Borrowing Materials

Current Rice faculty, staff & students, retired staff and faculty emeritus (with active Rice NetID) may borrow items not owned by Fondren Library via Interlibrary loan or through On-Site ILL. Interlibrary loan items are borrowed through Fondren from an outside library. Users receive e-mail notification that an item can be picked up at Fondren once a loan has been obtained. Alternately, users may visit and obtain material directly from participating On-Site ILL libraries. Please see Services>Interlibrary Loan (ILL) for more details.

Understand your borrowing responsibilities, loan periods and associated fines with a Rice ID.

Fines are charged for overdue items.
Pay fines by cash or check at the circulation desk. After 4-6 weeks, all students' charges are sent to the Cashier's Office.
The cost of any lost or damaged items, and a non-refundable $40 processing fee per item will be charged to your account.
Students: any unpaid fines and charges may prevent you from obtaining your diploma and transcripts.
Charges of $5.00 or more will prevent online renewals and self-checkouts.
Overdue items will also prevent online renewals.
You may view all charges and overdue items on your library account.

Protecting the rights of library users to view and read materials without fear of intrusion, intimidation or reprisal is a value recognized by the American Library Association in Item III. of its Code of Ethics which provides:

III. We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.

To safeguard the privacy of individuals in their use of the library, Fondren Library maintains the confidentiality of library records. Student records, including library borrowing records, are additionally protected by federal privacy laws.

The patron and circulation records of Fondren Library are confidential. Patron records include any information the library requires users (faculty or staff members, students, alumni, or other borrowers) to provide in order to become eligible to access or borrow materials. Such information includes addresses, telephone numbers, and campus ID numbers. Circulation records include information that identifies materials borrowed by library patrons and fine or billing records.

No library employee shall reveal the identity of a borrower to any requestor.

Except in accordance with proper judicial order and with permission of the University Librarian, Library Director, or University General Counsel's Office, no person shall make known in any manner any information contained in such records listed above. In the absence of such judicial orders or permission, those to whom information will be denied include, but are not limited to, faculty, staff (including library staff except in the pursuit of their assigned duties), parents, students, campus security, law enforcement personnel, and military personnel.

Library staff should refer all requests for records information to the appropriate Department Manager or to the Library Director. Those offices will contact the University General Counsel's Office.

In addition to the records described above, access records are those data concerning entry to the library collected via turnstiles or door card readers or login sheets. These records are maintained by the Rice University Police Office. Requests for access to this data should be made to the Library Director.

Loan Periods & Fines

For current Rice students, staff, faculty, retirees, and faculty emeritus (with active Rice NetID): you may borrow Fondren resources using your own valid Rice ID or a government-issued photo ID and verification of identity. For items we don’t own, you have access via Interlibrary Loan (ILL) or through On-Site ILL. Interlibrary Loan items are shipped to Fondren from another library for you to use. You’ll receive an email once your item is ready for you to pick up. Alternately, you may visit one of the participating On-Site ILL libraries and borrow a resource directly after completing the required form.

For all borrowers: Fondren charges fines and fees for overdue, lost, or damaged materials. You can review what fees you have, as well as overdue items, by logging into your library account. Understand your borrowing responsibilities, loan periods, and associated fines with a Rice ID. Students with unpaid bills are blocked from registering for classes, obtaining their diploma, and requesting transcripts. Staff with unpaid bills may have their balances deducted from their final paycheck. Faculty must clear their Fondren account prior to leaving the university.

Users will receive three email notifications once an item becomes overdue.
If you owe $5.00 or more in fines, or have any overdue items, you won’t be able to borrow, renew items, or check out study rooms.
- If your overdue items are within the 7-day grace period, you can still renew them online.
Overdue items will be billed as “Lost” after 30 days. Lost item replacement costs are determined by call number/number of parts, plus a $40 processing fee.
- All lost fines and fees are nonrefundable, so make sure to return your items on time!
You can pay bills with cash or check at the Circulation Desk. After 30 days, unpaid bills for Rice community members are transferred to the Cashier’s Office and can be paid via Esther.
If you return something damaged, you may be charged for repair costs. If we are unable to repair the item, you will be responsible for replacement costs.
If something you checked out was stolen, contact us by phone at (713) 348-4021, by email at circ@rice.edu, or in person at the Circulation Desk.

Patron Type	Undergraduate	Graduate	Staff	Faculty	Rice Visitors, Temporary Staff, Family	Houston Community Members*	Friends of Fondren Library	Overdue Fines	Grace Period
Concurrent loans	500	500	500	500	15	15	4	-----	-----
Maximum loan period with renewals	280 days	3 years	3 years	5 years	56 days	56 days	56 days	-----	-----
Books	28 days	May 2	May 2	May 2	28 days	28 days	28 days	$0.50/day**	10 days
Leisure Reading, Audiobooks	28 days	28 days	28 days	28 days	28 days	28 days	28 days	$.050/day**	10 days
CDs	28 days	28 days	28 days	28 days	28 days	28 days	28 days	$.050/day**	10 days
DVDs	7 days	7 days	7 days	7 days	7 days	7 days	7 days	$.050/day**	10 days
Bound periodicals	28 days***	28 days***	28 days***	28 days***	28 days***	28 days***	28 days***	$.050/day**	10 days
Circulation Equipment	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours	$0.50/hour	30 minutes
Study Rooms	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours	4 hours	----	----	$5/hour	30 minutes

*With institutional affiliation, reciprocal borrowing agreement

**Fines on recalled items are $1.00/day

***Contact Reference Desk for exceptions

Loan Periods & Fines

Visitors