Access & Borrowing
From BLC Member Institutions
Visitor Policies & Consortium Cards
Visitor access and borrowing privileges are variable as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Please be sure to check individual library websites in advance of any visit.
Consortium Cards
Boston Library Consortium Cards may only be issued to you from your home library. Consortium Cards allow direct borrowing privileges to be extended to scholars visiting from participating academic institutions. Before borrowing from another BLC library, you must request the Consortium Card at your home library's Information or Reference Desk. Further program details can be found here.
| Library | Open to BLC Patrons | Policies |
|---|---|---|
| Bentley University | Yes | See website |
| Boston College | Yes | See website |
| Boston Public Library | Yes | See website |
| Boston University | Yes | See website |
| Brandeis University | Yes | No specific policies |
| Connecticut College | Yes | Visitors will need a current BLC consortium and a photo ID. Upon entering the library, please enquire at the Circulation Desk. |
| Marine Biological Laboratory and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | * | See website |
| Middlebury College | Yes | See website |
| Northeastern University | No | Library is undergoing renovations and print books are stored off-site. Contact circulation@northeastern.edu with questions |
| State Library of Massachusetts | * | See website |
| Trinity College | Yes | See website |
| Tufts University | Yes | See website |
| University of Connecticut | Yes | Visitor will need a current BLC Consortium Card and their institution ID |
| University of Hartford | Yes | See website |
| University of Massachusetts - Amherst | Yes | See website |
| University of Massachusetts - Boston | Yes | For in-person borrowing, BLC users must have BLC card and a photo ID. Masks recommended. COVID vaccination required, but proof not required for general entry
|
| University of Massachusetts - Chan Medical | No | See website |
| University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth | Yes | See website |
| University of Massachusetts - Lowell | Yes | Masks optional |
| University of New Hampshire | Yes | Visitors will need a current BLC Consortium Card and their institution ID |
| University of Rhode Island | Yes | See website |
| University of Vermont | Yes | See website |
| Wellesley College | Yes | See website |
| Wesleyan University | Yes | See website |
| Williams College | Yes | See website |
Consortium Card Program Details
Boston Library Consortium Cards may only be issued to you from your home library. Consortium Cards allow direct borrowing privileges to be extended to scholars visiting from participating academic institutions. Before borrowing from another BLC library, you must request the Consortium Card at your home library's Information or Reference Desk.
- The Consortium Card does not automatically confer borrowing privileges throughout BLC.
- The Consortium Card is an identification card, and cardholders are required to register at each library visited.
- Procedures vary across each library, ranging from pro forma registration to interviews to assess scholarly research needs.
- The Consortium Card is a privilege and cardholders must observe all circulation policies, including payment of charges for overdue and unreturned materials. Home libraries may be notified of overdue and unreturned material and are liable for fees assessed in accordance with replacement copy policies at the loaning library. The home library may assess fees to cardholders and/or rescind borrowing privileges in accordance with their own policies.
- Cardholders must validate their cards at intervals as determined by the home library.
- Cardholders must report lost Consortium Cards to their home library promptly.
- Cardholders may return borrowed materials to any BLC member library but will be responsible for any overdue charges assessed.
Government Documents and the Federal Depository Library Program
Eleven of the BLC member libraries participate in the Federal Depository Library Program providing access to government documents and related information in their collections to the public, even if they are private institutions.
These member libraries maintain resource guides to these information resources. While these are generally up-to-date, BLC recommends contacting the individual responsible for government collections at the library ahead of your visit.