Borrowing Policies, Loan Periods & Fees

MC Students, Faculty, & Staff | Community Patrons | All Patrons | Requesting Items

MC Students, Faculty and Staff:

Borrowing Materials:
You must have a valid Montgomery College photo ID. To obtain a photo ID:

• Germantown & Takoma Park/Silver Spring: Students should obtain their photo ID in the Office of Student Life.
• Rockville: Photo IDs are made in the Student Services lobby.
• Faculty and Staff are issued an MC ID upon hire, or through Human Resources.

Each library card holder is responsible for all library materials borrowed with his/her library card. You will not be able to check out any materials, including reserve items, without a valid MC photo ID.

Loan Periods:

Students: Items circulate for 3 weeks. Students may borrow a total of 10 circulating items of any type at any one time. For information on renewing library materials, see Renewing Books & Other Materials. Note: Class registration is not permitted until outstanding bills are paid.

Faculty & Staff: Circulating books are checked out until the end of the semester. Audio books, DVDs, and CDs circulate for 3 weeks. Faculty members may borrow instructional videos for one week. For information on renewing library materials, see Renewing Books & Other Materials.

Course Reserves:
Books and other materials placed on course reserve by faculty are located at the Circulation Desk to support classroom instruction. They are available for short term use in the library. You must present a valid student photo ID to use reserve materials. In addition, some classes might have access to electronically scanned documents. You may search for materials your instructors have placed on reserve in the Libraries' Course Reserve System.

Community Patrons:

Borrowing Materials:
You will need a valid library card from Montgomery College. We do not accept Montgomery County Public Library cards or cards issued by other colleges. Residents of Maryland or of the District of Columbia are eligible. To obtain a card, you must present proper identification such as a driver's license at the Circulation desk. Library card holders are responsible for all library materials borrowed with their library card.

Loan Periods: 

Community users may borrow a total of 5 circulating items of any type at any one time. Circulating items may be borrowed for 3 weeks. For information on renewing library materials, see Renewing Books & Other Materials.

All Patrons:

Circulating Materials:

• Books: Students and community borrowers may borrow books for 3 weeks. Faculty and staff may borrow books for the full semester.
• Audiovisual materials: Circulating videos, audiocassettes and CD's may be checked out for 3 weeks; non-circulating videos must be viewed in the library. Ask at the Circulation desk for these videos.
• Journals, magazines, newspapers, and Reference materials do not circulate. Photocopiers are available in each library; copies are 15 cents a page.  Microfilm readers are available in the Rockville Campus library (where all microfilm holdings are located). Printing from microfilm readers is 10 cents a page. 
• Electronic Resources: We have access to thousands of full-text electronic periodicals through our full-text indexes and databases, as well as a growing collection of electronic books. To search for a specific journal or browse our print and electronic journals, go to Find Journals by Title or Subject. Montgomery College students, faculty, and staff have access to electronic resources from off-campus, after logging in with their MC ID number. Community Borrowers may only use these resources from within the Libraries. 

Returning Materials:
You may return borrowed items to any Montgomery College campus library. Book drops are located outside each library for your convenience when the libraries are closed.

Overdue & Lost Fees:
Overdue fines are 25 cents/day up to $8.00 maximum per item. For lost items, we charge the actual replacement cost plus overdue fines. If a replacement cost is not available, the default fees are $50 for hardback books; $15 for trade paperbacks, $10 for mass-market paperbacks, $15 for cassettes and CD's, $25 for circulating videos, and $85 for Instructional Videos. Note: Class registration is not permitted until outstanding bills are paid.

Requesting Items

Montgomery College students, faculty, staff, and Community Borrowers may request library material that is at a different location or checked out by another patron. You must be logged in to make a request. In general, items that cannot be checked out of the Library (e.g., Reference books) cannot be requested.

Types of requests:

• Intercampus Loan (ICL): Request material from another campus library to be sent to your campus (e.g., have an item at the Rockville library sent to the Takoma Park/Silver Spring library). Intercampus loan requests may take 4 business days to arrive at your library. You may only request an Intercampus loan for materials that are currently available and which can be checked out.
• Recall: If an item is currently checked out, you may request that it be returned to the library before the posted due date and held for you. Items cannot be recalled within a certain number of days of being checked out (determined by the library).
• Hold: If an item is currently checked out, you may request that it be held for you at the library after it has been returned. It will be held for a number of days determined by the library.

To make a request:

• Log in to the MC Library Catalog. If you do not log in before you search, you will be asked to log in when you attempt to make the request.
• Conduct your search. From the results screen, click on the item that you would like to request.
• From the Item Record page, click Make a Request in the box on the right side of the screen.
• Complete the Request form:
  • Select the copy you would like to borrow from the drop-down list (there may be only one option).
  • Add any comments in the box provided.
  • Select the location where you would like to pick up the material. Note: For Intercampus Loans, this cannot be the same library that owns the item.
  • Enter your College ID (M number) or Community Borrower card's barcode and click Submit.
• Click on the My Account tab to monitor the status of your request.