Q. How do I check out a book?

You will need your library card to check out books. Student/Staff/Faculty ID serves as your Library card. For Virginia Residents, see the Community Resources page for further information. You will need to present a valid photo ID, such as a driver's license, to a staff member at the Services Desk if you have forgotten your library card to check out a book.

If you are wanting to check out a book, it depends on where the book is currently located.

At Newman Library, where most of the books are in the stacks on the 3rd or 5th floor, or located in the Popular Reading Collection area on the 2nd floor of Newman Library, just bring the book to the Services Desk, near the Main Entrance, on the 2nd floor with your Hokie Passport, or to the self-checkout stations right next to the Services Desk. If the books do not check out properly, please bring them to the Services Desk, and our staff can help you. You can also do that process at any of our branch libraries during daytime hours.

Depending on your borrower status, Undergraduates and VA residents/Community Card holders can check out up to 50 items (except for DVDs - the limit is up to 3 DVDs at a time). Virginia Tech Faculty/Staff and Graduate students can check out up to 150 items.

For further check-out periods and limits, please see the Borrowing tab on the Books & Media page.

You can also place a hold on the book via its catalog record page. You can choose to deliver these items to Newman Library or one of the branch libraries for check out at the Services/Circulation Desk. At Newman Library, books are pulled 2-3 times a day (--it's not instantaneous). You will receive an email notification once they are ready for pickup. Faculty or Staff can choose to have items delivered to their offices via Faculty/Staff Campus Delivery. Select this option when placing your hold.

Books on Course Reserve are located at the Service Desk of the indicated University Libraries branch and are often checked out for a shorter period of time. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be placed on hold. 

Books currently checked out to another patron can have a hold placed on them to reduce the other patron's checkout period so it will be returned for your use, or you can request that book via Interlibrary Loan to get a copy from another library.