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Borrowing a Book

Found a book you want to read? Here’s how to request it, pick it up, and keep track of your loan.

Finding Available Books

Section titled “Finding Available Books”

Books show their availability status on the book card:

  • Available — Ready to borrow now
  • On Loan — Currently borrowed by someone else (you can join the waitlist)
  • X copies available — Multiple copies exist, showing how many are available

[Screenshot: book cards showing different availability states]

Requesting a Book

Section titled “Requesting a Book”
  1. Tap the book to open its details page
  2. Tap Request to Borrow
  3. If the book is in multiple libraries, select which library you want to borrow from
  4. Wait for approval

[Screenshot: request to borrow confirmation]

What happens next:

  • Library-owned books: Usually approved instantly—you’ll be notified right away
  • Member-owned books: The owner receives your request and typically responds within 24 hours

Tracking Your Request

Section titled “Tracking Your Request”

Check your request status anytime:

  1. Tap Loans in the navigation
  2. Under the Borrowing tab, find your book
  3. Current status and any available actions appear on the card

Picking Up Your Book

Section titled “Picking Up Your Book”

Once approved, the owner will drop off the book at the library (or arrange a direct handoff).

When the book is ready:

  1. You’ll receive a notification
  2. Go to the library location shown in the notification
  3. Find the book on the designated shelf
  4. Tap Confirm Pickup in the app

Pickup window: You have 7 days to pick up the book. If you don’t pick it up in time, the loan is cancelled and the next person in the waitlist gets the book.

[Screenshot: pickup confirmation screen with library location]

During Your Loan

Section titled “During Your Loan”

Loan period: Most libraries set a 21-day loan period. You’ll see your due date on the loan details.

Reminders:

  • 3 days before due: “Due soon” reminder
  • Due date: “Due today” reminder
  • Day after: “Overdue” notice

Extending Your Loan

Section titled “Extending Your Loan”

Need more time? Starting 7 days before your due date, you can request one extension per loan:

  1. Go to Loans and open the book’s loan details
  2. Tap Request Extension
  3. Choose how many additional days you need (up to 14)

Extension approval:

  • If no one is on the waitlist: Usually auto-approved
  • If someone is waiting: The owner decides
  • No response within 48 hours: Auto-approved if no waitlist, otherwise auto-declined

Cancelling Your Request

Section titled “Cancelling Your Request”

You can cancel a request any time before you have the book in hand (while it’s pending, being dropped off, or waiting for pickup):

  1. Go to Loans or the book’s detail page
  2. Find the loan
  3. Tap Cancel Request

This frees up the book for the next person in line. Once you’ve picked up the book, use the return flow instead of cancelling.

Tips

Section titled “Tips”
  • Enable notifications — Time-sensitive actions like pickup have deadlines
  • Pick up promptly — Missing the pickup window affects your reliability score
Section titled “Related Articles”

Still Need Help?

Section titled “Still Need Help?”

If you’re having trouble borrowing a book, contact support.