Equipment and Technology Circulation Policy

Who Can Borrow Equipment?

Equipment is available for loan to current University of Delaware students, faculty and staff only with valid and provided UD ID’s.

DelTech and DelState cardholders may borrow in-house use materials, but are required to supply supporting photo identification. All IDs must be currently valid in the Library’s borrower database. Other borrower groups, including but not limited to Osher Academy of Lifelong Learning, spouses and public borrowers, have limited or no access to equipment, technology and services of the Research Data and Design Commons. 

The individual associated with the UD ID that the equipment is checked out with, is solely responsible for all materials borrowed on their card and is liable for charges resulting from lost and/or damaged materials.

How to Borrow Equipment and Technology

To borrow equipment or technology from the Research Data and Design Commons:

1. Find the item that you wish to borrow in our Equipment List.
2. Check the location of the item to determine what service desk to pick it up at. 
3. Click the Check Availability button under the item to see if the item is currently available for loan.

Members of the University of Delaware students, faculty and staff are required to possess and present a currently valid UD ONEcard in order to borrow equipment at the time of the check out. Equipment and technology can only be checked out in person to the person on the UD ONEcard at the Research Data and Design Commons service desk.

Members of the DelTech and DelState communities are required to present their respective college ID and, if necessary, photo ID to verify identity. All ID cards and library cards are non-transferable.

How to Return Equipment and Technology

All equipment should only be returned to the desk that it was checked out from during operational hours. 

If the Research Data and Design Commons service desk is closed, do not leave equipment at the desk. Please turn it in at the Help Center on the first floor for safe keeping. Equipment turned in at the Help Center may take 24 hours to process thus it is common to receive an automatically sent late notification. Please check My Account via DELCAT to check if the item is off your account after 24 hours. 

Do not leave equipment unattended at the Research Data and Design Commons service desk. You will be responsible for any issues that could occur to unattended equipment.

Equipment and Technology Loan Periods

Most equipment kits are available for a three-day loan. Some restricted kits are available for in-building, four-hour loans. Please see DELCAT for the specific loan period for the item you are interested in borrowing.

Equipment and Technology Renewals

Equipment Kits may not be renewed. Borrowed items are required to be returned after the four-hour or three-day loan period and cannot be checked out by the same user/group until 24 hours from the check-in time. However, projects requiring large datasets (video editing, data analysis, data visualization) can take more than three days, external hard drives may be returned and checked out again twice for a total loan period of nine days.

Equipment and Technology Holds

No equipment may be put on hold or requested in advance. Equipment is checked out on a first-come, first-served basis. Some equipment is for in-building use only to try to ensure that there will be something available for use. There is a loan limit of three days to try to ensure that cameras will be available for others to check out.

Equipment Kit Pieces and Batteries

During the check-in and check-out process, all kit pieces will be accounted for. It is recommended that you watch the check in and check out process to ensure all pieces are present. Please “contact us url” immediately if you notice anything wrong with the equipment. 

If a kit component is not returned with the kit, the checkin process will be stopped and the user will be asked to take back the kit while they search for the missing piece(s). Should the item due date pass while the user is still in possession of the kit, normal overdue blocks will take effect. This block will affect all library loans. 

In the event the missing part is not found or the user knows that the part is lost, we will check the equipment in and then charge a replacement and associated processing fee will be assessed on the user’s University account.

Rechargeable batteries are provided as a courtesy to users. All batteries provided with kits need to be returned. If anticipating moderate to heavy use of the kit, we suggest asking for an extra set of batteries for kits that have the option. Users are free to utilize their own batteries in equipment that accepts standard types, but the original batteries and case, if applicable, must be returned. Users will be assessed a replacement fee if the rechargeable batteries are not returned with the kit.

Users are free to utilize their own SD or memory cards in the equipment, but the original SD card must be returned. Users will be assessed a replacement fee if the SD card is not returned with the kit.

Overdue Equipment and Technology

Borrowers are individually responsible for keeping track of due dates and for returning equipment and technology to the Research Data and Design Commons service desk by the date due during operational hours.

If equipment is not returned to the Research Data and Design Commons service desk before the due date/time, an automatic block will be activated on the user’s library account. While an overdue item block is in place, users cannot borrow any additional items from the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press collections.

Should equipment be overdue for longer than 15 days (excluding days the Research Data and Design Commons/library is closed), the borrower will automatically be billed the associated replacement fee for the items/kits and the overdue block will be lifted. If items/kits are not returned within 15 days of the automatic billing (excluding days the Research Data and Design Commons/library is closed, for a total of 30 days overdue), the items/kits will be declared lost and no refund of the automatically applied replacement fee will be available.

Lost Equipment

If borrowed equipment is not returned fifteenth day after the due date, an automatic replacement charge for the items/kits will be assessed to the borrower’s University of Delaware account. Often before the automatic billing after 15 days, Research Data and Design Commons staff will make efforts to contact the borrower to remind them to return the equipment. 

If after an additional 15 days the items/kits have still not been returned, the equipment will be declared lost and replacement items will be purchased. Consequently, no refund of the replacement fee can be credited to the borrower once the items/kits are declared lost. If a billed item is returned undamaged within 30 days of the original due date and time, the replacement fee can be waived. Processing fees, if any, cannot be waived since the Library has already incurred the cost of processing.

Damaged Equipment and Technology

Users will be billed for damages to equipment, unless such damages are deemed normal ‘wear and tear’ by staff. If damaged equipment cannot be repaired, the user will be billed the cost of replacement.