Circulation Policy

The Library provides a variety of circulation notices that can be sent via regular mail or email. Patrons may request that particular notices be sent in one format or the other by contacting Circulation at 617-226-1500 or [email protected]. E-mail addresses may be added to patron records by contacting the Membership Office at 617-226-1530, or [email protected].

Itemized Statement: A consolidated list of items checked out to all members of a firm or organization that can be issued on a weekly or monthly schedule as needed. 

Hold Notice: A patron will be notified when an item requested becomes available. Items will be held for five days for pickup before being used to fill other requests or returned to the collection. If a hold cannot be filled from the Library’s collection, the borrower will be offered interlibrary loan services.

Recall Notice: A borrower will be notified when an overdue item must be returned to fulfill another member’s request. 

The Social Law Library no longer assesses overdue fines for late items. However, due dates should still be respected and the Library continues to charge fees for unreturned items. 

It is the borrower’s responsibility to renew the books on the due date. If borrowed items are not returned or renewed by that date, an overdue notice will be sent to the borrower.

The first overdue notice will be sent on the first day an item is overdue, the second notice one week after the first, and the third notice two weeks after the second. 

If an item continues to be overdue 30 days after the due date, the item will be marked “Lost” and a replacement bill will be issued. A minimum charge of $129.25 for the item plus a $30.00 processing fee will be assessed on the replacement bill. Items with a replacement value in excess of $129.25 will be billed at their actual replacement cost plus the $30.00 processing fee. Processing fees are not refundable.

The borrower is liable for all replacement costs for lost materials including the $30 processing fee. If an item marked "Lost" is returned before the Library has ordered a replacement copy, the replacement fee will be waived, but the processing fee remains non-refundable. Once the materials have been reordered, the borrower remains liable for the replacement costs regardless of whether the materials originally reported as lost are subsequently found and returned.

Circulation privileges will be canceled when a borrower’s total replacement costs exceed $150.00. Privileges may be reinstated upon payment of all monies due to the Library.

Eligible patrons may place requests for materials directly from the record in the catalog for items currently in circulation, items missing from the shelves, and items to be retrieved by Library staff. 

All members of a Full Membership organization are eligible to request materials unless the Membership Office has been asked to change this option. The Membership Office may be contacted at (617) 226-1530, or via electronic mail to [email protected].

If a book is currently in circulation, a patron may place a hold on it. The requester will be notified when the book is returned. If the book is not in circulation, it may be in the process of being reshelved. The staff will provide as much assistance as possible in locating materials.