Borrowing Without a Wildcard

Individuals without an active Wildcard can apply for a borrower's card by meeting the criteria. Short-term or summer affiliate programs can request group borrowing privileges through a University liaison.

Apply for a borrower's card

The following patrons without a Wildcard can receive a borrower’s card:

Northwestern alumni
Evanston residents
Spouse, domestic partner, faculty or staff
Temporary employee or contractor
Retired faculty or staff
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) Members

Students or faculty from reciprocal borrowing institutions:
- Loyola
- University of Chicago
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- University of Illinois
- Big Ten Academic Alliance Members

Fill out an application to request a borrower's card.

APPLY FOR A BORROWER’S CARD

Cost and Policies

This table details fees, requirements, loan periods, and renewal limits for library borrower's cards for various affiliations, including alumni, Evanston residents, and faculty/staff spouses.
Affiliation	Fee	Requirements to Receive Borrower’s Card	Loan Period	Renewal Limits
Alumni	$25 per year	Photo ID Email for NAA Benefits Pass	4 weeks	Consecutively 3 times
Evanston residents	$50 per 3 months, $150 per year	Photo ID Proof of address Must be over the age of 18 Maximum of 25 items	4 weeks	Consecutively 3 times
Faculty/staff spouse or partner	None	Northwestern ID Card for Spouses/Partners of Faculty & Staff	16 weeks	Consecutively 3 times
Temp employee or contractor	None	Northwestern ID Card for Part-time/Temporary Employees/Contracted Workers	16 weeks	Consecutively 3 times
OLLI	None	Active NetID Registered for full year in OLLI	4 weeks	Consecutively 3 times
Reciprocal institutions	None	Photo ID Institution ID Good standing at home library	16 weeks	Consecutively 3 times
The Family Institute	None	Active NetID Authorization letter from your department	16 weeks	Consecutively 3 times

Sponsor a short-term or summer affiliate borrower

University departments with summer or other short-term programs can sponsor borrowing privileges for their program affiliates. Account setup is free and the sponsoring department is responsible for any outstanding items or fees at the conclusion of the program.

Limitations:

Access limited to circulating collections in University and Deering Libraries
Items will be checked out to single shared program account; sponsoring department is responsible for any outstanding items or fees
Items cannot be requested or otherwise shipped and must be checked out from the circulation desk. Program participants should tell the circulation desk which program they are affiliated with during the checkout process.
Information on these limitations should be shared with program participants through the program website

Follow these steps to set up borrowing privileges:

Designate a program liaison to represent the sponsoring department.
Two weeks in advance of the start of the program, email circulation@northwestern.edu with the following information:
1. Program name
2. Sponsoring department
3. Program liaison name
4. Contact email(s)
5. Program dates