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Services for Alumni, Retirees & Guests

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Services for Alumni, Retirees & Guests

All alumni of Boston College's undergraduate and graduate programs and schools along with retired faculty and staff are welcomed back to use the resources of the Libraries onsite and other services and resources as detailed below. Learn about what happens to your online access when you leave BC.  The Boston College Libraries (excluding the Law Library) are open to the public. 

Borrowing physical items (Alumni, BC Retirees & Guests)

Alumni can borrow physical items at all the BC Libraries except the Law Library. The loan period for alumni is 28 days with two renewals per item permitted. At the Educational Resource Center (ERC) alumni can borrow items (excluding all educational and psychological tests) for 14 days with one renewal (28 days total).

BC retirees can borrowing physical items at all the BC Libraries. The loan period for retirees is one year with four renewals per item permitted. At the Educational Resource Center (ERC) retirees have borrowing privileges (excluding all educational and psychological tests) for 14 days with a four year renewal period.

Guests have borrowing privileges at all the BC Libraries except the Educational Resource Center and the Law Library. The loan period for guests is 28 days with two renewals per item. 

Retirees may continue to use their Eagle One card to borrow library materials. Alumni and Guests should refer to the Guest, Retiree and Alumni Borrowing page for information on applying for a library card.

Loan Periods

Please refer to the loan policies page for information on borrowing privileges.

Reference help

We provide in-person reference service in all libraries and offer a variety of help by subject to assist in finding more focused resources in your research area. Check our Hours for service desks staffing or Contact Us for more information.

Scanners

Scanners are available to all library users at no cost. 

Online access for BC Alumni

We have arranged for remote access to the following databases for BC alumni:

  • Adam Matthew Primary Source Collections - digitized primary source material on a variety of topics, geographic areas, and historic periods.
  • ATLA Historical Monographs Collection Series 1 & 2 - more than 29,000 titles focused on religion and theology.
  • ATLA Religion Databases - essays, book reviews, and journal articles related to theological and religious studies.
  • JSTOR - archive journal content licensed by Boston College. (Ebooks are not included).
  • OECD iLibrary - the online library of the OECD including books, papers, and statistics.
  • Project MUSE - scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences from university presses and scholarly societies.
  • Firsthand (The Vault) - career information on a wide variety of industries and specific companies.

Login or Register for access on the BC Alumni Community Research Resources page. 

Online resources at BC

While on campus, many databases and online resources found in our Library catalog are available to walk-in users including alumni, retirees and guests. Some are restricted to current students and faculty. Call the O'Neill Library at 617-552-8038 before you visit to make sure the resource you are interested in is available. 

Online resources outside of BC

If you live in Massachusetts you are eligible for a borrowing card at your local public library which will give you remote access to databases available through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners site. If you do not live in Massachusetts consult your local public library for information about accessing databases.