51ΑΤΖζ

Loan periods vary based on the type of item checked out and affiliation with 51ΑΤΖζ. Undergraduates and Community Borrowers can check out most items for 4 weeks with two renewals. Graduate students, Faculty, and Staff can check out most items for the full semester with renewals available.

The Borrowing Service Policies page has the full list of services and policies for items circulated from the general collection.

Items from circulating collections may be checked out at the Circulation Desk.

Requested items are held on the Hold Shelf at the Circulation Desk.

Items can be returned to the book drops at the first floor desk or the two exterior book drops. There is an exterior book drop by the bus shelter on Hartford Ave and another on the side of the building near the West Wing Entrance. Please do not return equipment or media items to the outside drops.

A record of your past loans is saved for six months. If you would like to retain your loan history for longer, there is an opt-in Loan History service. This service is only available to patrons with an active ePanther ID.

The Course Reserve collection helps reduce textbook costs to students, including those in online classes, by having textbooks and other physical course materials available for short term use. Books and items on Reserve are loaned out for 2-hours, 2-days or 7-days. Items with a 2-hour loan period may not leave the library.

Books, DVDs, CDs, models and other physical items can be placed on Course Reserve. Bound coursepacks can be placed on Reserve as long as they were created by a commercial copy center.  Individual photocopied articles cannot be placed on Reserve.

Only materials owned by instructors, departments, or the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries may be placed on Reserve. We are not able to place items owned by other libraries on Reserve.

If 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries or the instructor/department already own the item, use the Reserve Materials Request Form. Multiple items can be added at the same time. Use the β€˜+’ button at the end of the row to add more items.

Faculty or departmental copies of books or Media can be dropped off at the Borrowing Services desk, or sent via campus mail.  Please include the professor’s name and course number.

If you would like 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries to purchase an item for reserve, use the  and fill in the Course Reserve section.

Email lib-reserve@uwm.edu with questions.

Library fines can be paid online or through the mail. If you need to know the balance owed, view .

Fees may be . Select the “51ΑΤΖζ Libraries” category, then “51ΑΤΖζ Libraries Fine” and clicking “View Details” to enter your payment amount and information. The system accepts all major credit cards.

Fees may be paid by mail by sending a check or money order to:

51ΑΤΖζ Libraries
Main Circulation Desk – library fines
P.O. Box 604
Milwaukee, WI 53201

Returned checks are subject to a $20 Bounced Check Fee.

Community Borrowers

Persons not affiliated with 51ΑΤΖζ may borrow books and other items for an annual fee of $50.

You can  with any major credit card; via a check paid by mail (see Community Borrowing Application for instructions); or in person at the Golda Meir Library.

Community Borrowers may borrow and pick up items from the 51ΑΤΖζ Library.

Privileges include checking out up to 30 items at a time from our General Collections. (If paying fee for Community Borrowing Program by check, patrons will be limited to borrowing three items at a time for approximately 2 weeks, until the check clears.)

Please note that, due to licensing terms,  to most online library collections (such as databases and e-journals) is not included with this service. A number of free online resources are available at .

Borrowing from other libraries also not offered.

Complimentary library borrowing privileges are granted to 51ΑΤΖζ alumni for a period of one year following graduation. To receive a Borrowing Card, recent graduates should present proof of graduation and their 51ΑΤΖζ ID to Circulation staff at the Golda Meir Library’s Main Circulation Desk.

Family Members of 51ΑΤΖζ Faculty/Staff

Immediate family members of any faculty/staff member employed at 51ΑΤΖζ are entitled to a Library Special Permit card. This card allows the individual to check out up to 30 items at a time from our general collections. Immediate family members include spouses, domestic partners and children over the age of 18. Interested family members can apply for permit cards at the Main Circulation Desk and should be accompanied by the faculty/staff member when applying for the Library Special Permit card.

The permit will be active as long as the 51ΑΤΖζ Faculty/Staff member is an active employee.

Area School’s Employees

Educators, including support staff, from public or private elementary, middle, and high schools in Milwaukee county are eligible for a Library Special Permit card. This card allows borrowing privileges of up to 30 items at a time from the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries general collection. The employee needs to present a valid ID and a signed contract or letter from their school administration verifying employment and end of contract date. The ID and contract/letter need to be presented at the time of the application for the Special Permit. The card expires at the end of the teacher’s contract but may be renewed with a new letter from the school.

Osher Lifelong Learning

Members enrolled in the School of Continuing Education’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute are eligible for a Library Special Permit card from the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries. Members should bring their Osher Membership card to the Main Circulation Desk when they apply for a Library Special Permit. The card expires when Osher membership expires but may be updated if the patron continues in the program. This card allows borrowing privileges of up to 30 items at a time from the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries general collection.

