Policies and Procedures

The Howard University School of Divinity’s Collection is open to all members of the University community. Equipment and facilities are available on a first come, first served basis, except for study rooms which must be reserved by a HU student/ faculty/ staff member in advance at the library front desk.  

If an HUL library does not own a book or journal article that you need, and it is not available online, you can obtain the article through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) and ​or Consortium Loan Services (CLS). The item can be obtained from another library or information center. ILL ​and CLS requests can be made online through your account.  

A valid Howard University ID card must be presented to use the collection and equipment.  Materials on reserve for courses must be used on site and the loan period cannot exceed 2 hours unless the professor gives permission or more time. If the borrowed equipment/materials are damaged or malfunction while in use, the borrower must contact the Business Library immediately. 

 

Borrowing/Access

The Howard University School of Divinity Collection is the research collection of the Howard University School of Divinity.  

  • Howard Divinity students must be registered in the library's Circulation system to check out materials. 

  • To register for borrowing privileges, students must have a validated Capstone ID. 

  • Students must make sure that their IDs are validated each semester, and that they update their library patron registration each semester. 

  • To contact the Circulation Desk, call 202.806.8045. 

  • For questions concerning Access Services, and the Circulation Desk policies and procedures, call 202.806.8045.  

  • The Circulation Desk is located at the entrance to the library on the first floor. 

  • The Circulation Desk is staffed all the hours that the library is open. 

  • Circulation employees can help you with borrowing, study rooms, photocopiers, and printers. 

  • Transactions completed at the Circulation Desk: 

  • Borrowing and returning materials. 

  • Checking out and returning study room keys. 

  • Closing Policies: 

  • All circulation transactions, including returning study room keys and reserve materials, must be completed 15 minutes prior to the library closing. 

  • Any Circulation transactions not completed by closing will be credited to the next business day and fines may accrue. 

Visitors

  • Visitors are welcome to use the Divinity Collection and the other HU Libraries for theological research on an in-house basis.  

  •  Visitors are asked to register at the circulation desk at the beginning of each visit.  Use of the Library is a privilege, not a right, and the Library reserves the right to revoke that privilege at any time for any reason. 

Study Rooms

The Law Library offers access to study rooms for use by current Howard Law/Divinity students only. 

  

Reference Desk

  • The Reference Desk is located on the second floor, at the top of the main staircase. 
     

  • To set up a meeting with the Divinity Librarian contact Carrie Hackney at 202.806.0768 or 202 806 7235.  Email at chackney@howard.edu 

Consortium Loan Services/Interlibrary Loan 

The Consortium Loan Service (CLS) is a way to obtain books and articles that are not available at your home library. 

  • You can request materials held at Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) libraries, or from the WRLC off-site storage facility. 

  • Books can be delivered in a few days to the Founders Library or the Divinity/Law Campus circulation desks. 

  • The service is available to eligible borrowers (current HU faculty, staff, and students registered for credit). 

  • Articles can be scanned and delivered via email, usually in a day or two. 

  • Placing a Consortium Loan Request  

  • Find the item you'd like to request in the catalog. 

  • Click the "Consortium Loan Service Request" link in the Availability section. 

  • Complete the form for requesting CLS loans 

  • You’ll receive notifications at your HU email address when your requests are fulfilled. 

Interlibrary Loan

The Howard University Libraries maintain formal agreements with libraries worldwide to share materials with, or provide photocopies to, other libraries. This service is available to Howard University students, faculty and staff only. 

  • Requests are processed Monday - Friday, except holidays. 

  • Photocopies are delivered within 3-5 business days. 

  • Books are delivered within 10-14 business days. 

  • Please be aware that delivery can take significantly longer, depending on the availability of the materials and the response time of lending libraries. 

  • Please the Access Services Desk  

Reserve

  • The reserve collection is in the Reserve Reading Room adjacent to Circulation. 

  • The reserve collection includes items that instructor have placed on reserve to augment their particular courses. 

  • Course reserve materials requested by faculty are searchable in the library's catalog. 

  • Using Reserve Materials: 

  • Reserve Materials can be used in the Reserve Reading Room. 

  • Students and faculty can check out Reserve Materials for 3 hours at a time, but must use Reserve Materials within the library. 

  • Reserve materials not returned promptly are subject to a $1.00/hour fine.