

You may also be interested in our other services for emeriti.

Students, faculty, & staff at other SUNY campuses

Do I need a card to borrow items?

If you have your ID from your SUNY campus, that would be helpful, but any photo ID will work.

What can I borrow, and for how long?

What can I borrow?How long can I borrow?Can they be renewed?
Books30 daysNo
CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays30 daysNo

How many items can I borrow?

Students, faculty, & staff from other SUNY campuses can check out up to 25 items at one time. 

What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?

Borrowing privileges will be suspended if the person has:

  • any overdue items OR
  • any unpaid fees

Borrowing privileges will be reinstated once the item is returned or a replacement has been acquired.

Visitors (all other users)

Do I need a card to borrow items?

You will need to apply for a (free) library card. (You can also come to the library and complete a paper application.) Please bring a photo ID when you come to the library to get your card.

What can I borrow, and for how long?

What can I borrow?How long can I borrow?Can they be renewed?
Books30 daysNo
CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays30 daysNo

How many items can I borrow?

Visitors can check out up to 25 items at one time. 

What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?

Borrowing privileges will be suspended if the person:

  • has any overdue items,
  • has any unpaid fees / account charges, OR
  • does not return items that have been recalled (typically, these are items needed for course reserves)

Borrowing privileges will be reinstated once the item is returned or a replacement has been acquired.

You may also be interested in our other services for visitors.

Borrowing information for all users

Renewing items

If your user type permits renewals, you can renew items using the Our Collections system.

If you need one, we have a quick tutorial on how to renew items.

Fines & fees

Penfield Library does not charge overdue fines.

We will charge you for items you check out and then lose or damage. If an item is overdue, we will send you 3 notices to remind you to return the item. If we don't hear from you, we will assume the item is lost and apply a replacement charge to your account.

Charges will not prevent students from registering, graduating, etc.

You can pay your charges online.

You can also appeal a charge.