Sonoma State University

Borrowing and Requesting

Borrowing Books and Media

Most of our circulating collection is located on the third floor. The best way to find what you're looking for is to search OneSearch. If you're not sure how to use OneSearch, check out our Guide to OneSearch. 

Students can borrow books for up to 16 weeks (the length of a typical semester), and faculty and staff can borrow for up to a year. Most items can be renewed one time before we request that items are returned to the collection to be used by others. 

Non-SSU patrons can join our Community Borrower program to borrow books and media from the library. Learn more about our Community Borrower program. 

For more detailed information, please review our Borrowing Policies. 

Requesting from the ARS

A large part of our collection is housed in the Automated Retrieval System (ARS). These items must be requested through OneSearch or by inquiring at the Information/Checkout Desk. You must be logged into your library account to request items from the ARS in OneSearch. If you're not sure how to request an item, please ask at the Information/Checkout Desk and someone will be happy to help you. 

Requests from the ARS can take up to two hours to be pulled. You'll receive an email notification when your item is available. You may want to check your spam folder, as library emails are occasionally flagged as spam by campus mail servers. If you do not receive a notification in a reasonable time period, please ask at the Information/Checkout Desk. 

Requesting from Other Libraries

If an item you're interested in is not available in our library, you can request it from one of our hundreds of partner libraries via CSU+. Learn more about using CSU+. 

CSU+ is only available for SSU students, faculty, staff, and emeritus faculty. 

Requesting for Pickup

You can request both library-owned items and CSU+ items for pickup at the Information/Checkout Desk or in a library locker. Library-owned items requested for pickup are typically available within one business day; CSU+ items may take up to 10 days to arrive. 

Library lockers are located near the 1st floor entrance under the breezeway. Items can be retrieved from the lockers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Items requested for pick up at the Information/Checkout Desk can be picked up whenever the library is open. You will receive an email notification when your requests are available. You may want to check your spam filter, as library emails are sometimes flagged as spam by campus mail servers. 

Borrowing Laptops and Other Equipment

The library makes laptops available for semester-long and four-hour loans. Laptops are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Laptops are only available to SSU students. Learn more about borrowing a laptop.

Other equipment available for loan includes:

  • Headphones
  • DVD drives
  • Media kits
  • Universal chargers

Please ask at the Information/Checkout Desk to borrow laptops and equipment. 

Your Library Account

You can view the status of all of your requests and loans by logging into your library account in OneSearch. If you have requested digital delivery of an item, you will be able to download it from your library account.