Gender + Sexuality Resource Center Community Library

Checking out books from our library is really simple! On our shelves, you should find a clipboard with a pen and some paper. Simply write the title and author of the book you are checking out on this piece of paper, and you can take the book! We understand that you may have concerns about privacy or data collection, which is why we do not require you to leave your name or email when checking out a book. Our library and its predecessors have operated on the honor system, and we are continuing that legacy of trust and mutual responsibility.

In exchange, we do ask that anyone who uses the library upholds a few expectations. Since these books are a community resource, we want to work together to ensure as many community members as possible can benefit from these amazing books! As such, we ask that you:

1. Please treat our books kindly! Don't dog ear pages, damage the cover, or write in the books. Since many of our books are donated, inherited, or purchased used, they might have writing already in them—please don't add to this! We understand accidents happen, but we hope that you will exercise extra care and caution since these aren't your books or the GSRC's books; these are the community's books.
2. Only take one of two books at a time! As readers, we know that sometimes our eyes are bigger than our schedules, and with such an amazing selection of books one might want to take them all home at once. However, we want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to read books that they want to read. By only taking one or two books at a time, you ensure that other books remain available for folks! And you never have to worry about finishing a book and not being able to get a new one—the GSRC and its library are open as long as Frist is!
3. Return the books as soon as you can! Returning books promptly allows other students to read them after you. Unlike the university library, we don't have set due dates or charge late fees. However, since we do not document who takes what books, we also can't send you reminders to return your books when you are done reading them. If you need reminders, we reccomend setting one in your phone or asking a friend to help keep you accountable.
4. Lose a book? That's okay, accidents happen! We just ask that you let us know via our feedback form so that we can mark the book as unavailable and add it to our list of future acquisitions.
5. Put books back in the cart while browsing! This helps us keep our books organized and know what students are interested in, which informs our future book purchases. Whether you read the book while sitting in one of our comfy chairs, or just take it out briefly to read the back cover, please put books in our returns cart rather than back on the shelf.

A Note on Accessibility: Due to space constraints, it is not possible for all of our books to be shelves within the recommended reach zone for wheelchair users. If this presents a problem, please feel free to ask someone in the space for help. You can also email gsrc@princeton.edu with the subject [LIBRARY HELP NEEDED] and the titles of the books you would like. Next time our librarian is on duty, they will set aside those books for you to pick up and email you letting you know your books are ready.

Returning books is even easier than checking them out: just leave them in our white returns cart! The next time our librarian is in, they will return those books to the shelf and mark them as available in the catalog. We ask that you do not return books to the shelves—doing so makes it difficult for us to keep track of which books are in our library and which books are checked out.