Policies
Borrowing Information | Renewals, Holds, & Recalls | Returning Library Materials | Interlibrary Loan | Student Reserves
Overdue & Damaged Material | Mailing | Food & Drink | Donations | Graduate Student Policies | Purchase Suggestions
Borrowing Information
Current students, faculty, and staff with a valid Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota I.D. card are allowed to borrow material from the Twin Cities Campus Library. Patrons from other MNSCU/PALS consortium libraries may borrow circulating books and dissertations with a valid library card.
Loan Periods and Renewals
Material |
Loan Periods |
Renewals |
Books |
60 days |
Two |
Books
Books may be renewed twice. If a book is recalled or placed on hold, the current borrower will have a minimum of a 30-day checkout period.
Dissertations
Dissertations may be renewed twice. If a dissertation is recalled or placed on hold, the current borrower will have a minimum of a 30-day checkout period.
Videos/DVDs
Videos and DVDs may be renewed twice. If a video/DVD is reserved for a class, it may not be checked out. Also, due to licensing restrictions, a few videos from the collection are for use at Saint Mary’s University only.
Assessment Tests
Students may have up to two tests checked out at a time. If a student loses, fails to return, or significantly damages a test, $100 will be billed to the student's account to cover replacement costs.
Only students enrolled in selected courses may check out assessment tests.
Students enrolled in PY621, PY631, PY632, PY633, or MFT650 may check out tests labeled PY and MFT. Students in the doctoral program may check out tests labeled EDD. Students in the Special Education program may check out tests labeled EDS. A student's enrollment is verified at the time a test is checked out.
Renewals
Patrons may renew books, dissertations, journals, videos, and assessment tests if the items have not been recalled or placed on hold for another patron. Renewal requests should be made before the due date. Learn how to request a renewal here.
Holds
Items that are checked out may be put on hold by another patron. After an item has been returned, the library notifies the patron of availability via email. If an item is not checked out, patrons may still place the item on hold. All library items, except for assessment tests, will be held for up to two weeks after a patron is notified. Assessment tests will be held for up to one week after a patron is notified.
Recalls
Patrons may request that a recall be placed on library material that is checked out. If an item is recalled, the current borrower must honor the new due date. Overdue fees are applied based on the new due date. If a book or dissertation is recalled, the original borrower's loan period will be no less than 30 days. For videos, the loan period will be no less than 14 days.
Returning Library Materials
Materials may be returned to the Library Book Drop located near the back entrance of LaSalle Hall when the Library is closed. You can drop your items off at the reference desk during Library open hours.
You may also ship your library materials in a padded mailer or box via
UPS to:
Saint Mary’s University
Attn: Library
2500 Park Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404-4403
Note: Patrons will be charged a replacement fee for items lost via mail.
Overdues
Overdue notices are sent as a courtesy, but patrons are responsible for the timely return of all material whether or not a notice is received.
For students:
Three weeks after the due date, library and student records are blocked unless the item(s) has been returned or renewed. Also, students are charged an overdue processing fee and replacement fee for each item not returned. These charges are applied to the student’s bill. The overdue processing fee is non-refundable. Please refer to the table below for fees charged by material type.
Overdue and Replacement Charges
Material |
Overdue processing fee |
Replacement fee |
Books |
$10 |
$50 |
If an item is returned in good condition, blocks on library and student records are removed and the replacement fee is refunded on the student's account. The replacement fee will not be refunded if the library already has paid a bill from another library or purchased a replacement copy.
For lost or damaged material, see the policy below.
For faculty and staff:
Three weeks after the due date, library records are blocked unless the item(s) has been returned or renewed. If an item is returned in good condition, blocks on library records are removed.
Lost and Damaged Material
We expect library materials — books, assessment tests, DVDs, and other formats — to be returned in the same condition they were in when they were checked out.
Students who have damaged or lost items are charged a replacement fee and a $10 overdue processing fee. For items borrowed from the Twin Cities Library collection (as opposed to interlibrary loan materials, which come from other libraries), students may either pay the replacement fee or provide a replacement copy for the item. The replacement copy must be either the same edition or the most recently published edition of the item. Replacement copies must be in new condition; used copies will not be accepted. Library and student record blocks are removed upon receipt of the $10 overdue processing fee and replacement copy or fee.
Twin Cities Library will not accept replacement copies for damaged interlibrary loan items.
Student Reserves
Faculty may place material on reserve in the library for student use for the duration of one semester. Twin Cities Library does not offer an e-reserve service. Student reserve items may be supplemental or required material for courses. Learn about student reserves here.
