Q&i Services

Visit a Q&i Desk to check out River Campus Libraries materials, pick up hold or Interlibrary Loan Items, borrow Course Reserves resources, get help access ebooks and online databases, ask questions, or take advantage of the many other services offered by the libraries.

Q&i Staff are happy to assist with:

  • Borrowing, Returning, Renewing, and Recalling library materials
  • Accessing online resources such as ebooks and online databases provided by the River Campus Libraries
  • Contacting an Subject Librarian for a research consultation
  • Filling Interlibrary Loan Requests
  • Accessing Course Reserves
  • Borrowing equipment such as calculators, phone chargers, laptop locks, and headphones
  • Using printing and photocopying services in the libraries
  • Providing directions or other general information about campus locations and events

 

RCL Borrowing Privileges

All students, faculty, and staff with a current University of Rochester ID are eligible to borrow materials.

Courtesy Borrowers

Courtesy borrowing privileges are extended to Alumni (including Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and St. Bernard's Institute), Rochester Regional Library Council Access Pass Holders, and other members of the greater University of Rochester Community as detailed below.

Alumni Access

  • To gain library borrowing privileges, Alumni need to visit the ID Office in Susan B Anthony Hall with a current form of photo ID to get an ID badge. Bring this ID Badge to the Q&I desk at any of the River Campus Libraries to activate your library account.
  • University alumni can stay up to date with a wide variety of premium news and research content brought to their desktops by University Advancement, Alumni Relations and the Library. Alumni may access the full range of the Libraries' licensed content while they are in the library. Off-campus access to selected resources is available through the Alumni Library Gateway using a Rochester Alumni Exchange (RAX) login.

RRLC Access Pass

  • The Rochester Regional Library Council Access Program is a cooperative effort of the participating libraries of the Rochester Regional Library Council to aid long-term research.  Circulation procedures are determined by each participating library. Cards can be issued to faculty, undergrads, graduate students, professional, and research staff at participating RRLC member libraries.
  • Patrons must obtain an RRLC pass from the library with which they are affiliated.
  • Stop at a UR Q&i desk to activate your RRLC card.

Other Courtesy Borrowers

  • Borrowing privileges are extended to Clergy, Kodak Employees, Spouses & Dependents of Faculty & Students, Rochester Academy of Science Members, and Syracuse & Buffalo Graduate Students with a letter from their home library. Contact the Rush Rhees Q&i Desk for details about gaining access to our collections as a courtesy borrower.

Proxy Borrowing

University of Rochester Faculty may designate up to two proxies (typically a hired research assistant or department staff) who are authorized to borrow library materials or pick up on hold items in their name. The faculty sponsor is responsible for all materials borrowed by proxies, including fines, replacement fees, and recalls.

Proxy borrowers must be affiliated with the University of Rochester as Faculty, Staff, or a currently enrolled Student, and must present their University ID to check out materials by proxy.

To grant proxy borrowing authorization, Faculty must fill out and sign the Faculty Authorization Form and submit it, either in person at a Q&i desk, or via email. Processing the authorization may take up to 48 hours.

Proxy borrowers are authorized for the remainder of the academic year, ending on June 1st, unless the faculty sponsor requests a shorter authorization period. Extension of proxy borrowing authorization to the next academic year requires that faculty sponsors fill out and submit a form for the next year.

Proxy authorization may be canceled by the faculty sponsor at any time by contacting the River Campus Libraries. Proxy borrowing authorization can be suspended or revoked if the privilege is abused.

Faculty sponsors will receive email notification each time the proxy borrower checks out an item on their account. Faculty sponsors can view proxy charges, requested items, or bills at My Account. All library materials checked out by a proxy borrower will get the same due date and overdue fine rate as if the faculty member was borrowing the item.

Suspension of Borrowing Privileges:

Borrowing privileges at all River Campus Libraries will be automatically suspended when:

  • Fines or fees on the patron’s account exceed $25.00.
  • A recalled item has not been returned.
  • An overdue Interlibrary loan item has not been returned.
  • Items on the patron’s account has a "lost" status. Bring items with a lost status to the Q&i desk for renewal.

When borrowing privileges are suspended, library patrons may not borrow additional items, renew checked out items, request items, or place recalls.     

