Mission Statement
Weis Library supports the learning community of Washington Adventist University by providing information resources and services for students, faculty, and staff that sustain excellence in education and service.
Library Access
Building Access – Weis Library is open only to current students and faculty/staff. If you are not a current WAU student or faculty/staff member but would like to access our resources, please send an email to library@wau.edu so that we can discuss your research needs and determine the best option for assisting you.
Online Access – To access most of the library’s online information resources, you must be a student or employee of the university and possess valid credentials, including a username and password. The credentials you will need to access the library’s online information resources are different from the ones used to logon to campus computers or email.
For instructions on how to obtain credentials for online access to the library, please see How to Access Weis Library’s Online Information Resources.
Computer Use
The library’s computers are for the use of the current students and employees of the university and not available to the general public. You may be required to show your WAU identification card to validate you are authorized to use the library’s computers. Alumni are permitted to use the computers at the discretion of library staff.
Borrowing Privileges
Identification Cards – You must be a student or employee of the university and possess a valid WAU identification card to borrow books, videos, and other information resources from the library.
Borrowing Privileges – The following patrons are privileged to borrow items from the library using valid identification cards and in accord with the stated loan limits and periods:
| Patron Type | Loan Limit | Loan Period* |
| Traditional Students | 15 items | 30 days |
| SGPS Students | 15 items | 30 days |
| Full-Time Faculty | 20 items | 120 days |
| Adjunct Faculty | 10 items | 30 days |
| Staff | 10 items | 30 days |
* This loan period refers to circulating books. Other items such as videos and course reserves will have shorter loan periods.
Circulating Items – The following types of items can be borrowed from Weis Library by students and employees of the university and by other libraries through interlibrary loan:
- Books
- Articles (photocopied)
- Videos
Non-Circulating Items – The following types of items cannot be borrowed from Weis Library by students and employees of the university nor by other libraries through interlibrary loan:
- Reference Books
- Magazines
- Journals
- CDs
- Music Scores
Also, materials contained in special collections such as the Adventist Heritage Room and the Music Library cannot circulate.
Overdue Items – When patrons have borrowed items that are overdue, the library will attempt to notify them initially by email and eventually by phone. A failure to respond to an overdue notice and return any borrowed item(s) to the library by the deadlines stated in the email notices will result in fines and fees being charged to your university account.
Fines & Fees – Patrons that borrow and do not return library items will be charged both the cost of replacing each item and a processing fee per item. Patrons may also incur late fines.
Interlibrary Loans
Students, faculty, and staff can request that Weis Library obtain information resources on their behalf through interlibrary loan (ILL). Interlibrary loan requests can be initiated by patrons either electronically through WorldCat Discovery or manually by completing an interlibrary loan form.
For further instructions on using WorldCat Discovery to make an ILL request, please contact the library at 301-891-4217 or library@wau.edu. To learn more about interlibrary loan services and the conditions for making an ILL request, please see the Interlibrary Loan Form.
Course Reserves
Faculty may place books, textbooks, and other information resources on course reserves at the library’s Circulation Desk for their students to borrow for brief periods of time. Once processed, the items placed on reserves can be identified by faculty and students on the library’s Course Reserves website.
To learn more about course reserves services and the conditions for placing items on reserve, please see the Course Reserves Form.
Collection Development
Collection development is the term libraries use to describe the processes for identifying and acquiring information resources for their collections and patrons. Faculty are welcome to recommend information resources to the library that support their academic department’s curriculum and are suitable for an academic library.
To learn more about the collection development process and the conditions for recommending information resources for the library to acquire, please see the Collection Development Form.
