About the Library

UW-Parkside students, faculty, and staff (including emeritus faculty and staff) may borrow Parkside materials with a Ranger Card or other photo ID.

University of Wisconsin students, faculty, and staff may borrow Parkside materials with a UW ID.

Community Borrowers include several categories:

Loan periods depend on the type of material and the user category.



You are responsible for materials checked out with your card. Let us know if an item has any damage before checking out. We expect you to return or renew items by the due date. Your responsibility does not end until the library has checked-in returned materials.

UWP users may use the Your Library Account link on the library home page to see what items you have borrowed, when they are due, and to renew materials. You can also renew items in person, over the phone ((262) 595-3432), or via email (circulationlib@uwp.edu) or online chat, if no one else has requested the item. You may not renew reserve materials or equipment, including laptops.

Community users can renew items in person, over the phone ((262) 595-3432), or via email (circulationlib@uwp.edu) or online chat.

Return materials to one of the return slots at the check-out desk or hand it to the employee at the desk. The return slot near the main Wyllie atrium elevators is available when the library is closed.

The library does NOT charge overdue fines for books from the stacks and other items that circulate for 28 days or longer. Other fines depend on the type of material and accrue only when the library is open.

The system will send an email notice to your Parkside account when items become overdue, but failure to receive a notice does not excuse an overdue item. If you have outstanding fines or fees at any UW System library, you may not be able to continue borrowing materials.

We consider an item lost when it is overdue for more than four weeks, and these do accrue fees. Lost item fees include the cost of replacement (or $60.00 for out-of-print items) plus a non-refundable $15.00 processing fee. These charges apply to each item lost.

If you return a lost item before paying the fee, you will only owe the $15.00 processing fee. If you pay for a lost item but then find and return it within one year of payment, we will reimburse the cost of the item but not the processing fee. After one year, we will not refund any fees.

You can pay fines and fees in the library with cash, check, or money order. We can only accept payments Tuesday–Saturday. You can make credit card payments for overdue and lost items via the Library’s Cashnet storefront (https://commerce.cashnet.com/UWPLIBRARY). Please contact the library for instructions and the exact amount owed prior to making a transaction! Reach the Library Circulation department at 262-595-3432 or circulationlib@uwp.edu. Please ask to speak to a circulation supervisor.

We have a limited number of PC and Mac laptops available for Parkside students to borrow. You must sign an agreement accepting responsibility for any loss or damage to the laptop and for costs associated with repair or replacement.

You may not reserve a laptop ahead of time. Laptops are due in eight hours or one hour before the library closes, whichever comes first.

If you return a laptop late, you will owe $5/hour, with a maximum total fine of $100. If you lose or steal a laptop, we will charge you for its cost.

Read the UW-Parkside Library Equipment Check-Out Agreement:

UWP users can use Library Search to place holds on materials. When the item is available, you will get an email at your Parkside account and will have seven days to pick it up.

UWP faculty, staff, and students can visit other UW libraries and borrow materials with Ranger Cards. You can also use Library Search to request materials from other UW libraries; these usually arrive within 3 business days. You will get an email at your Parkside account when your items are available to pick up from the Parkside library. Loan periods for other UW campuses are the same as ours; for students, this is 28 days for books and 14 days for audiovisual materials.

UWP faculty, staff, and students may also borrow materials from Carthage College’s Hedberg Library and Gateway Technical College because of a reciprocal borrowing agreement. Use your Ranger Card when checking out materials. 

UWP faculty, staff, and students may use Interlibrary Loan to request materials from libraries outside of the UW System. Please check our databases and Library Search before requesting materials through interlibrary loan.

The security system is set off when someone exits the library without checking out library materials, and we may ask you to open any bags for inspection. Unauthorized possession of library materials may result in loss of borrowing privileges, and it violates Wisconsin State Statutes, which may result in prosecution. If you mutilate library materials, we will bill you for the items damaged, and you may lose borrowing privileges. The minimum charge for mutilated items is the current cost of replacement or $75.00 if the item is out of print. See Policy 62.