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Hostos Community College Library

Borrow, Renew, and Return

You can borrow books from other CUNY and SUNY libraries, and request that they be sent to Hostos so you can pick them up here.

For online articles and books that belong to other CUNY colleges, you'd have to use one of their computers on their campus in order to read them,

How to request from a CUNY or SUNY library

  1. Go to the OneSearch webpage.Enter your search terms.
  2. At the end of the searchbar, you can choose to search other CUNY colleges, or SUNY colleges.
    Dropdown menu showing Hostos + CUNY libraries, Hostos, and SUNY libraries
     
  3. Click the magnifying class to search and review your results.
  4. When you click on a book's title, you will get to its info page. 
  5. Click on "request a physical copy" (if you are off-campus, you will have to sign in with your CUNY username and password).screenshot showing how to get it: request a physical copy from CUNY or SUNY

  6. On the request form, you can select Hostos as the pickup location. Be sure to hit "send request"!

    screenshot of request form

  7. You've sent your request! When the book arrives at the library, you should get an email at your Hostos email address letting you know you can now come pick it up at the library's circulation desk (when you enter the library, it's the counter to your left).

For books that NO CUNY library has

If you've already checked OneSearch, and discovered that no CUNY library has the book

You can create a free account with Tipasa, the online Inter-Library Loan system, using your 8-digit EMPL ID, and ask to have it delivered to the Hostos Library.

  • Please note that if it turns out a CUNY college does have it, the request will be denied.
  • Also please note that it can take a while for a book to come from another college, especially if the college is out of state. 

You can also try the New York Public Library, Queens Library, or Brooklyn Public Library - no matter which borough you live in, you can get a free library card for all three!

You can also try WorldCat - which searches thousands of libraries at once--to see if the book is available anywhere nearby. If you find one at a private college like NYU or Columbia, ask a librarian who can help you get permission to get the book there.