General Library Guide: Borrow

All libraries have self-service machines.  Most items can be issued on our self-service machines, but certain items (such as inter-library loans obtained via the document delivery service) will need to be collected and issued from the Library Welcome Desk.

What do the self-service machines do?

They can do some, or all, of the following, depending upon the self-service machine you are using:

• Issue items
• Renew items
• Return items
• Issue items you have reserved that are awaiting collection

How do they work?

Full instructions are displayed on the machine’s screen.

You will need your Greenwich Gateway ID card.

Why won't it let me borrow? 

If for any reason you are blocked from borrowing in a library, it could be because of any one of these things:

• You have an item which is overdue. An item only becomes overdue when one of our other library user has reserved it an no other copy is available. 
• You have reached the maximum number of items you are allowed to loan from across all the libraries. (see below)
• You have items on your account and you are finishing, or have finished, your course

To unblock your account and borrow books again:

• Return any overdue items.
• Bring back 1 or more items.
• If you are finishing, or have finished,  your course, it is essential that you return all of the items on your account.

How long can I borrow an item for?

You can borrow an item for a minimum of 7 days or 4 weeks depending on its loan period. We clearly mark 7 day loan items with a yellow "7 Day Loan" sticker which is usually found on the item's spine (or as near to it as possible). If no "7 day loan" sticker is present, it is most likely to be a 4 week loan item. You can check your library account status and all return dates via LibrarySearch (My Account > Checkouts).

All items are renewed automatically unless another user reserves it in which case all copies are recalled and all users need to return their copy by the due date to avoid your account being blocked. Once the reservation(s) is met, all other copies will be renewed.

We will send loan reminders by email once a semester.

How many items can I borrow?