ɬÀï·¬

1. Preamble

ɬÀï·¬ Libraries provide access to physical materials to members of the ɬÀï·¬ community—including ɬÀï·¬ faculty, staff, students, and alumni—along with members of other institutions (within Quebec and Canada) and community borrowers. 

ɬÀï·¬ Libraries is a member of the. PBUQ’s mission is to promote cooperation between university libraries throughout Québec. The ɬÀï·¬ Libraries Borrowing Policy complies with the policies and procedures of PBUQ, whose mission is to promote cooperation between university libraries in the province. Students, faculty and staff at all participating PBUQ institutions, can borrow and return regular circulating materials from all other participating institutions. 

ɬÀï·¬ Libraries also participates in the Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement (CURBA) and thereby extends in-person borrowing privileges to university students, faculty and staff from across Canada.

2. Purpose

To outline the policies related to borrowing physical materials from the ɬÀï·¬ Libraries and to ensure effective and fair access to the libraries’ resources.

3. Application

This document describes the policies for borrowing physical materials from the ɬÀï·¬ Libraries for the following groups of users:

1. Undergraduate Students
2. Graduate Students
3. Faculty
4. Course Lecturers
5. Staff
6. Proxy Borrowers
7. Sponsored Borrowers
8. Faculty Spouses
9. ɬÀï·¬ Alumni
10. PBUQ Users
11. CEGEP Faculty
12. BAnQ Researchers
13. Montreal School of Theology Users
14. CURBA Users
15. Community Borrowers

It includes the policies for borrowing the following types of physical materials: 

1. Books
2. Scores
3. Journals
4. Maps
5. A/V materials
6. Technology and equipment
7. Course reserves
8. Items by consultation

It includes policies for the following activities or actions related to borrowing:

1. Requesting Physical Items
2. Requesting Article/Chapter Scans
3. Recalling Items
4. Returning Items
5. Email Notices
6. Overdue Fines
7. Lost or damaged items

4. Definitions

The following types of borrowers are mentioned throughout the document. The definitions below provide guidance and clarify when distinguishing between the groups.

• Undergraduate Students: Students registered in an undergraduate-level course at ɬÀï·¬. Includes Continuing Studies students and those registered in the ɬÀï·¬ Community of Lifelong Learning (MCLL).
• Graduate students: Students registered in a graduate-level course at ɬÀï·¬. Includes students on a PhD Extension, who have reached time limitation.
• Faculty: Current and retired faculty members at ɬÀï·¬. Retired faculty members enjoy the same borrowing privileges as active ɬÀï·¬ faculty.
• Course Lecturer: Sessional teaching faculty. Course lecturers have access to ɬÀï·¬ Libraries print and online material for a period of one year from the last hiring date.
• Staff: current and retired permanent ɬÀï·¬ staff members. Retired staff members enjoy the same borrowing privileges as active ɬÀï·¬ staff.
• Proxy Borrower: individual authorized by a faculty member to borrow on their behalf. User must have current borrowing privileges.
• Sponsored Borrower: individual sponsored by a faculty member to have borrowing privileges. Normally a visiting scholar, visiting graduate student, research associate, research assistant not on the ɬÀï·¬ payroll, or short-term program participant.
• Faculty spouse: the spouse of a ɬÀï·¬ faculty member.
• ɬÀï·¬ alumni: graduates of ɬÀï·¬. Alumni must have a valid ɬÀï·¬ email address to obtain a borrowing card.
• PBUQ users: current students, faculty, and staff at other Quebec universities. PBUQ students, faculty and staff use their university ID from their home institution as their library borrowing card.
• CEGEP faculty: current CEGEP faculty members.
• BAnQ researchers: researchers affiliated with the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)
• Montreal School of Theology Users: Faculty members and 3rd-year Masters of Divinity students of the Montreal School of Theology who do not have a ɬÀï·¬ ID card, but are eligible for undergraduate borrowing privileges.
• CURBA Users: Borrowers from Canadian universities in other provinces. These users have consortial borrowing cards (OCUL card, COPPUL card, CAUL card, IUBP card)
• Community Borrowers: Individuals from outside the ɬÀï·¬ community who purchase a membership to the ɬÀï·¬ Libraries. Memberships are for 6 or 12 months.

Types of specialized borrowing cards:

• ɬÀï·¬ Library Consultation Card: card that enables members of the community to consult rare materials held at RBSC or Osler. Materials must be viewed onsite and cannot be checked out. These users must fill out an application form on site to obtain a consultation card. Consultation Cards are valid only for consultation of rare items housed at these two libraries. The Consultation Card cannot be used to borrow books from the ɬÀï·¬ Libraries.
• Faculty research card: borrowing card available to faculty members to enable them to borrow more than 100 items at once.
• PhD research card: borrowing card available to PhD students to enable them to borrow more than 100 items at once.
• PhD extension card: enables PhD students who have reached time limitation to have the same borrowing privileges as other graduate students.

5. Policy Content

5.1 Basic borrowing policies

5.1.1 Basic borrowing policies for students, faculty and staff

The following chart outlines the loan period, loan maximum, renewal status, and fines for ɬÀï·¬ Students, Faculty and Staff.

