Visit us in person

• Library access is limited to:
  • MIT faculty, students, and staff and their invited guests in compliance with MIT’s campus access policies.
  • Visitors who have been issued a Tim Ticket by Distinctive Collections or for Libraries business or events.
• Please note: The MIT Libraries do not sponsor users in Covid Pass or issue Tim Tickets for access to Libraries’ general collections or study spaces.
• All Libraries users must be in compliance with MIT’s campus access policy.
• See semester hours and locations.

Borrow & request MIT materials

• Your MIT ID is your library card.
• Our stacks are now open for browsing. You can also place requests via Search Our Collections and track them through Your Account to pick up at the library location of your choice.
• Office delivery is available for MIT faculty, postdoc, and academic/research staff.
• Faculty and Instructors are eligible to request a designated borrower, who may check out materials reserved for the faculty/instructor. Designated Borrowers must be in Covid Pass.
• All of our e-books, online journals, databases, and other streaming/electronic materials remain available as usual – find what you need using Search Our Collections. See more information about how to authenticate to online resources.
• You can request PDFs of 50 pages or less from print books, journals, and serials through our Scan and Deliver service, or suggest a purchase in digital or physical formats.
• For Distinctive Collections (Institute Archives, Manuscripts, etc.) materials, visit their requesting materials page for complete information.

Borrow & request materials from non-MIT libraries

• Books/physical items: Request via BorrowDirect, Illiad/Interlibrary Borrowing, or Suggest a purchase.
• Articles/book chapters: Request via Illiad/Interlibrary Borrowing.
• In-person visits with Borrow Direct partners: Due to continued Covid restrictions, most libraries are limiting access at this time. We strongly recommend checking with a library before visiting.

Get materials for course reserves

• The Libraries offers a full course reserves service.
• The service includes access to article and chapter scans through our Scan & Deliver service, as well as access to numerous e-books and databases.
• Print reserves for required textbooks will be available at the start of the term. Faculty and instructors can submit textbooks for courses via the MIT Coop AIP.

Return physical materials

On campus

• Book drops at all library locations and the Stata Center are inside and require MIT Covid Pass to enter the buildings for access.
• Book drop accessible to everyone is located outside building 9 – Samuel Tak Lee Building, along the Mass Ave side.
• Please note that items returned after closing will be backdated when checked in the next business day.

Other shipping options

If you are off-campus and have items you wish to return, they may be sent to the following address:

MIT Libraries Book Return
MIT Libraries
350 Brookline St.
Cambridge, MA 02139

Policies

Loan periods

• Books and accompanying materials, DVDs, and off-campus collection – 60 days
• Journals – 1 week
• Equipment, Reserves, Reference – vary. Please email circulation@mit.edu for more information.

Recalls

• Items may be recalled. A minimum 2 week loan period is guaranteed unless an item is needed for course reserves.

Renewal allowed

• MIT Faculty, Students and Staff – 5
• MIT Other – 3
• Non-MIT – 2

Fines

• We do not charge standard overdue fines.
• We do charge fines for:
  • Overdue reserves – $2/hour
  • Overdue recalled items – $2/day
  • Overdue items from non-MIT libraries (via ILB/Illiad and Borrow Direct) – $0.50/day
  • Long overdue/lost (30+ days past the due date) – $15 + replacement fee. Replacement fee credited if the item is returned.

For questions about your borrowed materials contact circulation@mit.edu. If you have any other questions, please Ask Us.