Access and Borrowing Loan Policies

Overview

The Alma Fulfillment Group has reviewed current loan policies across the Harvard Library system. During their evaluation, they identified several areas where loan policies could be consolidated for the benefit of our library community. For example, items meant for in-library use currently appear in HOLLIS under a variety of descriptions (restricted loan, ask at circulation desk, etc.) In Alma, these items will appear in HOLLIS consistently as “in-library use.”

As of April 2017 when Harvard Library implemented semester loans for Harvard affiliates, items which currently display in HOLLIS with the outdated “28-day loan” status will now appear as “regular loan.” The uniformity in language will offer a more intuitive and consistent experience for our library users, while continuing to offer these same items to our special borrowers and alumni for 28-day loan. A summary of the loan policy changes is below.

Term loans automatically renew for a total of 5 renewals, with a maximum of 48 months from the date of loan.

Alma Loan Policies

Alma Loan Policy	Faculty, Staff, Students^	Special Borrowers	Library Guests/Visiting Researchers
In-library use (02)*	In-library use	In-library use	In-library use (Reading Room use only, 28 days)
In-library use (62)*	In-library use	In-library use	N/A
In-library use (63)*	In-library use	In-library use	N/A
1-day (20)	1 - day loan	1 - day loan	N/A
3-day (22)	3 - day loan	3 - day loan	N/A
7-day (24)	7 - day loan	7 - day loan	N/A
14-day (26)	14 - day loan	14 - day loan	N/A
Regular loan (01)***	Term	28 days	In-library use (Reading Room use only, 28 days)
Regular loan (61)	Term	28 days	N/A
Non-reserves 3-hour loan (11)	3-hour loan	3-hour loan	N/A
Reserves 3-hour loan (item policy 11, location = RES)	3-hour loan	N/A	N/A
Borrow Direct	16 week loan	N/A	N/A
Interlibrary Loan**	16 week loan	N/A	N/A
Ask at Circulation desk (92)*	In-library use	In-library use	N/A
Special Collections- Aeon (91)	Managed via Aeon
Special Collections- Aeon (97)	Managed via Aeon

*Non-circulating items; staff override possible

**Some ILL items are designated as in-library use only

***Term loan date rollover (Dec. 10th for Fall date (Sept.10th), Aug. 10th for Spring date (Feb. 10th)

^Includes active DCE Class Participants

Alma Request Policies

Alma Request Policy	Faculty, Staff, Students^	Special Borrowers	Library Guests/Visiting Researchers
In-library use (02)*	Pickup in owning library	Pickup in owning library	Pickup in owning library Reading Room only
In-library use (62)*	Pickup in owning library	Pickup in owning library	N/A
In-library use (63)*	Pickup in owning library	Pickup in owning library	N/A
1-day (20)	Pickup in owning library	Pickup in owning library	N/A
7-day (24)	Pickup in owning library	Pickup in owning library	N/A
14-day (26)	Pickup in owning library	Pickup in owning library	N/A
Regular loan (01)***	Harvard Direct eligible	Harvard Direct eligible	Pickup in owning library Reading Room only
Regular loan (61)	Pickup in owning library	Pickup in owning library	N/A
3-hour loan (11)	Not requestable	N/A	N/A
Borrow Direct	Pickup in any participating library	N/A	N/A
Interlibrary Loan**	Pickup in any participating library	N/A	N/A
Ask at Circulation desk (92)	Not requestable	N/A	N/A
Special Collections- Aeon (91)	Requestable via Aeon
Special Collections- Aeon (97)	Not Requestable

^Includes active DCE Class Participants

Special borrowers means the following patron groups in Alma: Special Borrowers, Special Permission Borrowers, Consortial Borrowers, Domestic Partners.

NOTE: Special borrowers do not have physical access to Lamont library, but may request Lamont items for pickup at the Lamont desk (without entering security gate).

Note: SEC items are not requestable for pickup but can be loaned in-person.

Auto-Renewals in Alma

See: Renewals

Billing in Alma

See: Billing: Fines and Fees

Proxy Borrower Procedures

Proxy Borrowers (RAs)- requests/lending procedure - still need to document