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Contactless Pickup of Library Materials

The Library is implementing a new Contactless Pickup service! You can now place holds on library materials and schedule an appointment to pick them up! Pickup appointment hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am - 2pm.  In November, additional pickup days will be available on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 11 and 18 from 10am-2pm.

Borrowing Library Materials: Contactless Pickup during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In order to ensure the safety of students, staff, and faculty, the Purchase College Library will remain physically closed through the Fall 2020 semester. To enable access to materials, beginning August 11th, the Library will provide contactless pickup service on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am - 2:00pm. (These hours are subject to change).

Appointments will be required to pick up your items. Please see our Contactless Pickup Policies and the COVID-19 Library Guide for full details.

Step 1: Request holds

Purchase College students, staff, and faculty must place holds for items in the Discovery Search on the Library website. Simply search for an item in Discovery and click “Place a Hold for Contactless Pickup.” Please limit your number of requested holds to 10 items per pickup. Note: you cannot add extra titles to your order once you are at the Library; you must reserve all items in advance. For step-by-step instructions see COVID-19 Library Guide.

Step 2: Schedule your pickup appointment

Within approximately one week of requesting a hold, you will receive an email notification verifying that the item is available and on hold in your name. The notification will include a registration link to schedule an appointment for contactless pickup. Please select one pickup timeslot for all your holds, even if you have requested up to 10 items.

Timeslots will be Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10am and 2pm (and Wednesday, Nov. 4, 11 and 18 from 10am-2pm).  Four slots per hour are currently available.You must make an appointment; drop-ins are not allowed.

You may cancel a pickup appointment at any time. In the interest of safety and maintaining low density, if you miss your appointment, you will need to reschedule a new pickup time. Your materials will remain on hold for two weeks (ten business days); if your materials are not picked up within ten business days, the hold will be removed, and the items will be reshelved.

Step 3: Pick up your items at the Library

The Library vestibule (foyer between two sets of front doors) is the location for Contactless Pickup. You must bring your Purchase ID (More Card), wear a mask, and maintain social distance. At your scheduled pickup time, you will display your ID against the glass window to the left of the Book Drop. Once library staff have verified your ID, you will exit the vestibule. LIbrary staff will then retrieve your materials, place them on a shelf or cart, and exit the vestibule. You will then re-enter the vestibule and pick up your items.

Before, during, and after pickups, you must adhere to College guidelines and wear a mask. If more than one person is waiting outside the vestibule, social distancing of 6 feet must be maintained. Only one individual at a time will be allowed inside the vestibule.

Remote students: please follow the College guidelines for visiting campus, which require pre-registering online and checking in at the CMFT Lobby when you arrive on campus.

Step 4: Returning items

You may return your materials any time via the Book Drop in the Library vestibule. If someone else is in the vestibule, please wait for them to leave before entering to return your materials. Library materials are quarantined for up to 4 days upon return before they can be checked out by someone else.

Additional Policies and Reminders

All other general rules and policies regarding Borrowing Library Materials remain in effect. Library materials will only be available to faculty, staff, and students to check out with a valid Purchase College ID.

There will be no physical Course Reserves for Fall 2020, due to the necessity of quarantining books between users. Librarians have been working with faculty to buy ebook versions of required texts, whenever possible.

The rest of the Library building will be closed to the public. This includes computer labs, printers, scanners, classrooms, digital audio suites, the stacks, Special Collections & Archives, etc. CTS has a list of campus computer labs that will be open for all students this Fall, which include:

  • Natural Sciences 1063 (Planetarium lab)
  • Natural Sciences 1013 (New Media lab)
  • CMFT Building (Center for Media, Film,and Theatre) labs MF 3033 and MF 3031

These labs will be socially distanced and equipped with printers and scanners. Please contact CTS with questions about printing and scanning on campus.

The Library remains Open Online! Please use our Virtual Ask a Librarian services (Zoom, Text, Chat, and Email) to get help from a librarian, and check out our many online databases and ebooks for your research needs.

See our COVID-19 Library Guide for more details about Contactless Pickup, COVID-19 policies, and e-resources.