Borrowing & Requesting Items

Borrowing Items

Books, movies, and equipment (e.g. laptops, headphones, HDMI cords) can be checked out and returned at the Circulation or Reference Desks. UH-affiliated faculty, staff, and students are automatically granted borrowing privileges. Patrons who wish to check out items should have a valid photo ID and their Library account must be in good standing. Books may be returned at any time via the dropbox located on the outside of our building.

The Library is open to all, and books can be used by anyone while inside the facility. Most, not all, of our physical holdings are available on open shelves for self-retrieval. Rare and valuable materials are kept in protected storage, and access to these materials might be limited to certain patron groups.

UH-retirees can obtain a free community user card if they would like to continue borrowing items. Community users may also pay for a community user card, which grants certain borrowing privileges. Consult page 8 of the University of Hawaiʻi System Circulation policy, which has a table outlining all special borrower privileges and card prices. Please contact us if you would like to obtain a special borrower card.

Requesting Items

Intra-System Loans

An intrasystem loan (ISL) is the borrowing of a book from another UH campus.

To place an ISL request:

1. 1. Access Onesearch.
   2. Search for the item you want. Once you are at the correct item record…
   3. In the “How to Get It” section, if you are prompted to Sign In, click on the link to do so.
      
   4. Click “UH login”, then enter your UH username and password.
   5. Now that you’re signed in, in the “How to Get It” section, you should see new options. Click on “Request any copy from other UH System Libraries.”
      
   6. If the item is available from more than one UH System Library and you want a specific copy, select the institution from which you want a copy of the item and then click on “Request Specific Copy” to request the item available at that institution.
   7. You may choose the copy you want, although the system does try to select the closest available copy. Be aware that items from outer-island campuses will take significantly longer to get to Oʻahu.
   8. Choose a pickup location. Press “SEND REQUEST”.
   9. If the request was successful, you should see a message with that information.

Now…you wait! Most items from Oʻahu campuses take 4-7 business days to move locations. Once the item has arrived at the specified pick-up location, you will receive an automatically generated email notifying you that it’s ready for pick-up. If the item is from your home campus, it will typically be ready and waiting for you at the Circulation Desk by the morning of the next business day.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

A service that provides access to articles, book chapters, and books from university partners from across the nation. For more information or to place a request, please visit the ILL Service Page by clicking on the button below.

ILL Service Page

Fines and Fees

To ensure the fair and equitable use of Library resources and to encourage responsible patronage, the Library assesses fines for overdue, lost, and/or damaged items. A failure to return items by the printed due date (books) or by the verbally stated time (laptops & equipment) will result in overdue fines. When an item accrues $10 in overdue fines, it will be considered lost and lost-item replacement and processing fees will be assessed in addition to the $10 in overdue fines. Damaged items are assessed on case-by-case basis.

• Lost book fees will be based on the original purchase price, when available, or the UH System default lost book fee of $60.00.
• Lost equipment fees will be determined by Library staff.

Balances under $10.00

Library users with account balances under $10.00 are still considered in good standing and borrowing privileges are available.

Balances $10.00 and above

Library users with account balances $10.00 and over are not in good standing and borrowing privileges are blocked until the balance is less than $10. The Library also places a block on a student’s account in Banner, the university’s student information system, which prohibits registration, graduation, and transcript requests.

Making Payments

• Library: Cash payments are accepted at the Library’s Circulation Desk from open to 15 minutes prior to closing.
• Telephone: Credit card payments can be taken over the phone by calling the UH-Mānoa Hamilton Library Business Office at (808) 956-7203, or the Sinclair Library Business Counter (808) 956-8308, ext. 52. Transactions are available until 4:30 PM.