giant "LIBRA" sign next to the driveway

Borrowing Policies and Procedures

Any library user, including visitors, may request that materials stored at the LIBRA facility be delivered to an on-campus library. Patrons may request materials for weekday on-campus delivery. Materials are delivered once each weekday to Van Pelt Library and other on-campus Penn Libraries, so turnaround time is one-to-two business days.

Any person who is authorized to borrow other Penn materials may also check out circulating LIBRA materials. Some materials, including those published before 1850, must be used in the library. Materials stored at LIBRA may be charged at any Library pickup point, including Van Pelt or any of the other Penn Libraries. Loan policies for LIBRA materials are the same as Van Pelt Library policies for other materials with the exception of bound journal volumes. Bound journals from LIBRA may circulate for one week. People who don't have borrowing privileges must use LIBRA materials at the designated library pickup point.

Request materials for delivery to a campus library

There are a number of ways to request LIBRA materials. Penn faculty, staff, students, affiliates, and medical staff should use the "Request" option in Franklin for monographs or entire journal volumes, or "Scan & Deliver" for specific articles or book chapters.

Courtesy borrowers should use the "Request" form for all requests.

Non-borrowers may not use the "Request" feature but instead need to use these forms:

Request materials from LIBRA

or fill out a paper request form at any Library circulation desk. Paper requests will be faxed to LIBRA, while electronic forms will be sent automatically.

Request materials for consultation at LIBRA

Although the LIBRA facility is not a browsable collection, it does accommodate users who need access to long runs of serials or a large number of books. The facility has a reading room for onsite consultation of materials. The reading room is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Due to staffing constraints, we ask patrons to call in advance so that the LIBRA staff can retrieve materials and have them ready for use.

Article Delivery and Photocopy Service

Penn users may request individual articles rather than delivery of journal volumes. If you provide complete citation information, you will receive, at no cost to you, electronic delivery of the articles up to 50 pages in length. If you prefer, a hard copy can be delivered to the library pickup location of your choice. Persons who are not authorized to borrow Penn materials will receive hard copies only.