Yes, librarians can help you via email, Zoom or other means; visit the liaison librarians page for contact information.

Please check our hours page at https://lib.trinity.edu/hours or by following us on social media for the most updated information.

• RedShelf –  https://studentresponse.redshelf.com
• VitalSource –  https://get.vitalsource.com/vitalsource-helps

You may return them to the library directly, deposit them outside in the book drop beside the library’s loading dock, or mail them to the following address:

Trinity University
Attn: Coates Library Circulation
607 Kings Ct
San Antonio, TX  78212

Alumni do not have access to InterLibrary Loan (ILL). Your ILLiad account is deactivated when you graduate. If you return as a student or faculty/staff, contact us at ill@trinity.edu and we can quickly reactivate your account.

For More Info / Source(s)

• About InterLibrary Loan

Please review the link below for information related to obtaining an alumni card and library privileges for alumni. You may use most online databases in the library by obtaining a guest userid and password from the Circulation Desk. Off campus use of databases is available only to current Trinity students, faculty and staff with the exception of JSTOR and ProjectMUSE.  Contact us at asklib@trinity.edu for assistance.

For More Info / Source(s)

• Circulation Info for Alumni

Visit the Library Catalog, and click on the Login option at the top of the screen, then follow the log-on instructions that appear.  You’ll be able to check your Library account, see charged items and their due dates, and renew items that have not reached their renewal limit.  Or, go directly to the login screen by clicking here.

Please note that we do not offer renewals over the phone.

Alternately, you may wish to bring your currently charged items to the Circulation desk and request that they be discharged and checked back out to you.  This procedure has the advantage of resetting the limit on the items’ renewals.  Please note, however, that if an item has an outstanding hold or recall request, we cannot check it back out to you.  Additionally, all returned items marked as “lost” must be processed to remove the lost status and to remove any related fines and fees (if appropriate) before being checked back out to any patron.

This depends on the patron category (i.e., student, faculty, staff, alumnus, etc.) and the type of item being circulated.  For a comprehensive explanation of a specific policy, please select one of the following patron categories:

Trinity Alumni
Trinity Classified Staff
Trinity Faculty and Contract Staff
Trinity Students
Trinity Summer Program patrons (Special Privileges card)
Trinity Trustees
Associates and Business Affiliates
TexShare Card Program
Researchers (Special Privileges card)
Spouses and Children of Trinity faculty/staff

Yes, you may!  The only requirement is that you present at the circulation desk a Trinity Dependent ID card (available through the University’s Tiger Card Office: tel. 210-999-7825, Storch Bldg room 005).  We can then register you as a Dependent patron.  The link below has specific loan policy information.

For More Info / Source(s)

• Dependent Circulation Info

If you would like to appeal/request a waiver of any charges on your library account, contact either Jason Hardin (Manager of Access Services) at (210) 999-8181 or by e-mail to jhardin@trinity.edu; or Jennifer Marshall, at (210) 999-8180, or by e-mail to jmarsha3@trinity.edu. We will be happy to discuss the situation with you.

You may also feel free to stop by the circulation desk, and submit a Circulation Appeal Form, in the event that Mr. Hardin or Ms. Marshall are not immediately available.

As Trinity University is a private institution, our funding is limited and we must restrict the circulation of Library holdings to those patrons who are either directly affiliated with the University (faculty, students, staff, etc.) or who directly support the mission of the University and the Library.  There are several programs, however, that permit certain off-campus patron groups to check materials out.  Please see the descriptions of these services, below.

Coates Library is private, but always open to the public.  Off-campus patrons who are ineligible for any of the below programs are still welcome to use our materials and  resources “in-house”.

TexShare – Faculty, staff, students, and patrons of institutions that participate in Texas’ statewide TexShare card program may borrow up to four books at one time, for a period of four weeks, by presenting personal institutional identification along with a valid TexShare card.

Alumni – Graduates of Trinity University may establish a permanent Library account (permitting the check-out of up to eight books at any one time) by bringing their valid Trinity Alumni card to the Circulation desk and paying a one-time, non-refundable fee of fifteen dollars.

Associates and Business Affiliates – Individuals and institutions who participate in business arrangements with the University and/or who help to support the mission of the University are eligible to receive Associate/Business Affiliate Library cards. Requests for this privilege should be made through the Development Office (210) 999-7415.