Books
Faculty may place books and videos on reserve. The books and videos can either be owned by the library or a faculty member's personal copy. The library is not responsible for any lost or damaged personal copies. Books and videos that have been borrowed from other libraries may not be placed on reserve. Course packs may not be placed on reserve. At the end of the semester, books and videos will be removed from reserve unless other arrangements are made with a librarian.
Articles
United States Copyright Law applies to the reproduction of copyrighted materials and to their use in a library collection. Only items falling under the Fair Use standard of US Copyright Law may be placed on reserve. Articles obtained through interlibrary loan will not be placed on reserve unless they include written proof of copyright permission obtained from the copyright holder. The library staff will not place items on reserve that are in violation of the law. Faculty members assume responsibility for any infringement of the copyright law.
All photocopies of journal articles placed on reserve will be stamped with a notice of copyright. At the end of each semester, all photocopied articles will be returned to instructors unless other arrangements have been made.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Interlibrary Loan is a system of borrowing and lending between libraries. Patrons may request books and journal articles for the purpose of research and individual study.
- Only current students, faculty, and staff with a valid Saint Mary’s University I.D. may use interlibrary loan services.
- Students may make up to thirty requests per calendar month.
- Students are responsible for all fees imposed by out-of-state lending libraries.
- The library cannot request entire issues of journals.
- The library will not request books that are currently available to be checked out from the library.
- The library will not request books specifically required in a course syllabus (in other words, textbooks). See our Textbook Policy page for more information.
- The patron is responsible for monitoring his/her account for interlibrary loan articles that have been emailed, which includes checking spam folders.
- Due dates and renewal procedures are established by lending libraries.
- Renewal requests should be made before the due date.
- Overdues: see overdues section of the policies.
- The library reserves the right to deny interlibrary loan privileges to those who consistently ignore policy.
Interlibrary Lending
Saint Mary's University lends material to other libraries. We do not charge for photocopies nor do we charge for sending books. Libraries within the MNSCU/PALS consortium should make requests via ALEPH. Other libraries should make requests via OCLC when possible or use ALA forms.
Mailing
Saint Mary's University Twin Cities Library provides a courtesy mailing service for patrons. We mail library materials to patrons who do not attend classes at the Twin Cities Campus. We pay the shipping costs to send these items. The patron assumes full responsibility for replacing the item if it is lost in the mail and for returning the items to the library in person or via mail.
Food and Drink
Snack food is allowed in the library. Beverages in containers with secure lids or caps are permitted. Do not make a mess in the library. Report any spills to library staff immediately. Library staff members reserve the right to ask users to take food and drink outside the library.
Donations
The library accepts donations of academic and program-related books and videos at any time. Donations must be brought or mailed to the library. We do not maintain a vehicle to pick up donations nor liability insurance to cover personnel for such activities.
Materials which bear the ownership markings of another library or institution and do not have any indication of being withdrawn from that institution's collection will not be accepted.
Donated works by faculty, students, staff, and alumni authors are always welcome and will be added to the collection, unless these works do not meet the scope of our collection.
All donations are subject to review. There is no guarantee that the donation will be selected for the library collection. Final decisions on the retention and disposition of donations are the responsibility of the Director of Library Services. Donations not retained by the library may be given away or discarded. The library staff should be notified if an acknowledgement letter of the donation is required.
Purchase Suggestions
Faculty, staff members, and students are welcome to suggest purchases for the library. Material is evaluated for the extent to which it fits the library's collection and supports the University's curriculum. Please note that the library does not purchase required textbooks for its collection.
Graduate Student Policies
Winona Graduate Students
All Saint Mary's University graduate students taking classes on the Winona Campus should use the Fitzgerald Library services and resources accessible through the Fitzgerald Library web site.
- Access to Library Resources
- Graduate students will be directed to the Fitzgerald Library webpage in orientation and instruction sessions.
- Library Instruction Sessions
- Winona Librarians will conduct instruction sessions for classes held in Winona. Library resource instruction will be based off of the Fitzgerald Library web page.
- Interlibrary Loan for Winona Graduate Students
- Students taking classes on the Winona campus use Interlibrary Loan through the Fitzgerald Library. Resources housed on the Twin Cities Campus and requested through Interlibrary Loan will be sent to the Fitzgerald Library. Items from TC Library will not be mailed to students' addresses if they are based on the Winona campus. Items will be sent to the Fitzgerald Library.
Rochester Graduate Students
All Saint Mary's University graduate students taking classes in Rochester should use the Twin Cities Campus Library services and resources accessible through the Twin Cities Campus Library web site.
- Interlibrary Loan for Rochester Graduate Students
- Students taking classes in Rochester use Interlibrary Loan through TC Library. Resources housed on the Twin Cities Campus and requested through Interlibrary Loan can be sent to students' home addresses.