This page contains borrowing information for different types of users:
- SUNY Oswego students
- SUNY Oswego faculty & staff
- SUNY Oswego emeritus faculty
- Students, faculty & staff from other SUNY campuses
- Visitors (all other library users)
We also have some additional borrowing information for all users:
- Renewing items
- Fines & fees
- Can't find an item that should be on the shelves, but isn't? Let us know about missing library materials!
Students
Do I need a card to borrow items?
You will need your student ID to check out items; there is no separate library card.
What can I borrow, and for how long?
| What can I borrow? | How long can I borrow? | Can they be renewed? |
|---|---|---|
| Books From 3rd floor, 'New Books' section, & Juvenile collections | Until the end of the semester | No |
| Books From Leisure Reading collection, Young Adult collection, & Teaching Resource Center | 30 days | Yes, 1 time |
| Books From Reference collection (1st floor) only | 1 day | No |
| CDs | Until the end of the semester | No |
| DVDs & Blu-Rays | 30 days | Yes, 1 time |
| Laptops, chargers, & other equipment | See Borrow equipment page for details | No |
How many items can I borrow?
Students can check out up to 100 items at a time, with the following exceptions:
- Course reserves (2 items at a time)
- Equipment (2 items at a time)
What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?
Students' borrowing privileges will be suspended if the student:
- has $25 or more in library fines/fees on their account
- has more than one overdue item
- ignores an item recall (meaning that we need that item for Course Reserves, and are waiting for you to return it) OR
- fails to return an interlibrary loan item promptly
Faculty & Staff
Do I need a card to borrow items?
You will need your faculty/staff ID to check out items; there is no separate library card.
Alternatively, you can designate a student assistant to check out items for you.
What can I borrow, and for how long?
| What can I borrow? | How long can I borrow? | Can they be renewed? |
|---|---|---|
| Books From 3rd floor & 'New Books' section | 16 weeks | Yes, 2 times |
| Books From Leisure Reading collection, Juvenile collections, Young Adult collection, & Teaching Resource Center | 30 days | Yes, 1 time |
| Books From Reference collection (1st floor) only | 1 day | No |
| CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays | 30 days | Yes, 1 time |
| Laptops, chargers, & other equipment | See Borrow equipment page for details | No |
How many items can I borrow?
Faculty & staff can check out up to 200 items at a time.
What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?
Faculty & staff borrowing privileges will be suspended if the person has:
- $150 or more in library fees on their account OR
- interlibrary loan materials more than 2 weeks overdue
Emeritus Faculty
Do I need a card to borrow items?
You will need to apply for a (free) library card. (You can also come to the library and complete a paper application.) Please bring a photo ID when you come to the library to get your card.
What can I borrow, and for how long?
| What can I borrow? | How long can I borrow? | Can they be renewed? |
|---|---|---|
| Books From 3rd floor & 'New Books' section | 16 weeks | No |
| Books From Leisure Reading collection, Juvenile collections, Young Adult collection, & Teaching Resource Center | 30 days | No |
| Books From Reference collection (1st floor) only | 1 day | No |
| CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays | 30 days | No |
How many items can I borrow?
Emeritus Faculty can check out up to 200 items at a time.
What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?
Emeritus borrowing privileges will be suspended if the person has:
- $50 or more in library fees on their account OR
- interlibrary loan materials more than 2 weeks overdue
You may also be interested in our other services for emeriti.
Students, faculty, & staff at other SUNY campuses
Do I need a card to borrow items?
If you have your ID from your SUNY campus, that would be helpful, but any photo ID will work.
What can I borrow, and for how long?
| What can I borrow? | How long can I borrow? | Can they be renewed? |
|---|---|---|
| Books | 30 days | No |
| CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays | 30 days | No |
How many items can I borrow?
Students, faculty, & staff from other SUNY campuses can check out up to 25 items at one time.
What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?
Borrowing privileges will be suspended if the person has:
- any overdue items OR
- any unpaid fees
Borrowing privileges will be reinstated once the item is returned or a replacement has been acquired.
Visitors (all other users)
Do I need a card to borrow items?
You will need to apply for a (free) library card. (You can also come to the library and complete a paper application.) Please bring a photo ID when you come to the library to get your card.
What can I borrow, and for how long?
| What can I borrow? | How long can I borrow? | Can they be renewed? |
|---|---|---|
| Books | 30 days | No |
| CDs, DVDs, & Blu-Rays | 30 days | No |
How many items can I borrow?
Visitors can check out up to 25 items at one time.
What will cause my borrowing privileges to be suspended?
Borrowing privileges will be suspended if the person:
- has any overdue items,
- has any unpaid fees / account charges, OR
- does not return items that have been recalled (typically, these are items needed for course reserves)
Borrowing privileges will be reinstated once the item is returned or a replacement has been acquired.
You may also be interested in our other services for visitors.
Borrowing information for all users
Renewing items
If your user type permits renewals, you can renew items using the Our Collections system.
If you need one, we have a quick tutorial on how to renew items.
Fines & fees
When items are not returned by their due date or time, other people are impacted. Penfield Library issues overdue fines for some late materials, including equipment and course reserves.
Patrons are responsible for paying replacement fees for unreturned, lost, or damaged materials.
Materials borrowed from other libraries (also known as interlibrary loan or resource sharing) are subject to the borrowing rules and overdue penalties of the lending library.
You can pay your charges online.
You can also appeal a charge.
Ask us to search for missing items
If there's an item that should be on our shelves, but you can't locate it, please let us know!