Borrowing Policies

In order to borrow materials from any UW-Madison library, you must present a valid UW-Madison ID, a UW System ID, or a General Library Borrower’s Card.

Select a category below to see information on library privileges and loan periods. Not sure of your category? See this detailed list.

If you have questions, please contact the UW-Madison Libraries Circulation Office in Memorial Library by email at circulation@library.wisc.edu.

UW-Madison

• Faculty & staff
• Graduate students
• Undergraduates and special students
• Affiliates
  State Historical Society staff, some Memorial Union or Union South Administrative staff, some UW Credit Union Administrative staff, some UW Hospital staff, etc.
• Other Appointments
  Honorary Fellows, some Postdoctoral Fellows, and some Visiting Scholars, etc.
• Alumni
  UW-Madison alumni and UW-Madison Alumni Association paid members

UW System

• Faculty & Staff
• Graduate Students
• Undergraduate Students

Friends of the UW-Madison Library

• Friends of the Library
  Friends may borrow materials by becoming a member

Other Wisconsin Connections

• Courtesy Card Holders
  Includes Beloit College; Madison College/MATC; Edgewood College faculty, staff & students; Herzing University faculty, staff & students; visiting scholars sponsored by their departments; City of Madison/Dane County/State of Wisconsin employees (excludes limited term employees); Wisconsin public school K-12 educators; UW-Madison Faculty, Staff, or student’s Spouse/Domestic partner, etc.
• Annual Fee Card Holders
  Wisconsin residents (not covered elsewhere)

Patrons of Other Libraries

• Patrons of other libraries make requests to borrow materials through their local library.
• OCLC must bring in an Academic Research Libraries in OCLC card. BTAA (Big Ten Academic Alliance) must authenticate with their net id while on site at UW-Madison Memorial Library. Both OCLC and BTAA patrons must provide a current photo id from home institution and a State ID, State License or passport. Please contact circulation@library.wisc.edu, to set up a date/time for the authentication.