Check Out Times and Fines
Borrower Classifications and Loan Periods
The primary patron groups of the Law Library are St. Mary’s University law students and law faculty. St. Mary’s University faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, law firm librarians, attorneys, paralegals, law school graduates and the general public may also use the law library to conduct legal research.
- Law School Faculty may check out items for an unlimited period of time.
- St. Mary’s University Faculty may check out items for 30 days.
- St. Mary’s University law students have a 21 day (3 week) check-out time period for standard circulating materials.
- Graduate and undergraduate students have a 14 day (2 week) check-out time period for standard circulation materials.
- TexShare members have some borrowing privileges. Not all materials can be checked out. For materials that can be checked out, TexShare members have a 14 day (2 week) check-out time period. Contact Brandon Vasquez (bvasquez@stmarytx.edu) for more information on the TexShare program.
- Members of the public are normally not allowed to borrow materials.
Item Classifications
The law library houses different classes of materials that patrons may check-out. These different classes of materials call for different lending periods.
| Item Types | Law Students | Law Faculty |
|---|---|---|
| Law General Collection | 21 day check-out | unlimited |
| Law Reserve Collection | 4 hour check-out | 4 hour check-out |
| Law Popular DVD Collection | 3 day check-out | 3 day check-out |
Renewals and Fines
Users are allowed one renewal per circulation period so long as items are not wanted by another patron. Reserve items can be checked out for 4 hours.
There will be no extensions or renewals allowed on Reserve Items. These are high-demand items and should be returned promptly once users are finished with them.
Items overdue for more than 3 weeks are deemed lost. The replacement cost for a lost item is the dollar amount of the item plus a $25 replacement fee.
| Item Types | Fines |
|---|---|
| Law General Collection | $0.25 per item per day |
| Law Reserve Collection | $0.50 per item per HOUR |
| Law Audiovisual Collection | $1.00 per item per day |
Non-Circulating Items
The following items are do not circulate and are only for use on the library premises:
- Loose-leaf materials
- Serials
- Journals
- Primary legal materials (reporters, code books, etc.)
- Reference books
Contact Us
Please contact the circulation desk if you have any questions regarding these policies or would like an answer to a question not addressed in the policies. Ph: (210) 436-3435. Email: lawlibrary@stmarytx.edu
