Circulation Policies

Discover what materials you can check out and for how long.

Eligibility

OU and OUHSC students, residents, staff, and faculty can check out books and other materials. Circulation periods vary by the type of material checked out.

Retired/Emeritus OU-Tulsa faculty and staff are eligible to check out up to four items at a time for two weeks, once their status has been confirmed by the OU HR department.

Current members of the Tulsa County Medical Society are eligible to check out up to four items at a time for two weeks, once we confirm their status by consulting the current Tulsa County Medical Society member directory.

Students and faculty from participating Oklahoma institutions who have been issued current OK-Share cards by their home libraries are eligible to check out up to four items at a time for two weeks.

Users not affiliated with the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa do not have checkout privileges. These users include OU Alumni, clinical faculty, volunteer faculty and local health professionals.

How to borrow

Users can consult our library catalog on our library website (https://library.tulsa.ou.edu) to find books and other items to borrow. You can also place a hold on a book to reserve it for checkout once you log into the catalog. Users with a campus address may request on-campus delivery of books.

Users can also come to the library and browse the collections on our shelves. To check out any item, please take it to the Front Desk. Library staff will check out the book to you.

Loan periods, renewals, and borrowing restrictions

For  OU and OUHSC students, faculty, residents, and staff
Type of item	Loan Period	Renewals	Notes
Most books	3 months	1 renewal of 3 months
New books (in New Arrivals Display)	1 month	1 renewal of 1 month	See the New Arrivals collection for more details.
Reserve books	3 days	1 renewal of 3 days	See the Course Reserves collection for more details.
Rotation Reserve books	3 months	1 renewal	Now found in Stacks. See the Rotation Reserves collection for more details.
OU Urban Design Studio Professional Projects	1 month	1 renewal of 1 month
Children’s books in the ECEI collection	1 month	1 renewal of 1 month
Tech items	7 days	1 renewal of 7 days	Equipment borrowing agreement. Holds are not allowed. See the Technology Items collection for more details.
Games	7 days	1 renewal of 7 days	Equipment borrowing agreement. Holds are not allowed. See the Games collection for more details.
Anatomical models	Day of checkout (must be returned by library closing time)	No renewals or holds	Anatomical models are library use only. Holds are not allowed. See the Anatomical Models collection for more details.
Kits – Library Use Only	Day of checkout (must be returned by library closing time)	No renewals or holds	This variety of Kit is library use only. Holds are not allowed. These include Zine kits.
Kits – Other	1 month	1 renewal of 1 month	This variety of Kit can be checked out. These include Education kits.
Archives and Special Collections	Do not circulate	n/a
Serials (except for those in New Arrivals Display)	Do not circulate	n/a	All bound volumes and unbound issues are library use only
Print Theses and Dissertations	Do not circulate	n/a

Returning items

To return items that you have checked out, take them to the Front Desk where you checked it out

Late, Lost, or Damaged Materials

For most books

Fees for most overdue will begin to accrue on the 45th day the item is overdue. These include a $25 Lost Item Processing Fee plus the replacement cost of the item. These charges will be waived upon return of the item, unless the charge has already been sent to the Bursar's office.

At 60 days overdue, an invoice for the total amount owed will be charged to the user’s bursar account if the user is a Norman affiliate. If the user is an HSC affiliate, a block will be placed on the user registrar account.

If a lost item is found and returned before a charge is sent to the Bursar's office, the replacement cost and $25 fee will be waived.

The Lost Materials Policy also applies to damaged books and to books borrowed through our Interlibrary Loan service.

For reserves and tech/game items

Fees for overdue Reserve books, technology and game items will begin to accrue on the seventh day the item is overdue. These include a $25 Lost Item Processing Fee plus the replacement cost of the item. These charges will be waived upon return of the item, unless the charge has already been sent to the Bursar's office.

At 14 days overdue, an invoice for the total amount owed will be charged to the user’s bursar account if the user is a Norman affiliate. If the user is an HSC affiliate, a block will be placed on the user’s registrar account.

If a lost item is found and returned before a charge is sent to the Bursar's office, the replacement cost and $25 fee will be waived.

For anatomical models

Anatomical models do not leave the library and must be returned the same day they are checked out. Failure to return them before the library closing time, or returning models that have been damaged or are missing components, will result in fees up to the replacement cost of the item.

Making payments for library fines and fees

The library does not accept any payments in person at the library.

If you owe library fees, you will receive an automated notification of your charges to your official OU email address.

To pay your library fees, please contact the library for information on using our online payment portal. Your library account will be cleared upon receipt of payment.

Please note that fines and fees for OU-Tulsa students in Norman-based programs are sent to the University Bursar at 45 days overdue for most books, and at 14 days overdue for Reserve books, technology items, and games. Please check with the library to confirm whether a charge exists on your library account.