Circulation Policies

Eligible Borrowers

  • Anyone possessing a valid Elms College Campus ID card.
  • Any non-Elms patron 18 years or older may register for an Elms College Library Card.

Responsibilities of Borrowers

Borrowers are responsible for all items charged out on their cards and are responsible for notifying the library of any changes in their mailing address and phone listing.

Loan Periods & Renewals

  • Books & DVDs are checked out for 28 days
    • Books are renewable once.
    • DVDs are not renewable
  • Federal and state law collections cannot be checked out.

Renewals

  • Reserve materials are renewable once, if no other patrons have requested access after initial check-out.
    • Renewals double the assigned time for the Reserve item, as determined at the item level (3 hours, 1 day, or 7 days).
    • Reserve materials may be pulled from circulation or recalled from use at any time by the owning faculty member.
    • The renewal transaction can be done in person at the Circulation Desk or by email sent to circulation@elms.edu.
  • InterLibrary Loan materials may be renewed, at the sole discretion of the lending library.
    • Borrowers must contact Lily Webber by phone at 413-265-2280 or by emailing ILL@elms.edu.
    • The renewal transaction can be done in person at the Circulation Desk, by email at ILL@elms.edu, or by telephone at 413-265-2280.

Lost items

All items thirty (30) days overdue are considered lost.  We calculate bills for these and other lost items based on the replacement cost of the material. We also reserve the right to suspend borrowing privileges. In addition, the Registrar will apply sanctions until the bill is settled.

  • If the borrowing patron fails to contact library staff within thirty (30) days of the Due Date of an item from the circulating collection, the item will be considered lost and the patron will be billed for its replacement.
  • If items are returned undamaged within sixty (60) days of the billing date, we will issue a refund, less late charges.