Colgate University Libraries operates on an "open stack" system. That means that you can find the "call number" of a book, locate it on the shelf, and take it to the Borrowing Services Desk on the third floor of Case Library or the service desk in Cooley to check it out. 

Contact-free pickup is here! “Request” an item in Colgate Libraries’ catalog" and use our contact-free pickup inside the third floor East entrance of Case-Geyer, facing the James B. Colgate Hall Colgate Hall or at East Hall (by the elevator) in the Cooley Science Library.

You will receive an email when your items are ready for pick-up. Your name will be on your item(s).  Contact-free pickup times are available during open library hours.

You can self-checkout library books on the new meeScan terminals located at the Case and Cooley Circulation desks or by using the meeScan app.

You may checkout (take home) up to 150 books at one time. Each book may be kept for the ENTIRE SEMESTER. Books are due on the last day of final exams. If you need the book longer, you must renew it.

You can see what you have checked out, due dates, and request renewals by going to My Library Account and typing in your Colgate University username and password or your last name and the barcode number from the back of your Visiting Borrower card.

If you are on campus, library materials may be returned to the book return located inside the third floor East entrance of Case-Geyer, facing James B. Colgate Hall, or the book drop located outside of the Cooley Science Library. Refer to the Fines & Bills page for information on overdue and lost library materials.

Looking for a quiet place to study? Case and Cooley Libraries are open 7 days a week. Both libraries offer a combination of open and enclosed study rooms. Some of these study rooms and carrels are able to be reserved, while others are open to use on a first come, first served basis.  

• Reserve a group study room
• 24/7 study space in Case-Geyer
• Senior Thesis Carrels (for seniors only)

Course reserves are materials (including books, DVDs, journal articles, electronic resources, instructional equipment, and non-book items) chosen by the faculty to support class instruction. The materials are maintained in a separate location within a library, and access to the material is more restricted than is the access to items in general circulation.

The purpose of a reserve collection is to:

• support the needs of a defined group of patrons within the Colgate University community (usually a class);
• provide timely, convenient, and efficient access to high-demand materials; and
• protect materials that are at a high risk of theft or vandalism.

Physical course reserves items are located on the closed shelves behind the Borrowing Services Desk on the third floor of Case Library and behind the service desk at Cooley.

Students may check-out course reserves using their student. Instructors determine the length of time a physical item may check out: 2 hours, 24 hours, or 3 days.

You can ask at the library services desks or you can look up what your professor has placed on reserve for your classes.

Electronic reserves, including scanned articles, book chapters, or links to outside content, can be located in Moodle. A student must be registered in the course to access its Moodle contents.

Do you need a journal article or book that Colgate Libraries do not have or that is currently checked out? We can try to get it for you!

Interlibrary loan (ILL) is the sharing of library materials worldwide. We find and borrow the resources you need that Colgate does not have (and we lend our materials to other libraries).

Log into "My Interlibrary Loan" to place a request or use the "Request From Interlibrary Loan" feature found in many of our databases.

ILL requests will be sent to our library for you to pick up. You will be notified via email when they have arrived and you can check the status of your request via "My Interlibrary Loan" at any time. You can pick up materials at the Borrowing Services Desk on the third floor of Case Library and the service desk in Cooley Library.  

Articles and book chapters are sent to "My Interlibrary Loan" as PDFs. You can download these and save them in the cloud or on your computer.  

• Interlibrary loans are typically requested from another library within 24 hours.

• Allow one to two weeks for an item to arrive. Books are shipped via regular mail. Articles usually arrive sooner.