Visiting Scholars

Any visiting scholars with a sponsoring department at UW-Milwaukee should request that their department follow theΒ .

After this request has been processed, the visitor should bring documentation verifying their appointment to the ID office in the Union, Room 143, to get a 51ΑΤΖζ ID card made. Once issued, the ID card can be used to borrow materials at the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries with the same privileges as Faculty/Staff.

E-mail Notification

All non-51ΑΤΖζ borrowers must have an email address in order to receive borrowing privileges at the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries. If your email address changes, please contact the Main Circulation Desk of the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries at libcirc@uwm.edu or (414) 229-4132. Failure to receive an overdue or service charge email because your email address has changed is not cause for forgiving a lost item fine.

We will be happy to retrieve items from the stacks for you. Items will be pulled by our staff and available for you within 1-2 business days. You will be notified by email once items are ready for pickup. Once you find your items within  select the β€œRequest” option to begin the process.

The main Circulation Desk is the only area located within the library that is authorized to handle lost and found items.

All items and materials that are found within the building may be turned over to the Circulation Desk.

The circulation or staff will handle the materials in the following manner:

1. Items of high value or importance such as keys, expensive watches and jewelry, wallets, purses, eye glasses, driver’s licenses, etc. will remain at the circulation desk for approximately one hour to allow the owner to claim. If the item is not claimed after one hour, the University Police will be called for a property pick up.
2. Materials of lesser value such as books, mugs, disks, clothing, umbrellas, etc. will remain at the Circulation Desk area for approximately three to four weeks. At the end of the period they will be donated to Goodwill or other appropriate agencies.
3. 51ΑΤΖζ IDs turned in to the Circulation Desk will be mailed directly to the owner’s home address.

Unclaimed lost and found items will not be given to the finder.

Any money that is found should be turned into either the circulation supervisor or to the building manager. They will contact University Police to pick it up.

WΔ“pa is the printing service provider for 51ΑΤΖζ. Up to date prices, locations, and instructions are available here. There are several small scanners in the Learning Commons attached to computers that require a 51ΑΤΖζ account to login and use.

Checking 51ΑΤΖζ E-mail
It is the responsibility of the library user to check their 51ΑΤΖζ e-mail regularly for notices and other communication from the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries. Overdue notices are sent out to 51ΑΤΖζ e-mail addresses as a courtesy and can only be effective if the library user checks their e-mail regularly. Recall notices are sent out the day following the placement of a recall on a book and again can only be effective if the Library user checks their e-mail regularly. Failure to receive library notices does not constitute grounds for waiving library fines/fees.

Campus Absence
Library users who will be out of the local area for a period of time longer than one week and who wish to avoid overdue charges should return all materials to the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries, make arrangements for someone to return any item recalled during the absence or provide the Libraries with a temporary out-of-town address to mail a recall notice to. Any circulating book may be recalled by another library user at any time.

Lost ID Cards
It is the library user’s responsibility to notify the Main Circulation Desk of the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries of a lost or stolen ID card. The lost or stolen ID card will then be blocked by the Libraries to prevent another person from checking out materials on that card. The library user will be responsible for any materials checked out on a lost/stolen card that has not been reported to the Libraries.

Reporting a Theft in the Libraries
Any user of the 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries who is a victim of theft should immediately report the theft to the Main Circulation Desk. The library staff will contact Library Security and the Campus police to investigate the incident.

Borrowing Materials for Others
Library users should not borrow materials for other users or lend their library card to another user to check out materials. Each person is ultimately responsible for all overdue fines, recall fines and non-returned materials checked out on his/her library card.

Care for Library Materials
It is each user’s responsibility to properly care for all library materials checked out to him/her. If noticeable damage is found in a book prior to checking the book out, please bring this problem to the attention of a member of the Circulation Staff to ensure that you are not charged for damage to the book. A note will be placed in the book’s item record and when the book is returned to the library, it will be sent to the Preservation Department for repair. If a book with damage is not reported to the Circulation staff prior to checking the book out, the user that last used the book may receive repair charges. Charges for repair to library books is left to the discretion of the Preservation Department.

Returning Library Materials
There are two book drops located at the Main Circulation Desk, as well as two outside book drops. One outside book drop is located near the entrance to the west wing of the library and the other resides near the bus shelter on Hartford Avenue. The two outside book drops are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Materials checked out from Media and Reserve Services should be returned to the Media & Reserve desk on the Lower Level.

No checked-out library materials should be returned to the in-house use bins located within the library. These are only for books used within the library. It will be the library user’s responsibility to pay any overdue charges for materials returned to these bins.

The 51ΑΤΖζ Libraries respect the privacy of library users. Our Privacy Information page provides more detail about the regulations and policies that govern personally identifiable information as it relates to library use.