Circulation Policies
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General Rules
Any item may be recalled after the initial borrower has had it for two weeks. The Detroit Mercy Law Library reserves the right to recall an item before the two weeks has expired, if warranted by special circumstances. Recall requests are handled at the circulation desk.
All checked out items may be renewed once, either in person, by telephone, or via email. If a member of the staff does not respond to an email renewal, the item has not been renewed. All subsequent renewals must be in person, with the item being presented to library staff at the circulation desk. If a student is unwilling to present an item, it will be deemed a "Missing Book." The "Missing Book" designation also applies to any book reported as lost and any book that library staff cannot locate within a reasonable period of time.
Students and alumni will be charged for missing books. Failure to pay for a lost item in a timely fashion may result in suspended or terminated borrowing privileges. Charges for lost items cover the actual replacement cost of the item, plus a $25.00 processing fee. If an item's value cannot be ascertained, students and alumni will be required to pay a replacement fee of $75.00, plus the $25.00 processing fee, to the Library Development Fund.
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Students
Your name must be listed in our patron records; if not, you need to obtain confirmation from the Registrar that you are a registered student. A picture ID is required in order to check out materials.
All books that are checked out to law students are due on the last day of the semester.
Student borrowing privileges are suspended when an item is more than seven days overdue or when there is more than one overdue item. Any student who fails to return all library materials before graduating will not be eligible for alumni borrowing privileges.
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Faculty
Faculty members of Detroit Mercy Law School may check out materials for up to one year. All borrowings must be recorded by library staff at the circulation desk.
Library staff must be able to repair or update checked out items in a timely manner, and as such may require their temporary return.
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Alumni
Detroit Mercy Law alumni may check out library materials if they have a library patron record. If your name is not listed in our library records, you must obtain confirmation of your graduate status from the Alumni Relations office (313-596-0202). Once Alumni Relations notifies the library of your alumni status, you may check out materials by presenting a picture ID to library staff.
Alumni may check out up to two circulating items, for a period of four weeks. Materials may be renewed once for a period of two weeks.
Unless alternative arrangements are made with library staff prior to an item's due date, your borrowing privileges will be permanently terminated if you fail to return a book or pay for its replacement within 72 hours of a late notice or 48 hours of an item recall.
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Public Patrons
Members of the public have no checkout privileges. -
Course Reserves
Course Reserves are designed to enable professors to make limited quantities of course-related materials available to students in an efficient way. All requests for service need to be submitted in writing.
Course Reserves requests are processed in order of receipt. A minimum of three working days is necessary for processing traditional reserve materials. If the request includes books which are not in our collection, the process may take several weeks. The circulation policy of Course Reserves is determined by the professor. -
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan Request Form
Interlibrary loan service is available for Detroit Mercy Law faculty, staff, and students ONLY.
Interlibrary loan is a service offered by the library to aid students, faculty, and staff in research. It is designed to complement the resources of the Detroit Mercy Law Library, not to supply the major part of materials for extended research. Policies are based on the National Interlibrary Loan Code of the American Library Association and on the regulations of the individual lending libraries.
The time involved in processing interlibrary loan requests is dependent upon the nature of the material requested—esoteric materials may take longer to identify and if located at another library, often taking up to a month or more. More common titles may be obtained within a shorter period. The majority of items will arrive within two weeks of their request. The loan period is determined by the lending library. In most cases, the loan period is two weeks. Institutions that loan materials have the right to place restrictions on the use of their material (such as requiring it to be used within the library) and may recall material at any time.
We try to accommodate all research needs, but during especially busy periods, we reserve the right to limit the number of requests that may be submitted at any one time to four per person.