Services for Harvard Alumni/ae

Access | Borrowing Policy | Book Renewals | E-Journal Access | Selected E-Resources
Computers & Printing | Photocopying | Microfilm & Microfiche | Reference Assistance

Access

Alumni/ae of Harvard Divinity School and of other Harvard faculties are welcome to visit the library and to consult the collections. Visitors will be asked to sign in.

Alumni/ae who wish to visit the library frequently (without signing in) or who seek borrowing privileges should apply for an Andover-Harvard Theological Library (AHTL) Access card. The AHTL Access card has a one-time fee of $10, is valid for one year, and is renewable. Applications are available at the circulation desk, Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm (except University holidays). Access to the library, and borrowing privileges, are granted to a specific individual and may not be transferred or shared.

In addition, alumni/ae who hold Harvard College Library Special Borrower cards may use them for access to the Andover-Harvard Theological Library. Use of the cards for borrowing is also possible, but alumni/ae who wish to do so must visit the circulation desk, Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm (except University holidays) to apply to have their borrowing privileges activated.

Borrowing Policy

Harvard alumni/ae are eligible for AHTL Special Borrower status at no additional cost (the AHTL Special Borrower status fee is waived). Alumni/ae must have either an AHTL Access card or a Harvard College Library Special Borrower card in order to activate their borrowing privileges.

A patron with AHTL Special Borrower status may have up to ten circulating items on loan at any time. Books circulate for 28 days. Multimedia items circulate for 3 days. Reserve items circulate for 3 hours.

Notices are sent as a courtesy. All borrowers are responsible for overdue and lost items even if these notices are not received.

All items are subject to recall. Recalled materials must be returned to the library within the new loan period specified on the recall notice. AHTL Special Borrowers are not eligible to recall items circulating to other patrons.

Overdue fines are assessed at the rate of $0.50 per day. Overdue recalled materials are $2.00 per day. Overdue reserves materials are $1.00 per hour. After two overdue notices are issued, overdue items will be considered lost and a bill will be sent to cover replacement and processing costs. Such a bill will terminate any remaining borrowing privileges until the bill is settled.

It is the responsibility of all AHTL Special Borrowers to report changes of mailing address and email address to the circulation staff (circulation@hds.harvard.edu; 617.495.5788).

The AHTL Special Borrower status applies only to Andover-Harvard Theological Library, and cannot be used at other Harvard libraries.

Book Renewals

Circulating items may be renewed up to five times. Items can be renewed by providing library staff with your user ID number and the barcode numbers on those items, using any of the following methods:

• Submit a web form
• Email the circulation staff
• Phone the circulation desk: 617.495.5788
• Bring the items to the circulation desk during open hours

You should receive an email confirmation of renewals within three working days. You are responsible for the overdue fines that accrue between the due date and the renewal date. After the fifth renewal, each item must be brought back to the circulation desk. At that time, it may be possible to renew the items again.

E-Journal Access

The library provides licensed access to degree-holding alumni/ae of Harvard Divinity School to ATLASerials^® (ATLAS^®), an online collection of scholarly journals in the field of religion produced by the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). More than 70 major religion and theology journals, selected by leading scholars and theologians, are included in this collection. To date, the collection includes more than 150,000 articles and book reviews published from 1924 to the present. Available titles include:

• Biblical Archaeologist (and its successor, Near Eastern Archaeology)
• Christian Century
• Church History
• Eastern Buddhist
• First Things
• Harvard Theological Review
• Journal of Biblical Literature
• Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion
• Journal of Religious Ethics
• Journal of the American Academy of Religion
• Modern Theology
• Muslim World
• Numen
• Theological Studies
• Zygon

A full list of the journals and their coverage is available on the ATLA website.

To obtain access to ATLASerials^®, it is first necessary to register with the HDS Office of Alumni/ae Relations by phone (617.495.0556) or by email. After access is set up, please contact a reference librarian for assistance in using ATLASerials^®.

Access to ATLASerials® is for alumni/ae personal use only. Alumni/ae may not share access with others.

Additional e-journals and other licensed e-resources are available for consultation only onsite in the library. Please contact a reference librarian for assistance. Remote access to these additional licensed e-resources is not available. Please note the many college and university libraries, large public libraries, and public libraries in consortia have access to many of these same licensed e-resources. The library has prepared a list of selected e-resources for HDS alumni/ae that are available remotely.

Selected E-Resources

The following websites may be of interest to alumni/ae of Harvard Divinity School.

Abzu: Abzu is a guide to networked open access data relevant to the study and public presentation of the Ancient Near East and the Ancient Mediterranean world.

