Items that you borrow will renew automatically every three weeks for 12 months, as long as they haven’t been reserved by another user. If an item has been reserved, this stops the automatic renewal, and you will need to arrange to return them, either using our book drop facility if you're in Durham or our free postal returns service. For more information, visit our Borrow from us guide.
If you have books you've finished with, please return them to the Library before you leave Durham. Our book drop next to the main entrance at Bill Bryson Library will be open whenever the Library is closed throughout the Christmas period.
For more information, visit our Borrowing during vacation guide.
You can use our library catalogue, Discover, to find items on your reading list. You can also use it to search our printed and online resources, as well as finding details items held in our museums and special collections:
The IT Service Desk at Bill Bryson Library will be closed from 5pm on Tuesday 22 December and will reopen at 9am on Monday 5 January 2026. IT Service Desk support is available through Self Service and Live Chat until 8pm on Friday 20 December.
If you need any help, you can still log issues via the self-service portal, and they will be answered when the desk reopens. You can also visit My Digital Durham, where you will find lots of resources to help and support you.
Resource to help support your academic writing, personal productivity and other academic study skills will still be available over the vacation period. Details on how to access online learning resources can be found on the Academic Skills Student Services SharePoint page.
Why not take time during the vacation to develop your research skills? Our Finding Information tutorials will help you to search for good quality academic resources and literature effectively.