Courtesy Borrowing Cards (Library Cards)
Obtaining Courtesy Cards
Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
Types of courtesy cards and eligibility
-
COURTESY BORROWERS
-
Paying members of the University of Illinois Alumni
Association, Type AL
: In-state only. If living in-state, but not a
paying member of UI Alumni Association, see LL. If living out-of-state, see Building Use Only
Permits.
-
UIUC Courtesy Borrower Type LH
: UI Guest ID Holders; visitors sponsored by an
academic department but not holding a UI Guest ID card; members of UI President's Council, the
University Librarian's Council, and members of UIUC Library Friends Printers' Marks Society;
Holders of CIC ID Cards or OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing Program Card; Staff members of Lincoln
Trails Library System; K-12 Illinois teachers and members of Allied Agencies.
-
UIUC Courtesy Borrower Type LL
: Non-UIUC affiliated state of Illinois
residents with valid ID; persons holding UIUC Spouse IDs; UI alumni living in Illinois but not
paying members of the UI Alumni Association; Non-registered UIUC doctoral students living in
Illinois; Research Park Employees
-
Building Use Only Permits : Non UIUC
affiliated persons residing outside the state of Illinois with valid ID
How to Obtain/Renew a UIUC Library Courtesy Borrowing Card
- Fill out a Courtesy Card Application in Room 202 Main Library (8:30 am -11:30 am; 12:30 pm -
5:00 pm, Mon - Friday) or at the Main Stacks Circulation Desk anytime that Room 202 is closed. Both
of these locations are on the second floor of the Main Library. You will need to present a photo
identification
and proof of your current address. The ONLY acceptable documents for these purposes are
listed below. Expired documents will NOT be accepted.
Acceptable Photo Identification:
- State of Illinois driver's license or identification card
- U.S. Military Identification Card
- Passport
- Out-of-state driver's license or identification card
- Student/staff identification card from another college or university
Acceptable Current Address Verification:
- Lease agreement
- Utility bill in applicant's name from current or previous month only
- Credit card bill or bank statement from current or previous month only
- Your courtesy borrowing card will be mailed to you in 7 - 10 days. You will not be able to
borrow any materials until you have received your card in the mail. If your courtesy card is
returned to our office as undeliverable to the address you provided on your application, you will
not be able to reapply.
Borrowing Cards for UIUC Guests and Visiting Scholars
- UIUC guests and visiting scholars who have been issued an i-card or a blue, paper guest card by
the University can use these cards to borrow UIUC library materials and access the
Bookstacks. A borrower record will need to be entered into the Library's database the first
time the guest presents their card for services.
- UIUC guests and visiting scholars who have not been issued an i-card or a blue, paper guest
card by the university can obtain a Courtesy Borrowing Card in Room 202 Main Library by presenting
a photo ID,
proof of current address, and a letter
from their UIUC sponsoring academic department. This letter should be on departmental
letterhead, signed by an authorized representative of the sponsoring department, and should state
that 1) the named person is a guest of that department until a specified date; and 2) the
sponsoring department will assume financial responsibility for any library materials checked out by
card holder.
Courtesy Card Borrowing Responsibilities
- Courtesy cards are valid for one year. Valid photo ID and proof of current address are required
to renew your card. Lost cards require a new application.
- Your library ID number is the 14 digit number printed below the barcode on your card. You will
need this number to access the "My Account" function to check the status of your account in the
online catalog.
- Courtesy cards may be used at any of the libraries in the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. Most UIUC courtesy cards cannot be used to borrow library materials from other
libraries in our statewide library consortium and are not valid on-site in other libraries in the
consortium. However, the I-Share Universal Catalog and the local catalogs are accessible to the
public at
https://I-Share.carli.illinois.edu.
- Courtesy card borrowers are
not eligible for interlibrary loan services at the UIUC Library. Courtesy card borrowers
are expected to use the interlibrary loan services of their local public libraries.
- Most courtesy cards do not provide entrance to the Main Bookstacks. Please inquire at the
Main Circulation desk if you wish to have materials paged from the Bookstacks collection.
- Please return or renew all materials on time. Courtesy card borrowers will receive a notice
when an item they have checked out is recalled for another borrower.
Materials recalled for another borrower must be
returned by the recall due date on the notice, or overdue recall fines will begin accruing at
$5.00/day up to a maximum of $25.00. Courtesy card patrons are responsible for all library
materials charged to their IDs. Courtesy card borrowers will be charged a
minimum of $125.00 for each non-returned item; a non-refundable "late return fine" of
$10.00 may also apply.
University Library