Borrow & Renew

Borrowing for Non-SFSU Patrons

Non-CSU affiliated patrons and community users may be able to borrow items if they qualify for a Special Borrowers Card or by becoming a Community Borrower. For more information see the Library Accounts & Cards page or contact circmail@sfsu.edu.

SFSU Borrowing Privileges at Other Institutions

While borrowing privileges at other institutions vary widely, your affiliation with SFSU may be useful in using other libraries. See the Borrowing Privileges at Other Libraries for more information. 

An SFSU faculty member with a valid SFSU ID may borrow circulating items from most of our collections for one year, with one additional renewal.

You can check out any number of items at a time; however, they must be returned or renewed when the maximum renewal allowance has been reached. It is expected that faculty members will purchase books they need for continual consultation and not keep a library copy for ongoing personal use.

Faculty Proxy Borrowing

As a faculty member, you may authorize one assistant or fellow faculty member with an active SFSU ID to check out materials on your behalf. 

To learn more or set up proxy borrowing, please contact circmail@sfsu.edu or stop by the Book Checkout & Pickup Desk.

Many items from SFSU collections are renewed once automatically, with no action needed on your part. You can renew checkouts online by signing in to your account until you reach the renewal limit for a specific item or someone else places a hold on it. 

Items borrowed through interlibrary loan cannot be renewed. If you know you will still need an item beyond the 16-week loan period, please place a new request for the same item and swap the original copy for the new copy when it arrives at the SFSU Library. 

For any questions regarding renewals or due dates, contact circmail@sfsu.edu.

Items are considered overdue the day after the due date. 

The Library sends an email reminder two days before the due date of an item that has reached its maximum renewals, with an additional reminder email sent on the actual due date if the item has not yet been returned.

An overdue notice will be sent when an item is seven days overdue, followed by a final reminder at 21 days overdue. When an item is 30 days overdue, it is considered lost, and a replacement fee will be placed on your Library account and sent to the Bursar's Office. The replacement fee will be waived in full upon the return of the item. 

We do not charge hourly or daily late fees for most items. Late fees may be charged for course reserves, laptops borrowed from Academic Technology, and other equipment, as well as other high-use items, when they are returned past their due date and time. 

Note: Late fees do not appear on the Library record until items have been returned and checked in. 

 Late Fees for Course Reserves

• $1 per hour per item for hour-based loans (two or four hours)
• $1 per day per item for day-based loans (one, two, or three days)
• Maximum overdue fee: $25 per item
• Damaged item fee: depends on the degree of damage to the book
• Lost item fee: at least $60

Items are deemed lost 30 days after the due date. 

At that time, a lost item replacement fee is automatically charged, and a notice is sent to the email address in your library record. The fine is also sent to the Bursar's Office and can be paid through Gateway.

However, we will waive the replacement fee in full when the item is returned to the Library and checked in. Please allow up to three business days for the fee removal to be processed and cleared. 

If you return an item after paying a replacement fee, you may qualify for a refund of the fee. 

Please contact circmail@sfsu.edu for any questions regarding replacement fees or payments.

Lost Item Fees

• SFSU Library books and media: at least $60
• Interlibrary loan/CSU+: at least $90