Research Guides: Public Services: How-To...: Borrow, Renew, &amp; Return Items

Borrowing Policies

Reference our complete circulation or borrowing policies online.

Complete Circulation / Borrowing Policies

Returning Items

Hourly or overnight reserve material must be returned to the Library Service Desk.

Interlibrary Loan materials must be returned to the Interlibrary Services Office, NGL 104.

The Library has three book drops. Only books should be returned in the drops. Please do not use the book drops to return material that is damaged or appears fragile, as the drop and weight of other books may increase the damage. The book drops are located at:

Outside on the patio at the Northeast corner of the Library, near the steps coming up from the parking lot (1st floor entrance).
On the wall at the front of the Library next to the right main entrance door (2nd floor entrance).
Inside the Library on the right side at the front of the Library Service Desk (2nd floor lobby).

Book drops are emptied regularly throughout the day. Books that are returned after the Library has closed will be checked in early the next business day, with a return date of the previous business day.

Both regular loans and interlibrary loans (ILL) may be returned by mail using USPS library book rate with tracking at the address below. (Please write "Campus Box", NOT PO Box)

Interlibrary Services
Newton Gresham Library
Sam Houston State University
Campus Box 2179
Huntsville, TX 77341

Both regular loans and interlibrary loans (ILL) may be returned to the library services desk in the computer lab (room 315) at SHSU-The Woodlands Center, Monday-Friday 8am - 5pm.

How to View Your Library Account & Renew Items

You can view your library account any time, from anywhere, to see what you have checked out and when it's due, or to request renewals. (Note: This does not include items from other libraries borrowed through interlibrary loan; those have separate renewal procedures.)

Start at https://library.shsu.edu/
In the library main menu on the right, click Research.
Click "Books & Media (Catalog)."
From the top bar, select "Sign In".
Click on your name.
From here, you can choose to click "Library Card" or "My Loans", both options will allow you to renew your materials.
If you clicked "Library Card" you can view your account overview. From here you can view the due dates for your most recent checkouts and renew all of your items at once.
In the "Loans" section, click "Renew All". You will receive a pop-up notification if any of your items could not successfully be renewed.
If you clicked "My Loans" you can see all of the materials currently checked out to you and the date they are due. From here you can either renew an individual item by clicking the "Renew" button on that listing or renew every item you have checked out by clicking "Renew All".
Items that were successfully renewed will display the new due date in place of the old one.
Any items that could not successfully be renewed will be indicated with a pop-up notification. Red text next to the item will explain what prevented the renewal.