Visit us in person
- See hours and locations.
- Visitors may access open library locations during MIT’s public entrance hours.
Borrow & request MIT materials
- Your MIT ID is your library card. We cannot accept Mobile IDs, except for MIT faculty, students and staff. See special user types for information about services for other groups.
- Our stacks are 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, Interlibrary Borrowing in WorldCat, or Suggest a purchase.
- Articles/book chapters: Request via Illiad/Interlibrary Borrowing.
- In-person visits to Borrow Direct partner libraries: We recommend checking libraries’ hours and authentication requirements before visiting
Get materials for course reserves
- The Libraries offer 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
- Indoor book drops are available at all library locations and the Stata Center. If you don’t have an MIT ID, you can only access these during MIT’s public entrance hours.
- Outdoor book drop 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 needed for course reserves may be recalled after a 1-week loan.
- Otherwise, a minimum 60-day loan period is guaranteed.
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
- Long overdue/lost (30+ days past the due date) – $135 replacement fee. All replacement fines and fees are credited when the item is returned.
For questions about your borrowed materials contact circulation@mit.edu. If you have any other questions, please Ask Us.