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Glossary of Borrowing Statuses

VCU Affiliates

VCU Students:

Included are currently enrolled VCU graduate, honors, undergraduate, MCV campus graduate, MCV campus undergraduate, and special students. Students may borrow material between semesters providing they are enrolled the previous semester and they are able to provide proof of registration for the upcoming semester. A student not enrolled in summer sessions may borrow material if they are enrolled for Fall or if a full-time faculty member furnishes a written request.

Honor students are undergraduate students who have been accepted in the VCU Honors Program. VCU Honor Students are granted loan privileges equivalent to graduate students.

VCU Faculty:

This group includes teaching, administrative, collateral, adjunct (part-time), and clinical faculty members employed by VCU. Also included are retired and emeritus faculty. Full-time faculty who are currently employed by VCU may designate a proxy to borrow materials in the faculty member's name.

VCU Staff:

This category includes full and part-time classified employees (not student workers) from VCU as well as the School of Medicine fellows, interns and residents in the schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy.

VCU Board of Visitors / SCHEV:

Current members on the University's Board of Visitors and a select list of the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) members are included in this group. Members are granted loan privileges equivalent to faculty. Members are granted life-time borrowing privileges.

VCU Postdoctoral:

This category may be referred to as research fellow, postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral associate, or research associate. A postdoc is a scholar or researcher involved in academic study at VCU beyond the level of a doctoral degree to gain additional research experience in preparation for a professional career. The postdoc must be entered into the VCU Person Database as "postdoctoral" in order to receive faculty borrowing privileges from VCU Libraries.

VCU Health System:

This category includes employees of the VCU Health System who are not part of the educational/teaching programs of VCU.

VCU Affiliate Programs:

This category includes faculty and students enrolled in VCU Management Center, Community School of the Performing Arts, and the Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program. Registration forms or letters must be forwarded from administrators of affiliate programs prior to first library use. Exceptions will be handled by a supervisor.

Preceptors:

Preceptors include experts in various fields who provide teaching, training, supervision and mentoring to VCU students in an on-the-job apprenticeship-type environment for a specified length of time. The apprenticeships are located in the surrounding communities and are not at VCU.

These experts are commonly called preceptors on the MCV Campus. Other schools and departments at VCU may refer to these experts by other titles, such as clinical faculty for the School of Education and field instructor or coordinating teacher for the School of Social Work. VCU departments are responsible for creating records for such individuals in the Affiliate Database in order to receive library privileges; more information is available in the Affiliate User Guide created by VCU Human Resources.

Friends of the Library:

The VCU Friends of the Library strengthen and advance the VCU Libraries, one of Virginia's most outstanding research library systems. The Friends are committed to helping the VCU Libraries build its resources and collections to provide for the ever-expanding needs of VCU's world-class teaching and research missions. By supporting the VCU Libraries, the Friends also promote and advance the prestige and accomplishments of the entire university. Membership in the Friends of the Library program is open to any individual, alumni, or family.

The VCU Friends of the Library is as diverse as VCU's student body. Friends include community members, students, VCU alumni, corporate partners, and many others. Different levels of giving, from annual Friends membership ($100) to Friends Life membership ($1000), allow anyone to participate and support the VCU Libraries. Donations are tax deductible. A full description of giving levels and benefits is available online on the VCU Friends of the Library web page. Borrowing privileges begin with Friends registration and may be renewed annually.

VCU Non-affiliates:

Virginia BioTechnology Research Park:

Employees of Virginia BioTechnology Research Park tenants can register for borrowing privileges.  BioTech Park employees must first obtain a VCUCard BioTech Park ID.  Complete a BioTech Park registration form and present your VCUCard at the service desk of either library.  Registration is valid for one year, when it can be renewed with verification of continued employment. 

BioTech Park employees who are affiliated with VCU departments as research partners or as faculty preceptors who supervise or instruct interns, students, or postdocs may be eligible for additional privileges (see above).  If you are a VCU affiliate, bring a letter from the VCU department with which you are affiliated to the library with your registration form.  If you are not sure if you have a formal affiliate status, contact the VCU department you work with for more details.

Richmond Academic Library Consortium:

Included in this group are faculty, staff and students from institutions which have entered into a formal agreement with VCU Libraries. The Richmond Academic Library Consortium (RALC) is an agreement among the area academic institution libraries. The consortium includes:

  • J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
  • John Tyler Community College
  • Library of Virginia (the State Library)
  • Randolph-Macon College
  • Richard Bland College
  • Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education
  • University of Richmond
  • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Virginia State University
  • Virginia Union University

Each library extends borrowing privileges to undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and faculty of the other institutions. VCU students must obtain a borrowing pass from VCU Libraries before visiting the other consortia libraries.  Non-VCU RALC borrowers must bring a completed borrowing pass from their library and register using the VCU Consortia Registration Form.

Faculty and staff do not need to obtain a RALC borrowing pass prior to visiting other RALC member institutions; their institution ID and proof of current mailing address is all that is required. RALC encourages borrowers to check their institution's catalog first to insure that their home library could not fulfill their need.

OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowers Program (RFBP):

The OCLC Reciprocal Faculty Borrowers Program (RFBP) participants include major research libraries throughout the United States. Through this program, visiting faculty from participating institutions may have borrowing privileges and on-site access to VCU's collections. Contact Teresa Doherty, Head, Circulation and Information Services, for information.

Conference Participants:

Conference Borrowers are pre-registered for conferences at VCU. Conference Borrowers must matriculate with VCU for at least three weeks and have written permission from the hosting department or conference.

More information about Conference Borrowers can be obtained from Conference Services, (804) 828-6500, or from Teresa Doherty, Head, Circulation and Information Services, (804) 828-8658.

High Schools:

Students and teachers at high schools in the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County and Hanover County may borrow materials from VCU Libraries with a borrowing pass issued by their school librarian. (NOTE: Governor's School students who are concurrently enrolled in VCU credit classes have privileges as VCU students; see Undergraduate Circulation Loan Regulations).

For more information, contact Teresa Doherty, Head, Circulation and Information Services, (804) 828-8658.

Faculty Spouse/Partner:

Faculty at VCU can designate their spouse or partner to receive borrowing privileges at VCU Libraries. This service allows a spouse or partner to have an individual patron account, separate from the faculty member’s account. Responsibility for overdue fines, lost fees, or damaged materials fees associated with their library account will rest with the spouse/partner. The faculty member should complete and submit the Faculty Spouse/Partner Designation form, and the spouse or partner will complete the VCU Employees, Students and Affiliate Borrowers form.

For more information, contact Teresa Doherty, Head, Circulation and Information Services, (804) 828-8658.

Scholars:

Researchers currently enrolled in another university or college who have need of extended access to VCU Libraries' research collections may request access by completing a Scholar's Registration Form at the Reference and Instructional Services desk. If approved, such visiting scholars will be given a guest eID and password for use at VCU computers; this pass automatically expires in 14 days and cannot be reissued until the following semester. Additional information is available in the VCU Libraries Guest Access to Online Resources policy.