How long does it take to get an item I requested?

We are a partially closed stacks Library, which means our staff pull all requests for materials during our regular business hours. Retrieval times for materials from the General Collections and the Microform & Electronic Resource Center (MERC) are:

General Collections housed in Jefferson & Adams (books, periodicals, directories):

  • On-site (same building): 45 minutes to 1 hour
  • On-site (building to building): up-to 2 hours
  • Physical Directories: 2 to 3 hours
  • Off-site: 24 to 48 business hours (no retrieval over the weekend)

Microform & Electronic Resource Center:

  • On-site: Microfilm & Microfiche: 30 minutes
  • On-site: Machine Readable Collections (MRC): 24 hours - media must be reviewed for accessibility prior to access.
    • Formats include: Books with CDs, CD-ROMs, flash drive/USSB, and Computer Files
  • Off-site: Microfilm and Machine Readable (MRC) collections: 24-48 business hours (no retrieval over the weekend)

Language & Special Formats Reading Rooms and Research Centers:

  • Retrieval for these spaces vary. Please contact the reading room you plan to visit to inquire about retrieval times and procedures.
  • Links to our spaces and hours: https://www.loc.gov/rr/hours.html

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Last Updated: Dec 27, 2024
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