Home Delivery

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*NOTE: The MUL Home Delivery service is limited to patrons who live more than 30 miles from any MU campus library (King Library, Wertz Art & Architecture Library, Amos Music Library, Gardner-Harvey Library [Middletown campus], and the Rentschler Library [Hamilton campus]).

To help patrons access research materials quickly and efficiently, current Miami University students, faculty, and staff can request to have physical items (e.g., books, DVDs) found in the Miami University Libraries (MUL) collections or requested via OhioLINK or Interlibrary Loan (ILL) delivered to homes located in the United States via the US Postal Service (USPS).*

Items cannot be shipped to P.O. boxes. International shipping options may be limited. A member of the library staff will contact patrons who place international shipping requests if they cannot be fulfilled.

Placing Home Delivery Requests

Prior to placing Home Delivery requests, you must complete the online Authorization Form.

When requesting items from the MUL collections or OhioLINK choose "Home/USPS" as the pickup location.

If you order something from ILL, and would like the item delivered to your home, contact the library once you receive notification that they have received your requested item(s).

Keep in mind that turn-around time for your receipt of materials depends on many factors and cannot be guaranteed. For example, some materials need to come from off-campus to the MUL to be processed for Home Delivery, and this can add three to seven or more days to normal USPS Media Mail delivery times, that are usually 2-8 business days. Please plan accordingly and place requests in a timely manner.

Delivery Process

You will receive an email when the library has your requested item ready for delivery. Please note that if you request multiple items for home delivery at one time, library staff may wait to process your shipment until all of the materials are available.

Items are delivered by USPS Media Mail. You will receive an email notification with a tracking number when the item(s) you have requested have has been processed for shipment. Some of the loan period time will be lost while materials are in transit to you. For this reason, you may wish to pick up items with short loan periods, such as videos and DVDs at one of the MU campus libraries, or use King Library's Curbside Pickup service, Hamilton's Curbside Pickup service, or Middletown's Curbside Pickup service. Patrons living in Ohio can use OhioLINK's Pickup Anywhere service to have OhioLINK items delivered to an OhioLINK member library near them.

Returning Items

When ready to return items obtained through this service, patrons can request a USPS return shipping label from the library using the contact information found below. Alternately,
  • MUL and OhioLINK items may be returned to any of the libraries or book drops found on the Oxford campus or on the Regional Campuses.
  • MUL and OhioLINK items can be returned through campus mail: however, it is done at the patron's own risk as the MUL cannot be responsible for items lost or damaged in campus mail. Patrons are asked to return items through campus mail in the packaging they received them in. As items returned through campus mail will not be taken off a patron's record until they actually arrive at the circulation desk, patrons should account for transit time when returning items this way to avoid accruing overdue fines.
  • Patrons living in Ohio may return MUL and OhioLINK items to any OhioLINK member library. As items returned this way will not be taken off a patron's record until they actually arrive at the lending library, patrons should account for transit time when returning items this way to avoid accruing overdue fines.
  • Patrons may return MUL and OhioLINK items to any MUL via any commercial mail carrier such as UPS or FedEx at their own expense. Patrons are strongly encouraged to insure the item and include a tracking number. Otherwise they must accept responsibility for any material lost or damaged by the carrier. As items returned this way will not be taken off a patron's record until they actually arrive at the lending library, patrons should account for transit time when returning items this way to avoid accruing overdue fines.
  • NOTE: ILL items MUST be returned directly to the library that obtained the item for the patron. This can be done via drop-off at the library or one of its book drops, via campus mail, or using any mail carrier (e.g., UPS, FedEx) at their own expense. Patrons are strongly encouraged to insure the item and include a tracking number. Otherwise they must accept responsibility for any material lost or damaged by the carrier. As items returned this way will not be taken off a patron's record until they actually arrive at the lending library, patrons should account for transit time when returning items this way to avoid accruing overdue fines.

Contact the library with any questions about Home Delivery service.