 

Access Guide

Access guide chart for services offered by RCL

 

 

Loan Periods

Books/Monographs/Scores
  • Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students - End of Academic Year (June 1 due date)
  • Undergraduate Students – End of Current Semester (January 30, May 30, and September 30 due dates)
  • Courtesy Borrowers (Alumni, Guests, RRLC, etc). – 4 Weeks

Popular Reading
  • All Borrowers – 4 weeks

Bound Journals
  • Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students, and Undergraduate Students - 4 Weeks

CDs, DVDs, Video Games, Gaming Systems, Art/Music Unbound Journals, Art/Music Reference Books, and Art/Music Locked Cage Materials
  • Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students, and Undergraduate Students - 1 Week

Alumni and Courtesy Borrowers are not eligible to borrow DVDs, Video Games, or Gaming Systems

Headphones, Regular Calculators, Circulating Equipment
  • All Borrowers – 4 hours

Phone Chargers, Scientific Calculators
  • All Borrowers – 2 hours

Film and Media Studies Collection
  • Faculty and Graduate Students -  End of Academic Year (June 1 due date)

 

Some non-circulating materials may be borrowed with the permission of a Librarian.

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation items and the Koller-Collins and Robbins Library are non-circulating collections.

 

Fines and Fees

Overdue Fines

Books/Journals - No overdue fines are charged for regular loans
Recalled Items - $1.00/day to a maximum of $10.00
Circulating Equipment - $1.00/hour to a maximum of $10.00
Course Reserves -   2-hour and 3-hour loans - $1.00/hour; 1, 3 & 7 day loans - $1.00/day. Reserve Item maximum fine: $30.00

Borrowing privileges at all River Campus Libraries will be automatically suspended when fines or fees on the patron’s account reach $25.00.

Lost and Damaged Materials 

Borrowers are responsible for the replacement cost of lost or damaged items. The standard fee for a lost or damaged item is $50, which may be adjusted to reflect the current replacement cost as determined by the River Campus Libraries Acquisitions Department. 

RCL does not accept the donation of a new item provided by the borrower as a replacement for an item that has been lost or damaged. Once payment has been received for a lost or damaged item, the item is the property of the borrower, and no refunds will be issued. 

When an item is more than 30 days overdue, the standard replacement cost is automatically added to the borrowing patron’s account. These fees and all associated overdue fines will be waived once the materials are brought into the library for renewal or return.

Interlibrary Loan Fines and Fees

When an Interlibrary Loan (ILL)  item is at least 21 days overdue, borrowing privileges for both ILL and University of Rochester materials will be suspended until overdue ILL items are returned. Interlibrary Loan does not charge overdue fees, but may require reimbursement if the owning institution invoices the university for lost or damaged materials. 

Interlibrary Loan does not fine partner institutions for overdue materials, but may suspend borrowing privileges as necessary. 

Paying Fines and Fees

Fines and fees may be paid at the Rush Rhees or Carlson Q&i Desks using a credit or debit card, or using URos. Cash and checks are not accepted. Once paid, there are no refunds for fines, fees, and replacement costs.

Unpaid bills may be reported to the Bursar or other appropriate authority.

 

Renewing Library Materials

Most books may be renewed an unlimited number of times unless another borrower places a recall.  Renewals may be performed online or at any University of Rochester library.  Some Collections, such as Journals, Reserve Materials, books from Popular Reading, and Maps have limited or no renewals.

Renewing Online

  • Log into your account
  • Select the “Loans” tab.
  • Select either the Renew All icon or the Renew icon next to each individual item you wish to renew.

 

Requesting Library Materials

For your convenience, requested items can be sent to any UR Library Q&i desk for pick-up:

To Request an Item Online:

  1. Find the item in the library’s online catalog.
  2. Log in to your account to see request options. You will need your Active Directory's username and password.
  3. Under the “Get It” part of the display, click Request.
  4. Fill in the request form with your preferred pickup location, and click Send Request.
  5. You will be notified via email when your item is ready for pickup.

Items available on the shelf will be pulled by library staff and kept behind the selected Q&I desk for you to pick up.