Association of Religious Data Archives (ARDA): The ARDA allows you to interactively explore the highest quality data on American and international religion using online features for generating national profiles, maps, church membership overviews, denominational heritage trees, tables, charts, and other summary reports.

Congregational Resource Guide: An effort of the Alban Institute in consultation with the Indianapolis Center for Congregations and other specialists, the Congregational Resource Guide exists to help congregational leaders connect with resources that will enable them to face challenges and foster vitality in their communities of faith.

Google Book Search: Andover-Harvard Theological Library's participation in the Harvard-Google Project contributed to the availability of out-of-copyright books on religion, especially in the areas of biblical studies, hymnody, Christian social reform, missions, and world religions; historical works from the Congregational, Unitarian, and Universalist traditions are especially well represented.

Hartford Institute for Religion Research: This site has summaries of current religion research by Hartford Institute for Religion Research faculty as well as the research done by other sociologists of religion. It also includes the online edition of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Society.

New Testament Gateway: This is a comprehensive directory of academic Internet resources related to the New Testament.

Online Critical Pseudepigrapha: This site, an electronic publication of the Society of Biblical Literature, provides online access to the texts of the Pseudepigrapha in their original (or extant) languages and with critical apparatus.

Perseus Digital Library: Perseus is a digital library whose flagship collection covers the history, literature, and culture of the Greco-Roman world.

The Revised Common Lectionary: The online Revised Common Lectionary is a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library.

Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion: The Wabash Center site has resources for the teaching of theology and religion in North American theological schools, colleges, and universities. Especially helpful is the Wabash Center Guide to Internet Resources for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, a selective, annotated guide to a wide variety of electronic resources of interest to those who are teaching or studying religion and theology at the undergraduate or graduate level.

WorldCat^®: The largest collection of library catalogs, WorldCat^® helps you search for an item in libraries near you.

Also see the library's Digital Collections page and A Selection of Web-Accessible Collections from the Harvard University Library for additional available e-resource collections.

Additional e-journals and other licensed e-resources are available for consultation only onsite in the library. Please contact a reference librarian for assistance. Remote access to these additional licensed e-resources is not available. Please note the many college and university libraries, large public libraries, and public libraries in consortia have access to many of these same licensed e-resources.

Computers and Printing

Computers for access to the HOLLIS catalog, other library resources, and email are located next to the circulation desk on the first floor and in the Houghton Reference Room on the second floor. These computers are for appropriate Internet access only and do not have word processing or other programs.

Printing fees ($0.07 per page) for computers on the second floor are paid through Crimson Cash. Crimson Cash cards are available for purchase at the circulation desk. Value may be added to a Harvard ID card or a Crimson Cash card by credit card on the Crimson Cash website or at Crimson Cash VTS machines at other University locations. 

Wireless network access is available on all floors. Network jacks are located throughout the library for personal Internet access. Use of the Student PC Lab is restricted to Harvard Divinity School students and students who are cross-registered in HDS courses.

To report problems with library computers, please contact the HDS Office of Information Technology and Media Services (617.496.9111; hdshelp@hds.harvard.edu).

Photocopying

Photocopiers are located on each of the library's four levels. Copiers accept Crimson Cash cards, Harvard IDs with Crimson Cash value added, and bills and coins. Copies are $0.10 per page, using cash, and $0.07 per page, using Crimson Cash. Crimson Cash cards are available for purchase at the circulation desk. Value may be added to a Harvard ID card or a Crimson Cash card by credit card on the Crimson Cash website or at Crimson Cash VTS machines at other University locations.

Microfilm and Microfiche

Most of the microfilm and microfiche collections and readers are located in the room next to the reference desk on the second floor. Access to the collections and readers are self-service and available whenever the library is open. Assistance is available from reference and circulation staff. Printers are attached to three readers; printing costs are $0.10 per page, payable by cash or check at the circulation desk. Digital copies may be made on a USB flash drive or CD by using the computer and the first reader on the left.

Reference Assistance

Visit the reference desk, call to ask a quick question, or make an appointment for in-depth research advice. Hours (during term time, except University holidays) are:

• Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am-9 pm
• Friday, 8:30 am-6 pm

Call us at 617.496.AHTL (2485)

Reference librarians will work with you to:

• Locate information
• Develop a research strategy
• Find relevant e-resources, books, and articles on any topic
• Work on any research-related question, problem, or skill

Use our Email Reference Form to send us a quick question.

Use our Recommendations for Purchase Form to suggest material for our collection.

Interlibrary loan services are not available for alumni/ae.

Some licensed electronic resources are available for alumni/ae to consult in the library. Please see the reference staff for assistance.

Degree-holding Harvard Divinity School alumni/ae may register for remote access to some electronic journals through ATLASerials®; see E-Journal Access for more information. Remote access to other electronic resources is not available.