MERLIN & MOBIUS

The Missouri Education and Research Libraries Information Network (MERLIN) and the Missouri Bibliographic Information User System (MOBIUS) form a consortium of academic libraries with approximately sixty-two member colleges and universities in the state of Missouri. The online catalogs allow faculty, staff, and students to request library materials using a computer in any location with access to the Internet. Requested materials are delivered to the library of your choice within three to five workdays of being requested.


MERLIN & MOBIUS Overdues and Recalls

  • Overdue notices are generated one week after due date and bills are generated two weeks after the due date. Fine amounts are decided by the lending library. Within MERLIN, each lending library establishes its own billing amounts, and they vary. Within MOBIUS, all lending libraries charge the same. There is a $120.00 replacement charge for books not returned.
  • Patrons are limited to two renewals for MOBIUS materials. This can be done over the Internet or by contacting the circulation desk at your home library.
  • Recall materials must be returned by recalled due date. There is no grace period.
  • Patrons will receive notification through campus email or mail.
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Visiting Patrons (MOBIUS policies)

Visiting Patrons are faculty, staff, and students at MERLIN/MOBIUS institutions. University of Missouri - St. Louis faculty, staff, students can check out materials directly from any library participating in the MERLIN/MOBIUS consortium. These are the MOBIUS patron initiated circulation policies:

  1. Types of materials available for loan -- monographs only are available through MOBIUS patron initiated borrowing.

  2. Loan length -- 21 days for all patron types.

  3. Renewals -- two renewals of 21 days are allowed. Items with additional holds may not renew.

  4. Recalls -- Materials may only be recalled by the owning library, and may be recalled from any patron type. Minimum Use: 20 days

  5. Reserve -- Materials borrowed through MOBIUS may not be placed on reserve at the borrowing institution.

  6. ILL -- Patrons should be strongly encouraged to use MOBIUS patron initiated borrowing instead of traditional ILL.

  7. Patron records -- Complete patron records are available only in the home cluster of the patron. Only authorized staff at the patron's home library may change, update or enter patron records for their borrowers. Only staff at the home library may override blocks for their patrons.

  8. MOBIUS loan rules -- MOBIUS loan rules should not be overridden to permit longer loans than originally allowed, either by extending loan periods or checking in and checking out again.

  9. Each institution determines who in its patron database will receive MOBIUS faculty, staff or student status. Each institution accepts responsibility for material borrowed by any person it has authorized to borrow through the MOBIUS system.

  10. Charges -- A lost book replacement charge of $120 will be billed to patrons who do not return MOBIUS items 45 days after the due date. This includes a $100 lost book fee and $20 non refundable billing fee. The patron's home library may keep the monies collected for the billing fee only when books are returned; the owning library will get all monies collected for replacement costs of lost books.

  11. An institutional photo I.D. is the preferred identification to check out materials as a Visiting Patron. An institutional ID number (written or verbal) plus a driver's license or other official photo ID will also be acceptable.  You may wish to call before visiting to ask about hours, parking, etc.  Contact information for St. Louis Area libraries
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