Borrow and reserve items

How to borrow, return, order and reserve items from the Bodleian Libraries.

Borrow items

Who can borrow?

Current University of Oxford staff and students can borrow items from our lending libraries.
Registered OUH NHS Trust readers with a valid Bodleian Health Care Libraries card can borrow up to 10 items at any one time from our Health Care Libraries.

Bodleian Reader card holders can use items while in our libraries, but they cannot borrow.

How to borrow

You can see which items can be borrowed on SOLO, the University's main library catalogue. Many items can be found on open shelves in the libraries, but some need to be requested from offsite storage.

If you're eligible to borrow items, you can use a self-scan machine (if available) or check them out at the library information desk.

If you're unable to visit a library in person to borrow items, please nominate someone to collect available books on your behalf by emailing full details to the relevant library.

Library rules for borrowed items

Please look after items you have borrowed from our libraries, so that they are kept in good condition for other readers.

You may not lend or transfer a borrowed book to anyone else, except where this has been agreed with the issuing library.
You are responsible for items issued to you until you have returned them.
You must protect items issued to you and must not damage them or expose them to hazardous conditions.
You must not write in, mark, or otherwise deface or damage library items in any way.

What can I borrow and for how long?

Your allowance for borrowing applies across all Bodleian Libraries that offer lending. College libraries have separate lending policies.

You can check your borrowing allowances below. Sign in to SOLO to see the loan policy for a given item (e.g. 7 Day Loan or Use in Library Only).

If you have disclosed a disability, you may be eligible for extended loan periods, increased loan limits and proxy borrowing.

Some libraries also offer vacation borrowing for all or part of their lending collections, which extends ordinary loan periods over University holidays. Check with your local library for details.

Undergraduates

Undergraduates can borrow a total of 20 books across the Bodleian Libraries at any one time. There are 3 categories of loanable books across the libraries.

	Loan period	Loan limit	Maximum renewal period	Automatic renewals
Same Day Loan	3 hours	3 items	Can't be renewed	No
Short Loan	2 days	5 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes
Week Loan	7 days	20 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes

Taught postgraduates

Taught postgraduates can borrow a total of 20 books across the Bodleian Libraries at any one time. There are three categories of loanable books across the libraries.

	Loan period	Loan limit	Maximum renewal period	Automatic renewals
Same Day Loan	3 hours	3 items	Can't be renewed	No
Short Loan	2 days	5 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes
Week Loan	7 days	20 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes

Research postgraduates

Research postgraduates can borrow a total of 30 books across the Bodleian Libraries at any one time. There are four categories of loanable books across the libraries.

	Loan period	Loan limit	Maximum renewal period	Automatic renewals
Same Day Loan	3 hours	3 items	Can't be renewed	No
Short Loan	2 days	5 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes
Week Loan	7 days	30 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes
Long Loan	28 days	30 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes

University of Oxford staff

Staff can borrow a total of 40 books across the Bodleian Libraries at any one time. There are four categories of loanable books across the libraries.

	Loan period	Loan limit	Maximum renewal period	Automatic renewals
Same Day Loan	3 hours	3 items	Can't be renewed	No
Short Loan	2 days	5 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes
Week Loan	7 days	40 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes
Long Loan	28 days	40 items	112 days (16 weeks)	Yes

Reserve items on loan to someone else

If all of the copies of a book that you need to use are out on loan, you can place a reservation. This will prevent further renewals. You will be contacted by email when the book is ready for you to borrow.

Renew items

Items you have borrowed will be automatically renewed where possible, usually 1–2 days before the due date.

You can also manually renew items if you'd like to set the due date to a certain day of the week, either on SOLO, or at a library desk when the library is open. Read our guide to renewing your items on SOLO. Some libraries will also allow you to renew items by email or by phone. If you are not using SOLO, renewal requests must be handled by the library from which the item was borrowed.

Sign in to SOLO to view the items you have borrowed and when they are due back.

If a renewal is not automatically renewed, this may be because:

the item has reached its maximum renewal period, usually 112 days (16 weeks)
the item has been reserved by another reader
your card has expired or is due to expire

If you think there may be a problem, contact the library from which you borrowed the item.

Maximum renewal period

All loans, except Same Day Loans, have a maximum renewal period of 112 days (16 weeks) from the date of the original loan. They can't be renewed again after this period has ended. If you wish to continue using an item after this period, you'll need to bring it back to the library to be re-issued.

If you are due to finish your course, your loans will be due back before your University card expires.

Request items

You can request items that are out on loan or stored offsite. You'll receive an email when the item is ready to collect or consult. You'll have up to 7 days to collect your reservation. If you no longer need the requested item, please contact the library as soon as possible so it can be accessed by other library users.

You can have up to 20 requests at any one time across all Oxford libraries. (This is separate to the limit for Scan and Deliver, which is 2 requests at any one time.)

Return items

All books must be returned to the library they were borrowed from.

Please return your items promptly. Our library collections are often in high demand, and this ensures fair access for other library users to carry out their studies and research.

If you do not return your books within the due date when requested, you will be blocked from any further borrowing until the issue is resolved. This will apply across all the Bodleian Libraries.

Lost items

If you have lost an item borrowed from one of the Bodleian Libraries, contact the library from which the item was borrowed with the author’s name, the title of the book, the shelfmark (if possible) and your name and email address.

If the book is not found, you will usually be required to pay a lost book charge. The library will send you an invoice to cover replacement costs, which will include processing and administration charges, and instructions on how to pay. Some libraries allow payment for lost books through the University’s online store.