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Borrow & Renew Books

• Borrow Books
• Loan Periods
• Renew Books
• Holds
• New Service! Self Check Machine
• Fines, Fees and Blocks
• Courtesy Discharge
• Lost/Stolen ID Cards
• Borrow From CUNY Libraries (CLICS)
• Reserve
• How to Place Items on Reserve
• Copying and Printing

Borrow Books

• All current CUNY Faculty, students and staff.
• Empire State College students
• A validated CUNY ID (with current semester sticker) is required to borrow materials.
• Borrow and return books to the Circulation Desk at the main entrance of the Library (S-400).

Loan Periods

• Students and staff: 21 days
• Faculty: 42 days

Renew Books

• Patrons with a current validated ID may renew items in person or online, in CUNYPlus
• Faculty/staff may renew twice

Renewing Online

• Step 1: Click My Account.
• Step 2: Type your ID Card library barcode number into both the barcode and the password box.
• Step 3: Under 'Activities' click 'Loans.'
• Step 4: Click the number of the book that you want to renew and click 'Renew.'


Renewals will not be granted if:
• The item is overdue
• Renewal limit has been exceeded
• There is a block on your record
• The item has been requested by someone else (item has a hold).

Maximum numbers of items Borrowed
Patrons may borrow a maximum of 5 circulating books at any one time. Only 1 reserve item can be borrowed at a time.

Holds

• Students, faculty, and staff can place holds in CUNY+ when logged into My Account
• Patrons may select the pick-up library for the book when placing the hold

New Service! Self Check Machine

Are you tired of waiting on line? Wait no longer. The Library is pleased to announce the introduction of a new self-checkout machine. It is fast, easy to use and private.

To use the machine you must:

• Be registered with the library
• Be borrowing books from the stacks
• Be in good standing:
  • No blocks on your account
  • No overdue items
  • Owe less than $5 in fines

Stop by the Circulation desk on your next visit to try out this exciting new service.

Fines, Fees and Blocks

All patrons are subject to fines for overdue, damaged, or lost materials.

• Overdue fines - $.10 per item per day up to a maximum of $10.00
• Lost or damaged items - A replacement fee of $35.00 ($15 for paperbacks) plus a processing fee of $10.00; and any overdue charges up to a maximum of $10.00.

Blocks: One (1) overdue item or a total of $5.00 or more in fines will suspend borrowing privileges university wide. If you have a block you can't register or get an official transcript until you have cleared it.

Courtesy Discharge

Books may be returned to any CUNY library unless they are long overdue and declared lost. Overdue fines may also be paid at any CUNY library. However, in person renewals can only be done at the home library.

Lost/Stolen ID Cards

Lost/Stolen ID must be reported to Campus Security and the Circulation Desk.

Borrow From CUNY Libraries (CLICS)

Need a book from another CUNY library? Thanks to a new borrowing service called CLICS (CUNY Library Intra-Campus Services), students and faculty can request books through CUNYPlus and have them sent to any campus within 48 hours.

How to Request Books Online

1. From the item record in CUNY Plus, click "Request"



2. Enter your library barcode number and password.



3. Make sure Borough of Manhattan CC is selected:
   



4. The book should be sent to BMCC within 48 hours.

Borrow Books in Person
You may also borrow books in person, at other CUNY libraries, with your validated CUNYCard. There will be times when you wish to use a more specialized collection or a CUNY Library that is closer to your home or one open when BMCC is not. You may return books at any CUNY library as long as they are not overdue. The Graduate Center and the CUNY Law School do not participate in the Open Access program.

Reserve

The Reserve collection is made up of required readings and textbooks assigned by Faculty. How to Place Items on Reserve (for Faculty).

Most reserve materials are limited to 2 hours in-library use only. Some items circulate for 7 days. There are severe penalties for overdue reserve materials.

To Check Out Reserve Materials
Bring the call number and a current validated CUNY ID to the Circulation desk.

Textbooks on Reserve
The library purchases copies of most of the required textbooks used by BMCC students. These are kept at the Reserve desk and are available for a two-hour in-library use only. View the list.

Borrowing
Most books may be borrowed for 2 hours. A very limited amount of materials may be loaned for 7 days.

Renewals
An item can be renewed once except when it has been requested by another patron. At times of high demand, especially during the week of Finals, textbooks and reading materials cannot be renewed.

Number of items to be borrowed
Only 1 reserve item can be borrowed at a time.

Holds
Holds cannot be placed on Reserve items.

Fines
The Reserve Collection is heavily used and are placed on Reserve to benefit all students. Loan periods and fines are put in place to encourage fair and equal access for all. Thus fines are quite hefty to discourage abuse.

• A fine of $0.02 per minute ($1.20 per hour), per item is charged for an overdue reserve item, (maximum of $40.00)
• There is an additional $10.00 charge for reserve items removed from the library

How to Place Items on Reserve

Faculty can request that heavily used books (such as required readings or class assignments) be placed on Reserve for their classes.

To place an item on on-site Reserve, the instructor must submit a list of the required items to the Circulation Desk. Due to processing time and the high volume of requests, faculty should submit lists at least 2 weeks prior to the beginning of a new semester. Lists will be dated and processed in the order of their receipt.

Ordering New Books for Reserve
Books not already owned by BMCC Library should be ordered well in advance through the Collection Development Librarian. This will ensure proper processing and avoid confusion and delay.

Placing Personal Books on Reserve
If the Library does not own the required books, faculty members may place their personal books on Reserve. These must also be submitted before the start of the semester. Personal items must be retrieved at the end of the semester.

Please note that Interlibrary Loan materials may not be placed on Reserve.