What Can Be Borrowed and For How Long

What types of materials are available for loan?

• Monographs
• AV materials including DVD, Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, VHS tapes, Audiocassettes, Audio CD, Standalone AV device (e.g. Playaway)  

Each library has the right to decide which specific items are loanable or not. Coding in local records should accurately reflect whether or not the item is requestable.

Are there limits on the number of requests that a patron can make? 

There are set limits for how many materials a patron can borrow, how much they may owe, and how many holds they may have at a given time. Standardized OpenRS Blocks are used in three types that allow for 10, 20, or 30 holds or items checked out, and automatically block if the patron owes any money or has overdue material.  Libraries can change or set these limits as needed and any requests for changes should go to the MOBIUS Help Desk.  

These limits also apply to AV material. Libraries can decide whether their patrons are allowed to request AV material from other MOBIUS members.

An OpenRS block does not supersede a local one but is part of it, and the local block determines the absolute limit of materials that can be borrowed. For example, if a patron has an OpenRS limit of 10 and a local limit of 20, they can borrow 10 OpenRS and 10 local items.  If they have 15 local items they can only borrow 5 OpenRS ones because of the local limit.

What are the loan periods for MOBIUS items?

Monographs: 40 days for all patron types.

AV Materials: Minimum of 10 days (may vary depending on the type of AV material and the lending library).

How long should MOBIUS books be held for pickup?

Monographs: 10 days or less. Each library can determine how long they will hold MOBIUS books for patrons to pickup, so long as it does not exceed 10 days.

AV Materials: 5 days

Prospector Materials: Books may be checked out for 21 days. AV Materials check out for 7 days. 

What about renewals?

Monographs: Renewals are not allowed

AV Materials: Renewals are not allowed.

Can items be recalled?

Items can not be recalled at this time.  

Can loan rules be overridden?

No. OpenRS loan rules should never be overridden to give a longer loan period or to allow additional renewals. Library staff are not exempt from this policy and should not be overridden for themselves or others unless they have obtained express permission from the owning library. Do not check-in and then check-out materials in an effort to circumvent this policy. This can result in the item being overdue at the owning library and appearing on the Returned Too Long problem reports, even though the transaction seems to be valid on the patron's local system. 

Can MOBIUS items be placed in course reserves?

Materials borrowed through MOBIUS may not be placed on course reserve shelves at the borrowing library.