Good news: DVDs and CDs owned by the MIT Libraries now circulate for 60 days! Now you can check out a season of Orphan Black without having to binge-watch it in a week, though you can still do that if you want. Under the new policy, DVDs and CDs get the same number of renewals as any other 60-day loan item (up to five for MIT faculty, staff, and students, and three for most other users). They can also be recalled, so keep an eye on your email — especially around vacations or finals, when a lot of people are looking to check out movies.

In addition, the MIT Libraries have extended BorrowDirect lending to include the circulation of CDs and DVDs. Some BorrowDirect members have already opened up their CD/DVD collections for borrowing, including Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, University of Chicago, and Yale. We anticipate Brown, Duke, Harvard, and Penn will be including their collections in the near future.

This enhances the popular BorrowDirect lending program, opening up to our users a large and rich body of materials. All MIT patrons that have request and/or renewal privileges are now able to request available materials via BorrowDirect for a standard loan period of 60 days with no renewals. Here’s how:

• As with any BorrowDirect request, check MIT’s local catalog first to see if the CD or DVD you are looking for is available.
• If it’s checked out or we don’t own the item, continue your search in WorldCat to see one of our BorrowDirect partners has a copy of the film.
• Click on the Borrow Direct link and select the item to request it. Delivery time is generally between 3-4 days.

If you have any questions, please see our Circulation FAQ or Ask Us.