Borrow Direct enables Columbia University students, faculty, and staff with library borrowing privileges and active e-mail accounts to borrow books directly from the libraries of Brown University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University. The service currently does not support deputy borrowers.
Due to essential system changes required to accommodate the new Columbia University ID cards, it may no longer be possible to review older Borrow Direct requests; however, any requests placed will be processed as usual and you will be notified via e-mail when your requested item has arrived.
 Log In to Borrow Direct How to Use Borrow Direct
Scope All printed books (monographs) and music scores that are lent by the owning library with the following exceptions:
- books held in the Columbia library collection that are not checked out, non-circulating, or on reserve
- books assigned to reference, reserve, or rare book collections by the owning library
- bound journals or journal articles
Response Time Available books usually arrive within four business days after requests are submitted.
Notification A notice is sent to your Columbia e-mail account when a requested book arrives.
Pick-Up Location Butler Library Circulation, Health Sciences Library Circulation, or Burke Library Circulation, during scheduled library hours.
Loan Period Six weeks. Recalled books must be returned within three days.
Renewals Not available at this time.
Return Location Return materials to the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) office in 307 Butler Library or in the drop-off slot next to the office door. Alternatively, you may return Borrow Direct materials to any Columbia University Libraries location, except Teachers College, Law, and Jewish Theological Seminary. Please allow a minimum of one business day for the materials to be routed to the ILL office for check in and return to the lending library.
Out-of-Scope Materials To request materials that are outside the scope of Borrow Direct (e.g., journal articles), use Interlibrary Loan or other Request It services.
Known-Item Searching Borrow Direct was designed for "known-item" searching and does not support subject or keyword searches. For subject searching in library catalogs beyond Columbia, use WorldCat or ask a reference librarian to suggest a search strategy.
Contact Borrow Direct borrowdirect@columbia.edu
How to Use Borrow Direct
Click on Log In to Borrow Direct and enter your Columbia network ID (UNI) and password.
From the Patron Main Menu, click on Searching/Requesting.
On the Search Menu, enter author, title, or ISBN and specify search type; click on Begin Searching. (Borrow Direct is the only option available in the "Catalogs to Search" box.)
On the search results screen, click on the specific item you're interested in to determine if it is Available.
If Available, click on the Request button and then fill out and submit the Request Screen form.
Request Confirmed will display the title information and a Request Number. You may wish to print this for your records.
An E-mail Confirmation will also be sent to you when your request is accepted by the system, generally within two business days. Make sure to save the e-mail and request number in case you wish to check on the status of your request at a later time.
To Check Status: On the Patron Main Menu, click on the button labeled Review Your Requests. You will then be shown a summary of all your outstanding requests. Find the appropriate request number/item and click on the title link. Status and Due Date are toward the bottom of the Request Details screen.
Log Out: Make sure to click on the Quit button on the Borrow Direct menu to ensure your privacy and the security of the system.
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