Extending Borrowing Periods and Loan Limits
WashU Libraries kicked off the Fall semester by extending checkout privileges.
The changes include longer loan periods as well as higher circulation limits. Loan periods for students, faculty, staff, and postdocs have changed:
| Loan period for books | ||
| New | Former | |
| Undergraduates | 60 days | 28 days |
| Graduate students | 90 days | 60 days |
| Faculty (including Emeritus) | 120 days | 90 days |
| Staff | 120 days | 28 days |
| Postdocs | 120 days | 90 days |
In addition, WashU staff now have a higher threshold for the number of checkouts and holds that they can have on library materials. Plus, bound journals and current issues of magazines now circulate for 7 days instead of 1 day, and there is no longer a limit on the number of audiovisual media (such as DVDs or audio recordings) that can be borrowed.
Some exceptions may apply depending on the library and material type. If you are affiliated with the Medical School or Law School, please visit their respective libraries for more information.
These are the first steps in modernizing our borrowing services and addressing inequities between customer groups.
Next up! In the coming months, WashU Libraries will implement automatic renewals and update and revise the fines and fees structure to align with standard research library practices. These changes are targeted for completion in January 2026; please stay tuned for those updates.