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Our services: Borrow from us: Vacations

From borrowing to returning, loan periods to details of charges for late returns - this guide has all the information you need about borrowing from us.

Borrowing during vacations  

You may continue to borrow books during the vacation period. Items that you borrow will renew automatically every three weeks for 12 months, as long as they haven’t been reserved by another user.

Remember to check your library account through "My Library Card" on Discover regularly to make sure none of your items become overdue during the holiday period. 

Please be aware that items can still be reserved by other users - this stops the automatic renewal, and you may be asked to return it before the end of the vacation. 

If you are concerned you may be unable to return an item during the vacation period, we recommend that you do not borrow it.  
 

Reservations during vacation period 

Reservations can still be placed on items during the vacation period.

  • During the vacation period the notice period for reserved items remains 7 days, with the exception of the summer vacation where it is increased to 14 days for standard loan items.

  • You must be prepared to return an item to the Library throughout any vacation period. If you cannot return a book to the Library in person, you may post items back to the Library using our free postal returns service within the UK.

  • If you are in the UK, you can return items to the Bill Bryson Library by using our book drop, self-service returns machines or via our free postal service. Find out more on our Returns guide.


Library charges  

Currently, charges are only being added on reserved items.

  • If you have charges of £10 or above, you will be unable to borrow or renew any items.  
  • Charges can be paid online by logging into your library account.  
  • Charges on reserved books which are returned late will not be waived.  

We recommend that you regularly check your library account and University email account throughout vacation periods.  


Electronic resources  

Electronic resources available through the Library website can be accessed from home throughout the vacation period. You can search and access our electronic resources in Discover. See our subject guides for more support. You may be asked to log in using your CIS username and password. 


Visiting other academic libraries 

Visit our website for details of our position with the SCONUL Access scheme.

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