Loan Periods and Who Can Borrow

UT students, faculty, staff and official retirees use their UT ID cards to check out materials. Students must be currently enrolled or qualify for summer privileges; faculty and staff must be currently appointed or retired.

Summer privileges:

The UT Libraries extend summer privileges to University of Texas at Austin students who were enrolled for the spring semester, even if they are not enrolled for the summer semester. Spring graduates also retain full student privileges over the summer. Students who withdraw during the spring semester do not have library privileges over the summer; their privileges resume when they re-enroll. Summer privileges end on the twelfth class day of the fall semester.

UT System employees use their UT System ID card to check out materials. UT System official retirees who are interested in borrowing materials should contact Borrower Services for assistance.

Official Visitors use their UT ID card to check out materials. Official Visitors sponsored by a University department present their UT ID card at Borrower Services to validate access. Appointment information must be viewable online in the Human Resource Management System; a letter is not sufficient to validate access.

Proxy borrowers sponsored by a UT faculty or professional staff member use their current proxy card to check out materials.

Current and retired University of Texas at Austin Faculty and Professional Staff may appoint up to four individuals concurrently to act as their proxies in borrowing library materials to support the faculty/staff member's library research. Formally appointed Visiting Scholars and University of Texas System Regents, administrators and professional staff may also appoint proxies. Proxy borrowers must be at least 16 years old.

The faculty/staff member can complete the application online, or in-person at the PCL Desk. The proxy borrower will need to present this along with a photo ID to Borrower Services. All proxy card transactions are part of the sponsor's record: items checked out using the proxy card are indistinguishable from items checked out with the sponsor's ID.

Texas residents use a Courtesy Borrower Card to check out materials.

Texas residents over the age of 18 who are not affiliated with institutions offering reciprocal borrowing privileges may, upon showing a government-issued photo ID and secondary proof of address, pay a $55 annual fee to obtain borrowing privileges at the University of Texas Libraries. Contact Courtesy Borrower Services for more information.

TexShare card holders use a UT Libraries Courtesy Borrower Card to check out materials.

To apply for a Courtesy Borrower Card, TexShare card holders must present to Courtesy Borrower Services a current TexShare card along with a photo ID and secondary proof of address.

The TexShare Library Card Program is a reciprocal borrowing program coordinated by the Texas State Library. The patrons of participating Texas public libraries and the students, faculty, and staff of participating Texas colleges and universities are eligible for this program, which provides access to materials in many Texas libraries.

Current Texas Exes members may obtain a UT Libraries Courtesy Borrower Card to check out materials.

Courtesy Borrowers cannot access UT Libraries electronic resources from off campus or borrow materials through Interlibrary Services. However, they may access most UT Libraries databases on campus from UT Libraries PCs.

Current members of the University of Texas Alumni Association present verification of membership, a current government-issued photo ID and a secondary proof of address at the Courtesy Borrower Desk and receive a complimentary Courtesy Borrower Card. Applicants must show proof of current membership. Renewal of Texas Exes membership does not automatically renew Courtesy Borrowing privileges; patrons must still present proof of membership at Courtesy Borrower Services desk.

Expiration dates for Courtesy Borrower cards issued to members of the Texas Exes are based on the Texas Exes membership level:

• Annual and Four-Year paid Membership: Courtesy Borrower card will expire on the same date as membership.
• Associate Life Membership: Courtesy Borrower card will expire six months from date of issuance.
• Fully-paid Life Membership: Courtesy Borrower card will expire five years from date of issuance.

Spouses and domestic partners of full-time faculty, professional or classified staff and official retirees use a UT Libraries Courtesy Borrower Card to check out materials. Spouses and domestic partners may obtain a Courtesy Borrower Card free of charge.

These cards are made according to the following policies and procedures:

• The staff or faculty member whose spouse or domestic partner requests a card must be appointed full-time or an official retiree.
• The spouse or domestic partner must present to Courtesy Borrower Services a photo ID and provide documentation that he/she resides at the same address as the staff or faculty member. For example, the spouse or partner's Texas driver's license or Texas state ID should show the same address as the faculty/staff member on an official document, i.e. a bank statement, insurance card, lease, etc. For questions about providing this documentation, contact Courtesy Borrower Services.
• Cards are valid until the ending date of the staff or faculty member's appointment, normally August 31 of each year.

Blanton Museum Director’s Circle members use a UT Libraries Courtesy Borrower Card to check out materials.

Current members of the Blanton Museum at the Founding, Contributor, and Patron levels are eligible for a complimentary Courtesy Borrower Card upon presentation to the Courtesy Borrower Desk of a photo ID and secondary proof of address.

Participants in the Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing Program use a UT Libraries Special Borrower Card to check out materials.

The Reciprocal Faculty Borrowing Program is a program sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries/OCLC Research Libraries Advisory Committee and provides access to many of the major research libraries in the United States and Canada. RFBP is for faculty only. Program participants present an RFBP card from their home library, along with a government issued photo ID and secondary proof of address to Courtesy Borrower Services.

Corporate Borrowers use a UT Libraries Courtesy Borrower Card to check out library materials.

Corporations and non-UT organizations pay a $400 annual fee to obtain five Courtesy Borrower Cards for use by their authorized employees. The organization assumes responsibility for prompt response to notices and billings and assigns a contact person to communicate with Courtesy Borrower Services and oversee use of the cards. This is not a walk-in service; contact Courtesy Borrower Services for more information or to arrange setting up or renewing an account.