Academic materials (such as solfege materials) are borrowed for the entire school year and are due on the Monday of exam week in the second semester.

All other circulating printed materials (such as scores, books, etc.) may be borrowed for an entire semester.  The due dates for the 2021-2022 school year are:

• Fall Semester—December 15, 2021
• Spring Semester—May 10, 2022
• Summer— September 15, 2022

**Circulating A/V materials may be borrowed for up to 7 calendar days and you can have up to 10 A/V items in your account at any given time.  (Note that most box sets of CDs or DVDs count as a single item, no matter how many discs are inside.)

Daily Overdue Fines: none

Yearly Overdue Fines: On June 1 of any year, any student with one or more overdue items in their accounts will be assessed a $50 fine.

Faculty may borrow circulating items for an entire calendar year. The due date will always be February 15 of any given year.  Items checked out within three months of a due date will be due the following February 15.

(Example: Items borrowed on January 10, 2017 will be due on February 15, 2018.)

Because of the long borrowing period, sight-unseen renewals are not permitted.  Once-a-year inspection ensures that the items are still in good condition or not lost.

Circulating A/V materials may be borrowed for up to 7 calendar days and you can have up to 10 A/V items in your account at any given time.  (Note that most box sets of CDs or DVDs count as a single item, no matter how many discs are inside.)

Daily Overdue Fines: none

All circulating printed materials (such as scores, books, etc.) are borrowed for an entire semester.  The due dates for the 2017–18 school year are the following:

• Fall Semester—December 15, 2017
• Spring Semester—May 7, 2018
• Summer—September 15, 2018

Circulating A/V materials may be borrowed for up to 7 calendar days and you may have up to 10 A/V items in your account at any given time.  (Note that most box sets of CDs or DVDs count as a single item, no matter how many discs are inside.)

Recalled items which are being borrowed for school projects can still be renewed, and should be returned when the current project is finished. Recalled items that were borrowed for personal use must be returned as quickly as possible.

Daily Overdue Fines: none

Alumni living in the greater Philadelphia area (approximately a 50-mile radius) may borrow library items on a limited basis. Alumni living outside the greater Philadelphia area may use the library resources in-house, but may not borrow.

Alumni may borrow circulating printed materials for a total of 4 weeks (28 calendar days) and audio materials for a total of 7 calendar days.  Items may be renewed once sight-unseen, but must be brought in complete with all parts for a second renewal.

A $100 deposit is required to open a library account and become a borrower. You can end your borrowing privileges and get your deposit back at any time, as long as your account is in good standing with no items checked out or moneys owed.

Any item recalled for use by a current student, faculty member, or staff member, or for general institutional use, must be brought back as quickly as possible.

Daily Overdue Fines: 25 cents per item per business day (i.e. no fines are assessed for days on which the library is closed).

The library is open during the summer months, and users may borrow library items while school is out of session. However, the library does not circulate chamber music sets of three parts or more during the summer months except for use in reading sessions and local gigs.  **These items have a circulating period of 7 calendar days with only one renewal possible.

All other items can be borrowed as usual.

If an item you’d like to borrow is currently not a part of the library collection, please fill out the on-line request form or talk to one of the librarians. Every effort will be made to add it to the collection as quickly as possible, and you will get first use of the item when it’s ready to be circulated.

The library’s general collections are not open to the public. However, the Curtis Institute of Music does circulate materials on Interlibrary Loan. For access to items held in our Special Collections, please contact [email protected]  to set up an appointment. The Archives are available to outside researchers as well (please see Visiting the Archives for further information).

We do not require you to bring your item into the library for a first-time renewal. If you want a second renewal, you must bring your item to the library, complete with all parts, for inspection.

Your library materials may be renewed in the following ways:

• On-line in your library account*
• By email or over the phone*
• In person

(*first renewal only)

When an item is overdue you will receive overdue notices, sent to the e-mail account in your file. You will still be able to borrow until the fourth notice is sent. Once the fourth notice has been sent, the overdue item will appear as “billed” in your record and your library account will be frozen until you either pay to replace it (if lost or damaged beyond usability) or else return it complete. Once the item has been returned, complete and in good condition, your bill will be reduced to zero and your borrowing privileges will be restored.

Bills are calculated according to the following formulas:

• Printed materials: Current replacement value + $15
• A/V materials: Current replacement value + $5

If an item you wish to borrow is currently being used by another person, a hold can be put in your account for that item. When the item is returned, it will be put aside for you at the circulation desk and you will receive a message telling you it’s available.

If an item you currently have checked out is requested by another person, that item will be placed on hold and will no longer be available for renewal. If you are a current student, or are on faculty or staff, you may keep it until the end of your current borrowing period if you wish. Alumni must return any recalled item as quickly as possible.

There are dedicated quiet study and listening areas in the library where you can do your work without distraction.

• The A/V-Archives area on the second floor
• The study room on the fourth floor (at the front of the building on your left as you walk towards it)

If people are making noise in these areas, feel free to direct them to an area where conversation and noise are permitted.

The first floor of the library is a public commons where conversation is allowed and encouraged. The other open conversation areas are:

• the conference room on the second floor
• the elevator lobbies in the basement and on the first, second, and third floors

Conversation is also allowed in the stacks of the general collection, but should be kept to a minimum out of respect for those who are using the areas for study.

**The dedicated study areas are for quiet study. If you need to talk in these areas, please whisper or take your conversation or phone call to one of the areas where conversation is permitted. 

Cell phone use is allowed in the lounge in the rear of the first floor and in all of the elevator lobby areas except the fourth floor. You may not use cell phones in any of the designated quiet areas. In all other areas, please keep your calls brief and relatively quiet.

Personal bags and your instrument cases may remain with you in the library, with the exception of large cases such as those for cellos, double basses, tubas, etc. These larger cases must be left at the circulation desk.

You may also choose to leave your bag or instrument downstairs at the circulation desk if you wish. Your belongings will be put in the closet and you’ll be given a claim check tag which you will use to retrieve it. The bags will be under the care of the guard or a library staff member at all times.

All bags and cases brought into the library will be inspected by either the guard or a library staff member before you leave the building.

**Coats and jackets may be worn in the library. However, during very inclement weather please leave wet outerwear on the coat hooks at the first-floor entrance, so that water and snow is not tracked through the building.

Food and drinks are allowed in all areas of the library except the A/V-Archives area on the second floor. If you are eating lunch, remain in the first-floor lounge or the second-floor conference room. Your food should be snack-sized and portable (sandwiches, fruit, chips, energy bars, etc.) rather than full meals.

Please keep your food in its containers or wrappers as much as possible and use the the garbage cans to dispose of waste. Drinks must be kept in closed containers such as plastic bottles, closed coffee mugs, etc. Canned drinks without a lid and to-go cups like paper coffee cups are not permitted and should be left at the circulation desk while you’re in the library.

Please respect others by not bringing in pungent-smelling food, since strong odors will spread throughout the floor and building.

The library staff reserves the right to determine whether food brought in is acceptable, and may ask you to eat it elsewhere before returning to the library.