UPSem participates in three different partnering programs with other libraries: the Atla Reciprocal Borrowing Program, the VIVA Cooperative Borrowing Program, and the Carolinas Theological Library Consortium. Each of the programs is described below. If you are a current student or faculty/staff member at UPSem, these programs mean that you have borrowing privileges at over 200 other academic and theological libraries around the U.S. and Canada. This is especially useful if you don’t live close to the Richmond or Charlotte campuses of UPSem, as you can check out books you may need for your work from campus libraries that are close to you.
All Borrowing and Lending Partners
These links will take you to a list of all the schools with which we have in-person reciprocal borrowing agreements.
Full List of Universities and Seminaries
Be sure to click the down arrows under the check boxes in the left-side menu to uncover the full list of locations.
Map of Universities and Seminaries
Atla Reciprocal Borrowing Program
The Atla Reciprocal Borrowing Program creates an arrangement between participating North American Atla Institutional Members to grant check-out privileges to each other’s patrons/students. A patron/student walks into a participating Library, shows proof of current enrollment at another participating Library, and checks out materials based on the Library’s local lending policies. The borrower will be responsible for returning all items when they are due, to the Library from which they were borrowed. The borrower will be liable for any overdue fines or other penalty charges. For more information and for a spreadsheet of participating libraries, visit the ATLA Reciprocal Borrowing webpage at https://www.atla.com/learning-engagement/reciprocal-borrowing/.
VIVA Cooperative Borrowing Program
Faculty, staff and currently enrolled students of Union Presbyterian Seminary have the privilege of borrowing items on-site from any participating Library in the Commonwealth of Virginia. These libraries are members of VIVA, Virginia’s academic Library consortium. The borrower will be responsible for returning all items when they are due, to the Library from which they were borrowed. The borrower will be liable for any overdue fines or other penalty charges. For more information about the VIVA Cooperative Borrowing Program and a list of participating libraries, visit https://vivalib.org/va/rsc/cooperative-borrowing.
Patrons who wish to borrow media items from partner libraries should make those arrangements with the staff in our Instructional and Media Resources Department.
Carolinas Theological Library Consortium
The Carolinas Theological Library Consortium (CTLC) was created to allow greater resource sharing among schools with theology and/or religion programs in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area. It has grown over time to include institutions throughout North and South Carolina. Students are advised to have their current student identification with them to check out materials from another CTLC library. For more information about the Carolinas Theological Library Consortium and a list of participating libraries, visit https://www.atla.com/learning-engagement/rg/ctlc/.
Each school in the Consortium has agreed to abide by the following borrowing policies:
- Circulating library materials may be borrowed by duly certified faculty, students, and staff of CTLC member schools and organizations from any CTLC member library in accordance with the borrowing regulations of the lending library.
- Borrowers are responsible for learning circulation and access regulations at the respective institution’s library. Borrowers agree to be governed by these regulations.
- Patrons need to borrow books in person. Libraries are not expected to answer telephone queries or provide materials by mail, except for inter-library loans requested through standard ILL request forms.
- Users of any CTLC library are subject to all fines, rules, and regulations of the servicing library. Patrons will be notified of overdue material by the library from which the library material was borrowed.