Borrowing Materials

Our borrowing policies are designed to support your research and learning while ensuring our collections remain accessible to all community members.

The Davidson College Honor Code and Code of Responsibility apply to your use of library materials, just as they apply to your other activities on campus. In addition, please be aware that your borrowing privileges are for your own personal use only. Please do not lend your CatCard or share your login information with anyone else.

Borrowing Privileges

Faculty and Staff (20 items)

• Current faculty and staff
• ​​Faculty emeriti
• Retired employees in the local area*
• Visiting researchers
• Duke Endowment Institution faculty

Students (20 items)

• Current Davidson students
• Duke Endowment Institution students

Affiliated Borrowers (10 items)

• Alumni in the local area
• Faculty/Staff spouses and partners
• Faculty/Staff dependents (high school age and above)
• Lake Norman residents
• Town of Davidson residents
• Ministers and seminarians in the local area

*Local area includes Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Rowan, Iredell, Catawba, Lincoln, and Gaston Counties.

Our research collections have been relocated to the Library Annex during construction of the George Lawrence Abernethy Library. All Davidson College students, staff, and faculty may request library materials from the Library Annex for pickup on campus.

Items requested before noon (12:00 p.m. ET) will be delivered from the Library Annex to Lilly Family Gallery on the same day. Items requested after noon but before midnight (12:00 a.m. ET) will be delivered from the Library Annex to Lilly Family Gallery the following morning. 

Items from our collections may be requested any day of the week, but library materials will only be delivered to campus Monday through Friday. If you need materials before the weekend, please submit your request(s) before noon on Friday.

Request & Pickup Service

1. Sign in to your Library Account using Davidson Single Sign On.
2. Search the library catalog for the item you would like to borrow.
3. Click on the item you want to borrow. Under the 'Availability' section, select 'Physical Item Request' to receive a physical copy of the item.
   • In some cases, a digital copy of the item may be available. Options to request a digital copy will display just above or below the 'Availability' section.
4. When you are ready to submit your request, click on the 'Send Request' button.
5. You will receive an email notification when your item is ready for pickup.
6. Visit the Information Desk in the Lilly Family Gallery to check out the item you requested.

If you need to access archival or special collections materials, please email archives@davidson.edu, and an archivist or librarian will contact you to schedule an appointment.

Renewals of our research collections, course reserves, and videos are unlimited, provided no one has placed a hold on the item. Books from our Browsing Collection may be renewed a maximum of two times, and reference materials may be renewed once.

Library materials may be renewed from your library account. You may also bring materials to the library Information Desk to renew in person.

Please note that items borrowed through interlibrary loan may not be renewable. You can request renewals for interlibrary loan materials through ILLiad.

Overdue Fines

The library does not affix or collect fines for materials considered overdue.

Lost Item Fees

We aim to make handling lost items straightforward and fair. Your borrowing privileges will be temporarily paused when materials are lost until they are returned or confirmed lost.

• Lost item fees are automatically waived when items are returned.

• Fees for items confirmed lost are automatically added to your student/employee account and transferred to the Controller's Office to be charged to your student/employee account at the end of the academic year.

• Affiliated borrowers may pay fees by check to Davidson College at the Information Desk.

The library will consider fee waivers for extenuating circumstances.