Anyone with a valid Brock Card, Alumni Card, Special Borrowers’ Card, or valid ID Card from a Canadian university is welcome to borrow our materials.
Present your books and ID Card to staff at the Ask Us Desk
Borrowing Information
| Type of Material | Loan Period |
| Books | Faculty, staff, students: 120 days, subject to recall if needed by another user |
| Popular Reading and Wellness Books | 4 weeks |
| Reserve items | 3, 24, or 48 hours |
| Equipment | 4, 24, or 72 hours |
| Board games | 3 days |
| Map, Data & GIS Library materials | 3 days or 1 week or in Library Use only |
| CDs, DVDs or VHS tapes | 2 weeks |
| Archives & Special Collections | Library Use only |
| Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University items | 2 weeks |
| Instructional Resource Centre (IRC) | see IRC homepage |
| Patron Type | Loan Period | # of renewals | Maximum # of items checked out |
| Undergraduate students | 120 days (subject to early recall) | unlimited | 500 |
| Faculty, Staff, Graduate students | 120 days (subject to early recall) | unlimited | 500 |
| Brock Retirees | 120 days (subject to early recall) | unlimited | 500 |
| Alumni and Community Borrowers | 2 weeks | 4 | 20 |
Overdue Fines
Avoid incurring fines by signing-in to Omni to view the list of items you have borrowed and their due dates. Unless they are recalled by another patron, there are no overdue fines for stack (non-Reserve) books or books from the Popular Reading or Wellness Collections.
| Item | Fine |
| Overdue maps, CDs, DVDs, Interlibrary Loan materials | $ .50 per day per item |
| Overdue Reserves / equipment | $1.50 per hour per item. |
| 3 hour loan items will be billed for replacement after 48 hours. 24 hour loan items will be billed for replacement after 5 days. 48 hour items will be billed for replacement after 7 days. 7 day loan items will be billed after 15 days. | |
| Overdue Recalled material | $4.00 per day per item to a maximum of $56.00 |
| Overdue board games | no overdue fines, but will be billed for replacement after 21 days |
| Lost book | $125 default replacement charge plus a $25 non-refundable administration charge. |
| Lost / damaged /maps/CD/DVD | Cost of item plus a $15.00 non-refundable processing fee |
| Lost whiteboard cleaning kit | $6.00 replacement charge |
| Lost whiteboard cleaning cloth | $2.00 replacement charge |
| Lost whiteboard spray bottle | $2.00 replacement charge |
| Lost Locker Key | $25.00 replacement charge. |
| Lost / damaged miscellaneous cables | $25.00 per item |
| Lost / damaged video camera | $550.00 |
| Lost ILL / RACER book / item | Flat rate replacement cost of $75.00, plus a $50.00 non-refundable processing fee |
| Lost equipment storage bag | $5.00 |
| IRC | see IRC Homepage |
Borrowing privileges for Brock University students, faculty and staff are suspended when fines are $20.00 or more or, when one (1) recalled item is overdue. A block is placed on the student self-serve account which could impact registration for courses, transcript requests, and receipt of a diploma. Privileges will be reinstated for all users when overdue and recalled materials are returned and outstanding fines are paid. Sign-in to Omni to view currently checked out items and fines owing.
Pay your library fines:
- in person by cash, cheque, debit or credit card at the Ask Us Desk in the James A. Gibson Library or,
- by sending a cheque payable to Brock University to the address below. Please be sure to mark your student ID# clearly on the cheque.
Access Services
James A. Gibson Library
Brock University
1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way
St Catharines, ON L2S 3A1
If you want to appeal a library fine, please complete this form. The request will be reviewed, and an email response will be sent within ten (10) working days.
Frequently Asked Questions
When you find a book in Omni
Your “Library Account” offers convenient access to the following online services 24 hours a day, using your campus username and password.
- Review the items and due dates for items you have checked out.
- Renew eligible checked out items.
- Review full details on outstanding library fines.
- Log into your library account prior to searching Omni to place a hold for a title checked out by someone else without having to repeat your login verification for each requested item.
- Save your searches for future use and receive email notifications when additional new items are received pertaining to your search strategy.
- Sign up to retain a list of all items checked out by you, even after they have been returned.
- Online renewal is easy and convenient by logging into Omni.
- Click on the “items currently checked out” link.
- Select each item individually and click on the “renew selected” button.
- When you see the message “The following item(s) will be renewed, would you like to proceed?, click the “YES” button above or below the item title, due date line.
- If the renewal is successful, the system will show “renewed” and the new due date. If the due date does not change, then the renewal was not successful. Contact libhelp@brocku.ca if you run into any difficulties. Note that some items may not be renewable due to another user request, if you have outstanding fines over $10.00, or if you have reached the maximum number of renewals limit.
The University closure amid COVID-19 means we can’t accept your returns at this time.
Once we re-open, please return all Library materials to the Ask Us Desk during hours of operation. An after-hours book return slot is located at the east entrance to the Library.
Return options for students no longer in the Niagara area:
- Drop off your Brock books to your closest university library when they re-open. They will be returned to Brock on your behalf.
- Ship your returns to us by mail at:
James A. Gibson Library
Brock University
1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way,
St. Catharines, ON
Canada
L2S 3A1
Alumni are entitled to library borrowing privileges at no charge. Please present your alumni card to staff at the Ask Us desk to register. For information on obtaining an alumni card, please contact Office of Alumni Relations. Additional library services are available to Alumni.
Full details outlining library access for Brock Retirees can be found under Alumni and Community.
Undergraduate and graduate students may borrow books in person from other Ontario university libraries (Direct Borrowing), with the exception of the University of Toronto. A valid Brock University Identification Card is required, and users may be required to show additional picture identification. Books may be returned to the lending library or to the Ask Us Desk at the James A. Gibson Library.
For graduate students, arrangements also exist for borrowing from out-of-province universities (Atlantic, Quebec, Prairie and Pacific). See Canadian Universities Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement for more information.