Skip to main content

Visitor Borrowing

Who May Borrow?

One card eligible

Visit the One Card Office in Parrish Hall to obtain a photo ID, then go to McCabe Library to register your card. 

  • Family Members of Swarthmore College Faculty and Staff
  • Pendle Hill Residents
  • ABC House Staff

Who May Borrow for Free

The following may borrow materials after applying for a courtesy card at the McCabe Library circulation desk. Current, valid identification and proof of employment will be required.

  • Teachers in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District
  • Teachers in any Friends School
  • Students at Strath Haven High School (with a registration card signed by the SHHS Librarian)
  • Employees of the Swarthmore and Wallingford Public Libraries
  • University of Pennsylvania faculty (with signed letter from Librarian or Provost)
  • Members of the Pennsylvania Academic Libraries Consortium, Inc. (PALCI) (with completed Reciprocal On-Site Borrowing Authorization Form)

Who may borrow for an annual $20 fee

The following may borrow materials after applying for a courtesy card at the McCabe Library circulation desk. Current, valid identification and proof of residency/employment will be required.

  • Residents of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District
    • $10 for senior citizens
  • Teachers at Public Schools in Chester, Delaware or Philadelphia County
  • Faculty of other colleges and universities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey or Pennsylvania (with letter from Provost)
  • Graduate students of other colleges and universities in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey or Pennsylvania (with schedule or tuition statement)
  • Clergy

Non-local, visiting scholars may borrow for an annual $100 fee.

What Can Be Borrowed?

visitors May Borrow

  • Books (not including course reserves, reference titles, items in the McCabe popular reading room and other non-circulating titles)
  • Videos, DVDs, and CDs

Access to electronic resources + databases

  • Visitors may access online databases and other e-resources while on campus using a public computer or via Swat Guest credentials on a personal device. Vendor licensing agreements prevent off-campus access to electronic resources.

visitors may not borrow

  • Journals and Magazines
  • Items from Bryn Mawr or Haverford College
  • Visitors are not eligible to recall items or place requests through Interlibrary Loan and EZ Borrow

See our Visiting the Libraries page for hours, directions, and more.