The Courtesy Card Program provides direct on-site borrowing privileges for students, faculty and staff at participating academic/research libraries in the Kansas City area.
Eligibility
Those eligible for borrowing privileges under this program are all full or part-time students who are currently enrolled, in good standing and validated at their home institutions, and full or part-time staff or faculty members who are employed at one of the member institutions at the time of application for a Courtesy Card.
Participating Libraries
- Calvary Bible College Hilda Kroeker Library
- Central Baptist Theological Seminary Library
- Community of Christ Library
- DeVry Institute of Technology James E. Lovan Library
- Donnelly College Library
- Johnson County Community College Library
- Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology
- Nazarene Theological Seminary William Broadhurst Library
- Unity Library and Archives
- University of Kansas Watson Library, Lawrence Campus
MOBIUS Consortium Libraries Items may also be requested through MOBIUS, a combined catalog of more than 60 college, university, and public libraries in Missouri. Books requested from MOBIUS will arrive within 2-4 days.
- Avila College Hooley-Bundschu Library
- Blue River Community College Library
- Longview Community College Library
- Maple Woods Community College Library
- Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Library
- Park University Library
- Penn Valley Community College Library
- Rockhurst University Greenlease Library
- Saint Paul School of Theology Dana Dawson Library
- University of Missouri – Kansas City University Libraries
- William Jewell College Curry Library
Identification
Upon approval, the main Circulation Department of each participating library will issue a Courtesy Card, not to exceed one semester, to a student, staff or faculty member in good standing with the library at the home institution. The expiration date should be indicated clearly and should be not later than two weeks prior to the end of the semester for which the Courtesy Card is issued. Altered cards will not be accepted. This card must be presented along with a picture identification card at the Circulation Desk of the main library of a visited institution. The staff at the lending library will then make arrangements for local borrowing privileges according to the policies of the lending library.
Liaison
Each institution will designate a liaison person, typically the librarian in charge of circulation, as the contact person for this program. The liaison will be responsible for developing local policies and procedures, communicating policies and procedures to other member libraries and troubleshooting problems as they occur (including overdue problems).
Privileges
Policy decisions regarding length of loans, types of materials available, penalties for non-return of materials, etc., are the provinces of each participating library, and will be communicated by the liaison person to the other institutions. Visiting students/staff/faculty are required to abide by the conditions set by each library from which they borrow.
Late or Non-Return of Materials
The home library will be held responsible for all materials borrowed under this program and will be fined and/or charged replacement costs, according to the policy of the lending library. All overdue statements will include the name of the student/staff/faculty member and identification of the material(s) borrowed. The parent institution agrees to take all steps to retrieve the lending library’s materials that it normally does to retrieve its own materials. In cases of particular problems, the liaison person at the lending library will contact his/her counterpart at the visitor’s home institution. Failure to pay fines and/or replacement costs in a timely manner or continued difficulties in returning materials may result in the termination of that library’s Courtesy Card privileges.
Overdue Policy
Institutions participating in the Courtesy Card Program will be notified of any overdues incurred by their students, staff or faculty within fourteen (14) days. If materials are not returned and replacement costs exceed $300.00, the institution will be barred from use of the UMKC Libraries’ Courtesy Card Program. The institution will have 30 days from the last day of UMKC’s semester to settle the account. Reinstatement in the Courtesy Card Program would be dependent upon negotiation with the UMKC Libraries Administration.
Distribution of Courtesy Cards to Member Libraries
The UMKC Program Coordinator will be responsible for keeping a supply of Courtesy Cards to be distributed to member libraries upon request.
Requests to Join the Program
All requests by nonmember libraries to join the University of Missouri-Kansas City Courtesy Card Program should be referred to the coordinator of the program. Applications will be considered on an individual basis based. If admitted to the Courtesy Card Program, institutions the Director of the requesting library must provide a letter that states the library will abide by the policies and procedures of the program, will assume financial responsibility for any overdue fines or unreturned materials checked out by students/staff/faculty from his/her institution, and name the liaison for the program. Once admitted to the program, the coordinator will contact all liaisons with the appropriate information and send a letter of confirmation to the newly admitted library.
UMKC Libraries Coordinator
The Courtesy Card Program Coordinator for the University of Missouri-Kansas City Libraries is currently Mary Anderson, Head of Circulation Services at the Miller Nichols Library. She can be contacted at (816) 235-1678 or via email at AndersonME@umkc.edu.
