Borrowing Privileges & Library Policies

Borrowing period: 1 year at all libraries
Borrowing limit: 1000 items

Borrowing period: 1 year at all libraries
Borrowing limit: 500 items

Borrowing period: 2 months
Borrowing limit: 50 items
Remote Access to Resources

Registration: Visit the Medical School ID Center to obtain a Yale ID. This card will act as your library borrowing card.
Borrowing period: 2 months or date of expiration (dependent on appointment)
Borrowing limit: 50 items

Borrowing privileges are dependent on membership level.

Registration: Visit the Yale University ID Center to obtain a Yale ID. Once you have acquired your ID, visit the Privileges Office at the Sterling Memorial Library to establish borrowing privileges. Spouses can come to the Medical Library after they get the ID from Yale ID Center and we'll establish borrowing privileges.
Borrowing period: 2 months
Borrowing limit: 25 items

Borrowing period: 2 months, Medical Library only
Borrowing limit: 10 items
Remote access to resources is available with a Yale University appointment and NetID.

Includes the Bridgeport, Danbury, Gaylord, Greenwich, Griffin, Lawrence & Memorial, Norwalk, St. Mary’s, St. Vincent’s, and Waterbury Hospitals
Affiliates may purchase borrowing privileges in 3-month increments. The cost is $65 for 3-months.

Alumni may access e-resources onsite using specific computers in the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Information Commons. Please feel free to email us at askyalemedicallibrary@yale.edu, or stop by the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library service desk for more information.

Alumni are eligible for three levels of Medical Library privileges:
Stacks Pass: Access to the Medical Library facilities and stacks. No borrowing privileges.

Alumni Standard Borrowing: Access to the Medical Library facilities and stacks; borrowing privileges for up to 10 items; loan period is 61 days or when privilege expires (whichever is lesser). Borrowing privileges are purchased in 3-month increments, $45 per increment or $150/year.

Alumni Premium Borrowing: Access to the Medical Library facilities and stacks; borrowing privileges for up to 50 items; loan period is 61 days or when privilege expires (whichever is lesser). Borrowing privileges are purchased in 3-month increments, $60 per increment or $200/year.

Remote Access: Alumni can freely use JSTOR collections licensed by Yale

View alumni privilege levels (including tiers with interlibrary loan service) for Sterling Memorial Library

This guide lists a collection of freely accessible databases and websites for research.

Visitors who are not currently registered students or employees of Yale are welcome to visit the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library for use of the print book and journal collection. Visitors must give the guard in the rotunda photo ID prior to entering the library. ID will be returned when exiting. All visitors must leave by 9:45 P.M.

Extended Access: Extended stack access provides access to library books and journals for extended use. The stack access fee is $40/month, $80/3 months, or $200/year.
The following users are not charged for stack access:

• Medical Library Associates
• Clergy in the greater New Haven area who devote their full time to a parish, church or synagogue
• Federal officials stationed in the New Haven area for the official work of their agencies
• Matriculating undergraduate students rotating through Yale-New Haven Hospital
• State and local government officials

Faculty, Staff and Students at institutions participating in the BorrowDirect Plus On-Site Borrowing program will receive free borrowing standard privileges upon request.
The Yale Lillian Goldman Law Library may also be accessed through a separate registration process. 

Participating institutions include:

• Brown University
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Dartmouth College
• Duke University
• Harvard University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Princeton University
• University of Chicago
• University of Pennsylvania

Readers in this category who wish to use the Yale collections must register in person at the Medical Library Circulation Desk. 

Send questions: askyalelibrary@yale.edu

Readers will also be asked to verify current eligibility by logging into their home institution's BorrowDirect or Library Account. 

To register, you will need to provide two forms of ID - one from each section.

Section 1: Government Issued ID

• Driver’s license (from U.S. or Canada)
• U.S. or foreign passport
• Alien registration card with photo (INS form I-151 or I-551).

Section 2: Secondary ID from participating University

• A valid ID Card and/or
• A letter of introduction on organization letterhead

Explanation of Privileges

• Check out materials from any library
• Building Access
• Loan length – four months or date of expiration, whichever is lesser.
• Book limit – 15 books
• Length of privileges - 1 year, renewable

*Use “Place Requests” to retrieve materials and have them delivered to the circulation desk of the selected Yale University Library.  Allow two business days for delivery of items between libraries.