Our services: Borrow from us: Borrow

Borrow

You can access Bill Bryson Library to browse the shelves and borrow any available books you require. You must bring your campus card in order to access the building and borrow any books. 

How many items can I borrow?  

• University Staff, Research Postgraduates: 40  
• Taught Postgraduates: 30  
• Undergraduates, International Study Centre students: 20  
• Associate & Subscription borrowers: 7  

 
How long can I borrow items for?  

Items that you borrow will renew automatically every three weeks for 12 months, as long as they haven’t been reserved by another user. After 12 months, you will then need to return these items to the library. (Please note, College items automatically renew for six months.)

See our separate page for details of overdue charges.

How to borrow an item

• Head to the self-service machines on Level 2, next to The Snug
• Scan the barcode on your campus card
• Scan the barcode on your item(s). The barcode should be on the front cover of the item; if not, look inside the back cover. 
• Once you have borrowed all your items, press Finished on the screen.

Visit our Getting Started guide to watch our helpful video guide. If you have any problems borrowing an item, please take it to the Help and Information Desk.

Online access to electronic resources

Our electronic resources are available in a digital format so you can access the information you need online. These resources include eBooks, eJournals, databases and eTheses. 

There are a few ways to access our electronic resources:

• use our online library catalogue, Discover - simply type in words from the title, a topic or an author to get started
• in many cases, your online reading list will link directly to an electronic copy of the resources listed for each module of your course
• your subject guides, created by your Faculty Librarian, provide access to some key electronic resources as well as wider reading for your subject

Requesting resources

You can ask to see items that we don't have in our collections, suggest new items or ask for additional copies, or request access to our print resources if you are not currently living in Durham.

• Visit our Reserve guide for information on making a reservation for an item already on loan, or to reserve items held at Divines Library, Ushaw College or our Remote Store
• Visit our Request guide for information on requesting a new purchase or an additional copy, or to request items through Inter-Library Loans, Scan and Deliver or Postal Loans services.