Tech Lending

Students can reserve a laptop, iPad, camera, sound systems, and other technology accessories.

Reserve Equipment

Connect with Tech Lending staff: 101F Parks Library, 515-294-1564, lib-support@iastate.edu, start an online chat

How long can students borrow technology?

Most technology can be checked out for 14 days.

  • Headphones can only be checked out for 2 days.
  • Sound systems and their accessories can only be checked out for 5 days.
  • Mobile hotspots can only be checked out for 7 days, no extensions, once a semester.

For laptops, iPads, graphics tablets, and cameras, projectors and projector screen you may only have one item of each type out at a time. Laptops and iPads are considered to be the same type of item. To allow access for others, you must wait 48 hours from the time you returned your item before making a new reservation for these categories. This includes turning in a laptop and reserving an iPad – you must wait 48 hours.

Reserving equipment

You can reserve equipment online up to 3 days in advance. We will email you when your items are ready.

We will hold your reservation for 24 hours but if you don’t show up, we will cancel it.

Picking up equipment

Students can show an ISU card, valid physical government ID, or the GET app to checkout.

Our staff will confirm the items and check they are working. We encourage you to alert staff of any damage or missing parts as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours of checkout.

We can offer basic support for using equipment. Email lib-support@iastate.edu with specific questions.

Returning equipment

Return your equipment to the Tech Lending desk where you picked it up on or before your due date.

Do not return equipment to any book drop or to the Main Desk. We will confirm that all parts of the equipment are present.

Understanding your responsibilities

  • Return your equipment on time, and only to the Tech Lending desk. If equipment is more than 2 days late, you may lose borrowing privileges. Do not return the equipment to any book drop or to the Main Desk.
  • Save your data on a flash drive or in the cloud. When laptops power off, restart, or crash, all data is erased. To save documents to your school OneDrive account as you are working, turn on AutoSave and log in.
  • Keep your equipment working and safe. If equipment breaks beyond repair, is stolen, or you lose it, you are responsible for both replacement charges and processing fees. If the cost to replace an item is greater than $500 the processing fee is $100. If it's less than $500, the fee is $25. If you return an item damaged, you may permanently lose your borrowing privileges.

Understanding charges for damages, missing parts, and late or non-return

  • Items returned damaged – we charge you a $100 repair fee.
  • Items returned without all parts – if you do not know where the part is, we will charge you a $25 non-refundable processing fee and the replacement cost of the part. If you return the missing part, we will remove the replacement cost of the part.
  • Items returned between 6 and 30 days late – we charge you either a $25 or $100 non-refundable processing fee. If the cost to replace an item is greater than $500 the processing fee is $100. If it's less than $500, the fee is $25. We also add the replacement cost to your U-Bill, but if returned within 30 days we can completely remove it.
  • Items returned more than 30 days late – each 30-day period, 5% of the replacement cost of the item becomes non-refundable.

If never returned, you must pay the full replacement cost of the item plus the processing fee.

Losing borrowing privileges

You will lose borrowing privileges for late returns of more than one day.

Days late or times returning damaged item, or missing a part Loss of privileges
2 days late or 1st time 1 week
3 days late or 2nd time 2 weeks
4 days late or 3rd time 4 weeks
5 days late or 4th time Full semester*
2nd offense of 2 – 4 days late Full semester*
2nd offense of 5 days late Total loss of privileges

*You must submit a 5-day late ban appeal before your borrowing privileges can be restored. We will email you the ban appeal form at the end of the semester.

You may also lose borrowing privileges for a semester if you leave equipment unattended in the library or elsewhere.

Checking out equipment for other students or any other person for any reason will also cause you to lose your privileges for a semester.

Other options for staff and faculty

Staff and faculty should contact Collaborative Technology Services to reserve equipment. Students checking out items for staff or faculty is in violation of our policy.

Support provided by

CASTLE funded the laptops, iPads, graphics tablets, headphones, and power accessories. Student Government funded the cameras, camera accessories, projector, screen, and sound systems accessories.

Effective 5/15/2023.