Circulation
New: Circulation questions can now also be answered via or .
Material from the general collection will be loaned to faculty, staff, and students of Harvard. Policies for borrowing vary depending on affiliation with Harvard. For more information on borrowing privileges, see the Library’s Use Policy or ask at the Reference Desk. Several categories of materials do not circulate, e.g.
- Any volume (journal or book) over 100 years old
- XP call #s (these are boxed poor paper volumes)
- Any boxed, or otherwise damaged or fragile, volume
- Oversized books
- Unbound journals, regardless of date
Monographs circulate to Harvard graduate and undergraduate students, officers, and staff, as well as to those who have purchased MCZ Library borrowing privileges. Borrowing period: 28 days for undergraduates, those who have purchased MCZ Library borrowing privileges, and other members of the Harvard community who are from outside the OEB Department and its closely-affiliated departments; 56 days for graduate students, faculty, staff, and officers in the OEB Department and its closely-affiliated departments.
Serials. Journals and other materials assigned a periodical classification are loaned only to faculty and graduate students with offices within the Museum of Comparative Zoology, the MCZ Labs, the Biological Laboratories, the Department of Geology, the Harvard University Herbaria, and the Peabody Museum. The loan period for bound journals is the same as for monographs, but journals must be kept in the borrower’s office at all times, and made available to others for use upon request.
Course Reserves. Books and articles that have been placed on reserve for a course are kept at the Circulation Desk. An ID must be left at the Circulation Desk whenever reserve materials are borrowed.
The borrowing period for Reserve materials is 2 hours. Reserve materials may be taken out overnight one hour before closing and are due back the following day one hour after opening (those taken out overnight on Saturday are due back on Monday by 10:00 am.) There is a fine of $1.00 per hour for overdue reserve materials.
Renewals, Overdues and Recalls
Monographs and journals borrowed from the Library should be returned when due. Fines for overdue items accrue at the rate of $0.50 per day, unless the item in question has been recalled. Recalled items are due 7 days after a recall notice has been sent; after 7 days fines accrue at the rate of $2.00 per day.
Barcoded items may be recalled by way of HOLLIS; the HOLLIS record for an item with a barcode will show the word “Request” on the “Availability” record if that item is checked out. Requests for non-barcoded items should be made directly to the library staff, who will recall the item and inform the patron when it becomes available.
Renewals may also be made through HOLLIS if the item to be renewed has a barcode number. Renewals for other items, as well as those with barcode numbers, may be made by telephone at 617-495-2475 or by . Non-OEB patrons are limited to 5 renewals per item, after which the item must be brought to the library for renewal.