Policies

Library users can borrow up to 30 items. 

Items that are four or more weeks overdue will be presumed lost and a replacement fee will be applied to the borrower's account. If the item is returned in good condition, the replacement fee will be waived.

Library accounts of students not enrolled for upcoming semesters may be set to expire before the end of the standard loan period. Due dates will be automatically adjusted to fall before account expiration. 

Due dates can be extended by requesting a renewal before the item becomes overdue. To renew library materials:

• Log in to your account on the library’s website, Select “Items currently checked out” to view and renew library items.
• Or email bcirc.library@pratt.edu (Brooklyn) or mcirc.library@pratt.edu (Manhattan).
• Or call 718-636-3420 (Brooklyn) or 212-647-7546 (Manhattan).
• Or ask in person at the Circulation desk.

Renewals may not be granted if:

• The borrower has unpaid fines exceeding $10 or suspended borrowing privileges.
• The items are needed for Course Reserves or by another borrower.

Borrowed items may be recalled by the Libraries before the due date set by the standard loan period. Borrowers will be notified one week before the new due date and will be charged $1 for each day past the new due date that the recalled item is not returned.

Outstanding Fines
Users with outstanding fines amounting to or exceeding $10 cannot borrow or renew library materials, including course reserves, or place Interlibrary Loan or ConnectNY requests until fines are paid. Students with outstanding fines of any amount at the end of their final semester cannot graduate until fines are paid.

Lost or Damaged Items
Users are required to pay a replacement fee for lost or damaged items on their Library record. 
The standard replacement fee for books is $90, which covers the cost of the replacement as well as processing costs. We do not accept books purchased by the user in lieu payment.
Replacement fees for non-print material will be assessed based on the price of the item.
If a library item is stolen, please report the crime to Public Safety or the NYPD and provide the Libraries with the report.

Payment
Please email fine.library@pratt.edu to request access to the online payment portal. All payments are final.

Faculty seeking to bring their students to draw on-site in the libraries must fill out the following request form: Request Permission to Draw in the Library

Any Pratt Institute student, faculty or staff member interested in filming or taking still images inside the Libraries is required to fill out a permission form. All shoots must be course-related. To make a request, please fill out the form here: Request Permission to Film in the Library

The Libraries accept gifts and funds for materials using the same criteria it applies to purchases. However, the Library reserves the right to make use of donations as materials for exchange or sale in order to best strengthen the collection. The Library determines the cataloging, classification, housing and circulation policies of gift materials. Learn more here.

The faculty and staff of Pratt Institute Libraries believe that Open Access to scholarship is critical for scholarly communication, the future of libraries more generally and advancing the library’s mission of providing outstanding service and access to a resource-rich environment that facilitates critical thinking, and creative teaching and learning in the Pratt community. The Libraries pledge to support and promote open access scholarship, resources, and services. In supporting the spread of knowledge outside of strict paywalls of traditional scholarly publishing structures, the Libraries commit to collecting robust Open Access resources as described in the Electronic Resources Evaluation Policy and Collection Development Policy. By promoting resources that are free and open access, the Libraries' further their commitment to advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, as these resources will continue to be accessible to students after graduation, as well as being decoupled from traditional academic silos.

This pledge builds upon the Libraries’ practices/programs centering access to digital and digitized scholarly resources and services such as the collection of Pratt community records in its Archives, promotion of open educational resources, collection of theses and dissertations and future development of an institutional repository.

To learn more about Open Access and explore free online resources promoted by the Libraries please consult this dedicated research guide. A selection of Open Access resources are also available on the Database directory.

The Libraries encourages users to recommend open access resources for inclusion in the collection. To do this please reach out to eresources.library@pratt.edu with your suggestions.

The purpose of the Libraries’ collection development policy document is to make clear the scope of the materials collected and priorities for the selection of those materials. Read the complete policy here.

In keeping with the Pratt Institute’s aim “to be a campus that welcomes and encourages individuals of all backgrounds,” the Pratt Institute Libraries seeks to address records in the library catalog that are historically inaccurate, offensive, discriminatory, or otherwise harmful. The Pratt Institute Libraries follow the standard practice of using controlled standard vocabularies, such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) which are similar to hashtags and keywords, making it possible for users to retrieve more precise results. Using controlled vocabularies and subject headings helps organize information and enhances cross-platform searching and information retrieval within the Libraries’ catalog, discovery layer, and databases. While this uniformity allows users to capture a concept and find similar information more efficiently by creating linkages between records, this efficiency may come at a cost when some of the problematic language found in the catalog stems from using such controlled standard vocabularies.

For this reason the Pratt Institute Libraries are taking the following steps to address offensive language and content in its catalogs and databases:

• Systematically revise and update collection descriptions.
• Update author records in existing records with a “dead name” (the birth name of a transgender person who has changed their name as part of their gender transition.)
• The Pratt Institute Libraries supports initiatives to remove bias and promote inclusion in the catalog by replacing outdated and/or harmful LCSH subject headings with more equitable local term options. Petitioning the Library of Congress’ Policy and Standards Division is a bureaucratic process that takes time, but we are actively participating in the process and advocating for change.

The Pratt Institute Libraries encourage its users to participate in this process. If you encounter any pejorative language (i.e. racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic) or content in the Libraries’ catalog records, finding aids, or digitized collections, please fill out our Report a Problem Form. To report problems with specific items, click on the Report a Problem link at the bottom of all item pages on the libraries’ catalog or on the left sidebar of items in our discovery layer. Be sure to select ‘information on this page is inaccurate, offensive, or uses harmful language’ in the dropdown menu on the form.

Resources Consulted in Drafting this Statement

Sample Statements: The Cataloging Lab is a resource for catalogers to explore and discuss how to create more inclusive and equitable controlled vocabularies. They have compiled statements from many institutions on harmful or offensive language in description and bias in cataloging.

Shared Readings, Resources, and Considerations

• Inclusive Practices for Access and Description (Online Archive of California.)
• Inclusive description (Society of American Archivists.)
• Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia Anti-Racist Description Working Group. (Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia.)
• Research guides: Resources for creating inclusive and conscious archival description: general resources (Caringola, E.)
• Queering the Catalog: Queer Theory and the Politics of Correction.. (Drabinski, E.)
• Case for Taxonomic Reparations. (Adler, M.)
• Reparative Processing: A Case Study in Auditing Legacy Description for Racism. (Bolding, K.)
• The essential guide to conscious language. (Yin, K.)
• Diversity Style Guide. (Kanigel, R.)

Drafted by members of the Libraries' DEI Task Force
Last Updated: May 18, 2022

The Brooklyn Campus Library acts as a repository of theses, the final academic project required for graduation from most of Pratt's graduate programs. The Libraries have prepared a thesis submission guide to prepare students.

The Pratt Institute Libraries' collections are intended primarily for use by current faculty, students and staff. However, access and borrowing privileges may be provided for persons not currently affiliated with the Institute. Learn more in our visitor guide.