In line with Trinity’s efforts to maintain a sustainable campus, the Coates Library continues to offer a book recycling service for faculty and staff members. We understand the need for a responsible, convenient method of dealing with books that are no longer of professional or departmental use.

*Our only condition for offering this service is to email us ahead of time to make arrangements.*

If you have any materials to recycle, please email database.maintenance@trinity.edu, and provide the following information:

1. Drop-off date

2. Number of boxes

We will arrange a place for you to drop-off the materials.

*Materials for recycling should come from your campus office, and may also include journals, VHS tapes, cassettes, and DVDs. We do not accept LP records or LaserDiscs. *

Digitized versions of both the campus yearbook, the Mirage, and the campus newspaper, Trinitonian, are now available online.  Click on the link below to access the Mirage and the Trinitonian.

For More Info / Source(s)  (Links open in new window.)

• Mirage and Trinitonian online archives

The Coates Library has benefited significantly over the years from donations of books and other materials to its collections. At this point in time, the library provides not only print, but also digital and other media information, as well as important study and research space for our users. Library staff look to increase the quality of our collection rather than its size, and potential donations from generous friends of the library are considered with that goal in mind.

The Coates Library gift policy, which includes contact information for the appropriate library staff members, can be found at the link below.

For More Info / Source(s)

• Coates Library Gift Policy

Starting April, 2014, current Trinity students, faculty, and staff may access the same day’s full New York Times (as well as most content back to 1980 and selected articles before that time) through a web browser or smartphone/tablet apps. Your account pass must be set up while using a computer or device on our campus network, but thereafter you may access the newspaper anywhere you have Internet access.

Please read instructions for setting up your account in the library guide linked below.

Unfortunately, the New York Times does not allow us to offer this content to alumni or library visitors.

For More Info / Source(s)  (Links open in new window.)

• New York Times: How to Activate a Pass

Current Trinity University students, faculty, retired faculty, and staff in good standing are eligible.

If your borrowing privileges have been blocked, we cannot supply interlibrary loan services to you. However, as soon as you take the needed steps to restore your good standing, we will be happy to fulfill your requests.  To discuss your status, please contact Jason Hardin, Head of Access Services (jhardin@trinity.edu, 8181).

It all depends on the library that lent it to you, but usual loan periods are

• books — a month
• DVDs and CDs — 1-2 weeks

The maroon book strap on your item will give you the due date.

You may request one renewal of a given item, as follows:
Renewal requests may be made as early as 14 days before the due date and as late as the day before the due date. To request a renewal, log on to ILLiad and under “View,” click on “Checked Out Items.” Click on the transaction number for the item you want to renew, then on “Renew Request.” ILL staff will request a renewal and let you know if the lending library has granted it.

Otherwise, please email the ILL unit at ill@trinity.edu or call 8473.

If you need the item beyond the renewal, let us know. We are happy to request it from a different library.

Return all your borrowed books, DVDs, and CDs to the Coates Library circulation desk.

Please leave the maroon book strap attached!

For information on citing sources using one of a number of styles (including MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, and ASA), visit the library’s Citing Sources pages.

If you need assistance with a citation management tool, the Citation Management Tools LibGuide includes instructions and tutorials.

Once your work is uploaded to the Digital Commons@Trinity, it will be accessible freely to viewers who browse the Digital Commons. More importantly, Google and other search engines index this site, so people searching with these tools will discover your work as they search the web. Your work is most likely to appear higher in search results in subsets like Google Scholar. Additionally, you will be provided with a permanent URL for your work, and you may place this on your own website, email it to colleagues, etc., to promote your research.

• Digital Commons – Trinity University

Keys to library lockers are checked out on a first-come, first-served basis and therefore cannot be “reserved”.  The best way to ensure that you are able to acquire a library locker is by coming as soon as possible to the library’s circulation desk (on the 3rd [main] floor) to check one out.  The loan period for lockers is one term, with three online renewals permitted.

NOTE: Currently Study Rooms are unavailable due to COVID-19.

Study rooms are available on the 2nd and 4th floors for groups of 2 or more students for a period of 2 hours (2nd floor rooms may be checked out to individual students).

The keys to the study rooms may be checked out at the circulation desk.  Study rooms reservations can be made online for either immediate use or in advance via the online booking system at https://trinity.libcal.com/spaces.

NOTE:  During periods of heavy use such as final exams week, study rooms may not be renewed.