Connect to Borrow Direct Via CAS Authentication
Please note: If you attempt to request an item and receive the message "an error has occurred," it may be due to a keystroke error made when typing in your barcode on this initial login page. If the error message should appear, please exit the system and log in again, being especially careful to type in your barcode number correctly. The new Borrow Direct system has gone through rigorous testing, but as it is new you may encounter technical difficulties. Please report any that you experience to the Borrow Direct office at bdirect@princeton.edu. Thank you.
Borrow Direct is a rapid, patron-initiated borrowing and lending service offered by Princeton University Library and six partner libraries--Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, U-Penn, and Yale.
- All Princeton students, faculty, and staff may request items through Borrow Direct.
- Material is usually available for pickup within 4-5 business days, from one of 8 pickup locations.
- Items are loaned for six weeks , with an option for one six week renewal. Overdue materials will accrue fines of $0.25 per day, up to a $22.50 maximum.
- Items may be renewed one time only. A courtesy notice is sent out several days before a book is due. To renew a Borrow Direct book, simply reply to the courtesy notice and add a message that you would like to renew the item.
- The lending library may recall an item at any time, with a new due date. Please note that overdue recalled items will accrue fines of $1.00 per day, up to a $90.00 maximum per item.
- Multi-volume sets: there is a maximum of five volumes per request. It is the responsibility of the patron to determine if an item is composed of multiple volumes, and to request accordingly.
- You must return Borrow Direct material by the due date, to any library circulation desk. Fines will be assessed by the lender for late, damaged or lost books.
Materials available through Borrow Direct | Materials NOT available through Borrow Direct | ||
Picking up material | Returning material | ||
Eligibility/Login questions | Contact Borrow Direct |
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Materials available through Borrow Direct
- Books and printed music (scores) not owned by Princeton and in circulating collections.
- Books and printed music (scores) owned by Princeton but charged out to other users, or otherwise unavailable, e.g. non-circulating or missing.
Materials NOT available through Borrow Direct*
- Books that are available in Princeton’s collections and are not charged out, which may include in-process and on-order items.
- Journals and journal articles.
- Microforms, rare and reference books, books on reserve at other libraries and other non-circulating materials, and non-book formats (CDs, LPs, videos, etc.).
- Multi-volume sets: a request may not be accepted by Borrow Direct if any volume is "not charged" in the Princeton catalog. One or more volumes must be "charged out" at Princeton in order for a request to be submitted. If requesting is unsuccessful, please request via Interlibrary Loan.
* Try Princeton’s Interlibrary Loan service for materials not available through Borrow Direct.
Picking up Requested Material
- You will receive an e-mail when your request is available for pick-up.
- Items may NOT be delivered to locations other than the 8 pickup locations.
Returning Borrowed Material
- You may return Borrow Direct items to any library circulation desk.
- The item will remain on the hold shelf for ten days. If it is not picked up within ten days, it will be returned to the lending library.
- Items received after office hours, M-F 8:30-4:30, will not be processed until the following morning. Items returned after hours on Friday or over the weekend may not be processed until the following Monday.
- Please do not return materials to us that were requested directly from another BD school, nor non-BD books that need to be returned to one of the BD schools. The Borrow Direct office is not equipped to handle such items.
Eligibility/Login Questions
- All Princeton faculty, students, and staff with library borrowing privileges and active Princeton e-mail accounts are eligible for Borrow Direct service. Guest borrowers are not eligible.
Contact Borrow Direct
office: Firestone, A-8-H, during office hours (8:30-4:30 M-F)
e-mail: bdirect@princeton.edu
phone: 609-258-7469
Library staff: see an overview of the new BD interface.
Please share your comments about this service with us.
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