Borrowing Privileges

Checking Out Items

You may have up to 100 items checked out at one time.

To check out materials, you will need to present your Samford ID at the Circulation Desk located on 1st floor (maps).

Renewing Items

Sign into your Library Account to request renewals before your due date.

Reserves, and other special materials may not be renewed.

Interlibrary Loan renewal requests must be made through ILLiad Interlibrary Loan

Due Dates and Renewals

Loan periods vary by the type of item that you check out. Use the table below to determine the loan period for your items:
Loan Periods for Samford Staff
Regular Circulating Books
and Printed Scores		 28 days
1 renewal
Government Documents 28 days
1 renewal
Multimedia:
CDs, Records, Videos		 7 days
1 renewal
Reference, Periodicals No checkout
Reserves:
In-Library Use		 Varies: 1, 2 or 3 hours
Note: Renewals must be requested in-person
Reserves: Varies: 1, 3 or 7 Days
Note: Renewals must be requested in-person

Overdues and Fines

Samford Staff are charged fines for Interlibrary Loan and Reserve materials only. All other library materials carry no fines for Samford Staff.

Fines for overdue materials will accrue according to the following table
Overdue Fines
Reserves 25 cents per hour per item; $100.00 maximum per item
Unauthorized Removal Fine: $10.00 per item
Equipment $5.00 per hour per item; $100.00 maximum per item

Lost or Damaged Items

When materials are not returned and become long overdue the user is billed for replacement cost and library privileges are suspended.

Replacement costs are as follows
Replacement Costs
In-print materials Replacement cost as listed in Ulrich's,
Whitaker's, etc. plus processing fee.
Out of print books Price listed by out-of-print book dealer, or average cost of Samford
Library titles purchased in the subject area plus processing fee.
Interlibrary Loan Replacement charges are set by the lending institution.
Other materials Original cost or actual cost of comparable item
plus processing fee.

Course Reserves

Reserve items are located at the Main Desk on the First Floor in the University Library. Each professor determines the loan period for his/her items. A professor may place an item on Room Reserve (1, 2 or 3 hour limits), or the professor may choose to allow the item out of the library for 1-, 3-, or 7-day checkouts. Room reserve, without a set hour limit, indicates that the item may be checked out until the library closes but must not be taken out of the building.

Reserve Fines are as follows
Reserve Fines
Overdue fine 25 cents per hour; $100.00 maximum per item
Unauthorized Removal Fine $10.00 per item

Borrowing From Other Libraries

Cooperative Agreement Libraries

With their Samford ID, Samford staff may borrow materials from the other Birmingham-area libraries with whom Samford University Library has a cooperative borrowing agreement.

These libraries are listed online from the library's navigation menu, under How to Find, Other Libraries. Select Cooperative Agreement Libraries to access their websites or search online catalogs.

Interlibrary Loan

Staff may also request materials from other libraries via Interlibrary Loan (ILL). To use this service, you do not need to know where the materials are located; we will locate them for you. Sign in to ILLiad Interlibrary Loan, and complete an online request form for the materials you need.

Books and articles from journals, either obtained via Interlibrary Loan or located in our library, can be delivered to the departmental office of staff via Document Delivery. The Document Delivery Service is only available to faculty and staff of Samford University.

For more information, contact Interlibrary Loan by email or call 205-726-2983.