Checked out items will be recalled from the borrower who currently has the item. They will have seven days to return the item before beginning to accrue late fees.

 

Recalls

Any University of Rochester Faculty, Staff, or Student may recall a checked out item. Courtesy Borrowers may not recall books.  All circulating items are eligible for recall, although recalls are not performed for items with a loan period of 1 week or less.

When an item is recalled, the due date is changed, giving the current patron one week to finish using the item.    If not returned on time, fines accrue at the rate of $1.00/day.

Recalls may be placed on-line using the "Get It" option in the library catalog or at any Q&i desk.

All loans are subject to recall. Due to our liberal renewal policy, we encourage faculty, students, and staff to recall needed items.

 

Course Reserves

Course Reserve items must be requested at the Q&i Desk where the item is held. Most reserve items may be borrowed for 2 or 3 hours, but a few have longer loan periods such as 4 hours, 1, 3,or 7 days. 

All reserve DVDs and Video Games must be viewed in the Art/ Music Library.

Reserve materials must be returned to the Q&i Desk where they were borrowed.

Course Reserves items carry an overdue fine rate of $1.00/hour for hourly loans and $1.00/day for daily loans. The maximum fine for reserve items is $30.00.

See the Course Reserves page for faculty information on submitting Course Reserves Requests.

 

Returning Library Materials

Books borrowed from the River Campus Libraries may be returned to any University of Rochester Library.  Exceptions to this include: reserve materials, current journal issues, reference materials, maps, and technical reports.  These must be returned directly to Q&i desk of the library where the item was borrowed.

For your convenience, there are three book drops:

  • Rush Rhees Library at the Library Road entrance next to the bank ATM
  • Carlson Library near the Trustee Road entrance.
  • Physics, Optics, and Astronomy Library just outside the library entrance.

 

Visitor Computer Use

Visitors who would like to use public workstations with full internet access can obtain a Visitor ID by filling out an online application and presenting their photo ID at the Q&i Desk.  This visitor pass is valid for 72 hours.

 

Printing and Photocopying

River Campus Libraries provides all-in-one printers (photocopier/printer/print release stations) that print in black and white, as well as in color. The cost of black & white copies is 10¢/side; the cost of color copies is 25¢/side.

Pay for photocopies and printing with the flex account on your UR ID or purchase a copy/printing card at the main Q&i desk for $5. We accept credit/debit cards. We are no longer able to accept cash or checks. 

Please report any technical problems to library staff.

 

 

Unattended Belongings  

University of Rochester River Campus Libraries users are responsible, at all times, for their personal property, including library materials checked out to them. The River Campus Libraries and their staff are not responsible for the theft, damage, or loss of property left unattended in library spaces.   

Study space is allocated on a first-come, first served basis. Personal belongings should not be used to reserve or hold study space. 

Items that have been left unattended will be flagged with an “Unattended Belongings” card. If the items and card remain in place for 30 minutes or more, the items may be removed by Libraries staff. These items will either be held at the nearest Q&i desk or turned over to the Department of Public Safety, according to the River Campus Libraries’ Lost and Found policy.   

 

Lost And Found  

The University of Rochester River Campus Libraries maintains a repository for lost and found items at the following service points:   

  • Rush Rhees Lam Square Q&i Desk  

  • Art/Music Library Q&i Desk  

  • Carlson Library Q&i Desk 

  • Physics, Optics, and Astronomy Library Q&i Desk  

Upon being turned in to a River Campus Libraries Q&i Desk, lost items will be logged to document the nature of the item, time and date turned in, and the staff member handling the items.   

Inexpensive, replaceable items are retained for approximately 30 days, then passed along to a charitable organization, recycled, or discarded. Water bottles or drink containers will be held for two (2) days. Food items will be discarded daily, and unsanitary items will be disposed of immediately.  

To claim lost property, patrons may inquire about a lost item at the Library’s Q&i Desk, must reasonably identify it to staff and indicate when it was lost. Patrons will be asked to sign the Lost and Found log to indicate that they have claimed their property.   

Valuable items including phones, computers, external hard drives, any form of ID, credit cards, wallets, glasses, expensive jewelry, and keys are turned in to the University of Rochester Department of Public Safety and can be claimed by contacting 275-2552.