Circulation
Eligibility for Healey Library Services
Any one of the following identification is required to borrow Healey Library material:
- UMass Boston student ID with a current validation sticker
- UMass Boston faculty or staff ID
- UMass Boston special borrower’s card and any other picture ID
- Boston Library Consortium card and picture ID
- Fenway Library Consortium member with current school ID
- Retired UMass Boston staff and faculty
- Members of the UMass Boston Alumni Association with current Alumni card
- Massachusetts Public Colleges and Universities staff, faculty, or students with current school identification
The use of books, journals, databases within the library is unrestricted and free. If you have any questions please contact the Circulation Desk at 617.287.5900.
Loan Periods and Renewals
The standard loan period for circulating collections is:
- Faculty: 120 days
- Graduate students and staff: 60 days
- Undergraduates: 30 days
- Affiliates: 30 days
Items may be renewed up to four times. After the fourth renewal, items must be returned and re-shelved before the original user can charge them out again.
Overdue Fines and Fees / Circulating Materials
- $.75 per day per item with a maximum of $30. Fines begin accumulating on the first day overdue.
- After an item has been overdue for 40 days, the item will be assumed lost and a $30 processing fee and an additional book replacement fee will be charged. The book replacement charge is based upon the actual cost to the library to replace the book.
Faculty and staff are not charged fines for any material owned by Healey Library.
A fine in excess of $10.00 blocks the borrowing and renewal privileges for a user.
InterLibrary Loan Materials
The overdue policy for books that are borrowed from other libraries is the same as that applies to Healey Library items. The only differences is that the fines apply to all patrons including faculty and staff, and the replacement charge will be whatever charge the lending library charges Healey to replace a book that cannot be returned. If you have any questions related to an overdue InterLibrary Loan book please call the InterLibrary Loan Department at 617.287.5912.
These policies apply to books borrowed through your InterLibrary loan account as well as books borrowed through UMass Boston WorldCat.
Overdue Notices
A courtesy notice is sent out four to seven days prior to the due date, to alert you that it’s nearing time to return borrowed materials. Once the due date has passed, two overdue notices are sent:
- On the first day overdue
- On the fortieth day overdue (the overdue fine has reached the $30 maximum). This second notice also serves as a bill for book replacement and processing fees.
Holds
Any user may place a hold on any book that is charged out to another user. Once that book is returned, it will be held for you to pick up. Please note: you may not place a hold on a book that is listed in the catalog with status “available”. To place a book on hold you may do the following,
- Go to http://voyager.lib.umb.edu and find the item.
- Confirm that the book is charged out, and is not “available”.
- Click the “Place a Hold” button and follow the instructions provided.
- When the item is returned, a notice is sent to you indicating that the book has been returned and is available for pick up at the Circulation Desk.
To place a book on hold in person, please visit the Circulation or Reference Desk.
