Loans and Returns

Loan and return policies vary from location to location

Loan periods vary from library to library throughout the Novanet library consortium and across the whole Nova Scotia library system. Keep this in mind when you borrow materials through the Dal libraries.

  • Confirm the actual loan period with the circulation desk
  • Return borrowed materials to a Novanet library or a public library in Nova Scotia.
  • Items from document delivery have different loan periods and are set by the lending library. The blue wrapper around the item indicates its due date.

Loan periods at Dalhousie

The following table outlines loan periods at Dalhousie's four main library locations.  Dalhousie faculty and Dalhousie graduate students are eligible for terrm loans.  If you're not sure how long something can be borrowed, ask at the circulation desk.

Items

Dunn

Kellogg

Killam

Sexton

Books 3 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks
Government Docs     3 weeks
 
Journals       1 week
Annual Reviews &
Monographic Serials
  3 days
3 weeks
 
Theses       3 weeks†
Reserves 2 hours*
2 hours
24 hours
3 days
2 hours
24 hours
3 days
1 week
 
CD-ROMs     3 weeks  
DVDs and VHS     3 days  
Music Scores**
    1 week  
Spoken Word Recordings     1 week  
Special Collections Loans ‡     48 hours  
*Overnight reserve loans are available to law students. Ask at the circulation desk.
**M1-M3 (urtext scores) are non-circulating.
† 42 day loan is available for undergraduate students. Permission is required from the Sexton Head of Circulation.
‡ Special Collections loans are uncommon and require prior arrangement with the Head of Special Collections.

Renewing library materials

Need to keep something a little longer? Here's how.

Non-Circulating Items marked SPCOLL and SPCOL+

Non-circulating books with the 'SPCOLL' or 'SPCOL+' designation are rarely loaned. However, staff can grant users special loans at their discretion. Special loans are available only from the DUASC Reference Desk between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. 

Special loans are normally a maximum of 48 hours.  A user may have only three items signed out on at one time.

Eligibility for special loans

Holders of valid identification cards from the Novanet libraries, Dalhousie students, faculty and staff may request these loans.  Off-campus borrowers are not eligible for a special loan.

Fines

$1 a day will be levied on overdue items.

Long loans

The Head of Special Collections may authorize longer loans.  Reasons for special loans may include:

  • Presentation of material required for a specific class by either students or faculty
  • In depth research performed by graduate students and faculty
  • Long works required for in depth study that are unavailable elsewhere in Metro Halifax