BorrowDirect
Purpose & eligibility:
BorrowDirect is a free service to obtain circulating materials that are not available at Columbia University Libraries from Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation peers. It may be used by all Columbia University students, staff, and faculty. For more information about library privileges, visit Borrow, Request, Renew.
Requests are delivered to your location of choice in 3-5 business days. First time users will need to create an ILL account.
Printed books, music scores, DVDs and CDs not available at Columbia, with the following exceptions:
- Non-circulating materials from other library collections
- Journal articles or bound journals
- Microforms (only deliverable to Butler Library)
Students, faculty and staff with borrowing privileges in good standing are eligible to use BorrowDirect. This includes provost-appointed visiting scholars, seminar associates, postdocs, retirees & specific institutional affiliates.
Alumni, visitors and other individuals who have purchased library reading or borrowing privileges from the Library Information Office are not eligible.
Loan Period: Sixteen (16) weeks and not renewable. Contact borrowdirect@columbia.edu if you have any questions or require assistance.
Recalls: Please note that all BorrowDirect materials are subject to recall by the lending partner. Most recalls are intended for Course Reserves. Please return all recalled items as soon as possible.
Hold Period: You will be notified by email when your request is available for pick-up. All items will be held for 7 days at the selected delivery location.
Return: All materials borrowed from Columbia University Libraries may be returned to any of the service desks during open service hours or outdoor book bins. For more information about returning items in person or by mail, please visit Returns.
Turnaround Time: The expected time from request to availability is 3-5 business days. A business day for the Libraries is Monday to Friday, excluding University Holidays.
Notification Emails: Notices will be sent to the email address on record when the item is ready for pick-up. To confirm your email address check My Borrowing Account.
BorrowDirect enables faculty, students, and researchers at participating libraries to discover, request, and rapidly receive physical materials from 14 of the world’s premier library collections. It draws on a collective collection of over 90 million items. BorrowDirect is administratively hosted by ReCAP (Research Collections and Preservation Consortium).
BorrowDirect Plus offers Ivy Plus library affiliates on-site borrowing privileges at BorrowDirect institutions. Users with home library accounts in good standing have access to circulating materials at any of the participating libraries. View the policies of the institution(s) before planning a visit.
E-mail: borrowdirect@columbia.edu
Phone: 212-854-7535