Borrowing Policies

Borrowing Policies

Learn more about Pitts Theology Library’s borrowing privileges and policies based on patron type. View all Borrowing Policies in PDF form

Emory Patrons

Current Emory students, faculty, and staff may borrow materials from any Emory library and have both on- and off-campus access to licensed databases.

Students

  • No limit on number of items borrowed
  • Book Loan Periods:
    • Undergraduate: 28 days
    • Graduate: 120 days
  • Cross-registered students from Columbia Theological Seminary, Interdenominational Theological Center, or McAfee School of Theology may check out books from Pitts Library by coming to the circulation desk, identifying themselves as a cross-registered student, and showing an ID from their primary school.

Faculty

  • No limit on number of items borrowed
  • Books: 365 days
  • Periodicals (bound or individual volumes) and reference items: 24 hours

Staff

  • No limit on number of items borrowed
  • Books: 120 days

Alumni

Alumni of Emory University can request an Emory Card and use this card to check out materials at the Pitts Theology Library circulation desk. If alumni have a card from the Emory University Alumni Association that does not have a photo, they may be asked to show a government-issued photo ID to verify identity.

  • Loan Period: 28 days
  • Number of Items Limit: 50

Sign up with the Emory Alumni Association to use digital resources, including the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, Atla Religion Database for Alumni, The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, the Hermeneia Commentary Series, Oxford Biblical Studies Online, and many more!

Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE), GETS, and ILU Visitors

  • Visitors must be in good standing with their home institution library (validated at the time of check out)
  • Visitors will be issued a library card for Emory libraries
  • Borrowing privileges expire at the end of the given term
  • Loan Periods / Item Limits for ARCHE, GETS, and ILU visitors:
  • Faculty/Students: 28 days / 25 items at a time

Georgia-Emory-Tech-State (GETS) Institutions

Present an ID card from one of the following:

  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Georgia State University
  • University of Georgia

Interlibrary Use (ILU) Card

Patrons from the following institutions can request an ILU card from their institutional library (card must be obtained from your library prior to visiting). Patrons will be required to show a photo ID from their home library when borrowing from another institution. Patrons are also responsible for checking the hours, holdings, and access policies for the library they are visiting. For all ARCHE ILU policies, see https://www.atlantahighered.org/collaboration/library-collaboration/interlibrary-loan-program/interlibrary-use-policies-procedures/

  • Agnes Scott
  • Atlanta University Center Consortium Institutions
    • Clark Atlanta University
    • Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC)
    • Morehouse College
    • Morehouse School of Medicine
    • Spelman College
  • Brenau University
  • Clayton State University
  • Columbia Theological Seminary
  • Erskine Theological Seminary
  • Georgia Gwinnett College
  • Kennesaw State University
  • Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary
  • Mercer University
  • Oglethorpe University
  • Savannah College of Art and Design [Atlanta Campus Only]
  • Southern Polytechnic State University
  • University of West Georgia

Community Subscribers

Visitors with no Emory affiliation may purchase physical item borrowing privileges for Pitts Theology Library and Robert W. Woodruff Library. This fee is waived for ordained clergy appointed to the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and ordained clergy who are members of the ECLA Southeast Synod.

  • $100 for a one-year membership
  • $75 for a six month membership
  • Loan Period: 28 days
  • Number of Items Limit: 25 items at one time
  • Subscription does not include remote access to online resources

To view materials located at the Library Service Center (LSC), visitors must request the item(s) using this form and visit the Woodruff Library to view. More information is available here.

Renewals

  • Items can be renewed up to 9 times for Emory patrons and up to 4 times for Community Subscribers and Alumni if they have not been recalled and borrowing privileges are current
  • View account and renew materials before their due date by visiting My Account
    • Emory Patrons and Visiting Faculty: click Emory Users Login and use NetID and password
    • Alumni, community subscribers, and ARCHE members: click Affiliate Login and follow instructions

To inquire about the possibility of renewing materials that have reached the renewal limit, please contact the Circulation Desk. Please note that the dates shown on your account are the dates materials are due; failure to receive a courtesy notice or overdue notice does not change the due date of the material or the fines that subsequently accrue.

Returns

Books may be returned at the Circulation Desk during library hours. A book drop located outside the second floor entrance to the library is also available 24 hours per day. You may also return books at any other Emory library for return to Pitts; in this case, please allow 2 business days for the items to be routed to Pitts to be checked in.

All patrons can mail returns back to the library, at the patron’s expense. Returns should be packaged securely and mailed to the address below. We recommend using a shipping vendor that allows the patron to track the return.

Pitts Theology Library
Circulation Department
1531 Dickey Drive, Suite 560
Atlanta, GA 30322

Recalls

Any registered patron may recall any checked out item from another patron through use of the blue Request Physical Item button in the item’s online catalog record. When an item is recalled, the current user is given 10 days to return the item. The item is then held for the requesting patron for 10 days.

Fines & Fees

  • Overdue Regular Items: $0.50 per day
  • Overdue Reserve Items: $1 per hour
  • Overdue Recalled Items: $2 per day
  • Replacement Fee: $100 minimum. May be higher according to actual replacement cost. Please note that because the library replaces books as soon as possible, books that are found and returned after the bill has gone to the University bursar will not result in waiving the lost book fee.

Library fines and fees can be paid at the Pitts circulation desk using any major credit card, including Visa, American Express, or Discover, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay. We cannot accept cash or check payments. All Emory students’ fines and fees will be charged to the University student account after 2 weeks.

Please be aware that library accounts may be barred for failure to return recalled items by the recall due date. In addition, library accounts may become blocked due to an excessive number of overdue books or an excessive accumulation of bills on the account.

Patrons are responsible for book that they have borrowed and may be charged for damage to books. Patrons should not dog-ear pages or stick any adhesive materials in library books. The library reserves the right to charge a lost book fee for highlighting, underlining or otherwise defacing library books, or for placing post-it notes or other adhesive markers in books.

Lost Items

If you have lost a book or other library item, please contact the Circulation Desk.

Request New Items

Items not owned by any Emory library can be obtained by placing a request for Interlibrary Loan, by contacting a Reference Librarian about obtaining an ARCHE card for use at another local library, or by taking your Emory ID to one of our fellow GETS libraries (Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, University of Georgia in Athens). If it is an item that you believe the Pitts Theology Library should purchase, please complete the Suggestion for Purchase form.