5.1.2 Basic borrowing policies for community borrowers, alumni, and borrowers from other universities

The following chart outlines the loan period, loan maximum, renewal status, and fines for community borrowers, alumni and borrowers from other universities:

5.2 Requesting Items

• Users can request that any regular-loan item from a ɬÀï·¬ Libraries location (including the ɬÀï·¬ Collection Centre) be retrieved and made available for pickup at the library location of their choice.
• Users can place hold requests on items that are "on order" or "in process."
• Staff will retrieve available items by the next business day. In most cases, items requested from the ɬÀï·¬ Collections Centre for pickup at the McLennan-Redpath Library Complex or the Macdonald Campus Library should be available within one business day. Items requested for pickup at other library locations may require two business days.
• Hold requests placed on ɬÀï·¬ items that are currently on loan can take up to 30 days to fill. ɬÀï·¬ faculty, staff and students may request these items via Network Loan or Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
• Users will be notified by email when the item they requested is available for pickup. The item will be held at their chosen pickup location for 7 days.
• Items on Course Reserve cannot be requested for pickup.
• Users can view details about hold and ILL requests, and can cancel requests for items no longer needed, by signing into their library account.

5.3 Distance borrowing

• ɬÀï·¬ students and faculty living at least 100km away from campus whose address during term is registered with the University as within Canada or the Continental US can borrow books and have them mailed to their address via Canada Post. Books can be requested by filling out the Distance Borrowing Form.
• Students, faculty, and staff at ɬÀï·¬'s Campus Outaouais can have library materials delivered to them by filling out the distance borrowing form.

5.4 Requesting article/chapter scans

• Scans of articles and book chapters contained in print volumes owned by the ɬÀï·¬ Libraries can be requested by current faculty, staff, students and sponsored borrowers via the article/chapter scan service.
• If a digital copy of the article or chapter is available, users will be directed to use that version.
• Delivery time is typically 2-4 business days.
• Scanned articles and book chapters are copied and supplied in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act. Works obtained through this service are protected by copyright and may only be used for the purpose of education, private study or research or as further provided for under fair dealing. In general, the guidelines for amounts that may be copied are:
  • 20% of a work
  • 1 entire chapter of a book (as long as it does not total more than 20% of the book)
  • 1 entire article from a journal

5.5 Recalling Items

• All loans are subject to immediate recall if needed for course readings or course reserves.
• Users will be notified by email if an item is recalled and will be given the new due date.

5.6 Returning Items

• In general, books, journals and A/V materials may be returned to any ɬÀï·¬ Library location.
• Exceptions: The following items must be returned to the library from which they were borrowed: Course reserves, maps, equipment (e.g. video/audio recording and performance equipment, and laptops), and non-print materials (kits, puppets, anatomical models, etc.)
• Items may be returned in after-hours bins, where available.
• Faculty and students from another Quebec university may return items borrowed from the ɬÀï·¬ Libraries to a library location at their university.

5.7 Email notices

• Notices for items due soon, holds, recalls and overdue fines are sent to users by email. Users will also receive an email if an item cannot be automatically renewed.
• For ɬÀï·¬ students, faculty and staff: All library notices are sent to the user’s ɬÀï·¬ email address.
• For ɬÀï·¬ Community Borrowers: All library notices will be sent to the email address provided on the user's ɬÀï·¬ Libraries Borrowing Card Application Form.
• For Borrowers from other PBUQ Libraries: All library notices will be sent to the user’s institutional email address.
• Note: Users are responsible for returning items on time even if they do not receive the email notices. Users are encouraged to check their library account for up-todate information

5.8 Overdue fines

5.8.1 Fine basics

• Provided a regular-loan item has not been requested by another user, most loans will automatically renew with no overdue fine.
• Items that have been requested by other library users that are not returned when they are due may be subject to overdue fines.
• Fines are calculated 24/7.
• One overdue item will prevent all items on a user’s account from renewing automatically. Any item that becomes overdue because of the non-renewal will accrue fines. Users are responsible for all late fees/fines on their accounts. Users are encouraged to return all items on time.

5.8.2 Paying fines

Fines can be paid in the following ways:

• In person, by debit or accepted credit card, at the loans desk.
• By phone, by speaking to a staff member who can receive payment by accepted credit card.
• Online by accepted credit card by accessing the payment platform through one’s library account.

5.8.3 Blocks on a user’s account

• Users will be blocked from borrowing and renewing if they have $50 or more owing to the Libraries.
• For Students: any outstanding amount of $100 or more owing to the Libraries will block the release of diplomas and transcripts.

5.8.4 Waiving of fines

• Fines are waived only in special circumstances, for example, a documented medical situation. Lack of awareness of library policies or failure to receive a reminder email notice is not an acceptable reason for waiving a fine.

5.9 Lost or damaged items

5.9.1 Lost items

• If an item is lost, the user will be billed for the replacement cost.
• Items are automatically declared lost if they are not returned or renewed 40 days after the due date.
• Course reserve items, which cannot be renewed, are automatically declared lost if they are not returned within one day.

5.9.2 Damaged items

• If the library determines that a damaged item can be repaired, the user will be charged the cost of the repair. If the library determines that the item cannot be repaired, the user must pay the replacement cost.

5.9.3 Replacement costs

• Users will be charged the current actual price of the item (or if the price is not available, a default price of $100 for books) together with a $30 processing fee.
• If a user returns the item, both the replacement cost and processing fee will be waived; however, the user will still be charged an overdue fee
• If a user paid for a lost item but finds and returns the item within 6 months of making the payment, a refund will be issued if the item has not been reordered.

6. Authority to Approve Procedures

The Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning is given delegation of authority for the development and approval of any procedures related to the policy

7. Review

This policy will be reviewed at least every five years.

Document History

Approved by Library Cabinet on May 13, 2025