LibraryBorrow, renew, reserve & return books

As a student at Strathclyde, you automatically become a member of the Library. Your student card also acts as your Library card or you can use the Library barcode on the Strathclyde mobile app.

All members of Strathclyde staff are also members of the Library. You can access online resources using your DS username and password, however you'll need to fill in a membership form to get a Library card and borrow print items.

You have an online Library account so that you can keep an eye on what you’ve borrowed and pay any outstanding fines. You can also request items which are on loan to other students. Log in to your account by following the links on SUPrimo.

Borrowing items

What you can borrow at any one time:

• undergraduates: up to 15 items
• postgraduates: up to 20 items
• University staff: up to 30 items

All University staff and students can borrow a maximum of three items from the Short Loan Collection at any one time.

Loan periods

You borrow books yourself using the self-service kiosks on Level 3 of the Library. We can show you how to use these but do not worry - it’s easy and you’ll soon get the hang of it.

We may ask you to bring a book back to the Library sooner than you expect, we'll do this if another student has requested the book. Please check your Strathclyde email regularly to avoid being fined for not returning a book when we ask you to.

Renewing items

We automatically renew your loans, unless another customer has reserved them or your account has been blocked.

We'll continue to automatically renew your loans for a maximum of:

• 24 weeks for Standard Loans
• six weeks for one Week Loans
• one week for Short Loans

After this time you will need to bring your loans into the Library during opening hours if you wish to renew them.

We'll email you if your loans are needed by someone else. Fines apply if you do not return items when asked, so you must regularly check your Strathclyde email.

Reserving items

If a book you're looking for is currently on loan to someone else, you may place a reservation on it.

We'll email the person who has the book to ask them to bring it back to the Library.

If you have borrowed a book and get an email from us telling you a reservation has been placed on it, you must bring the book back to the Library. It is important to check the new return date in the email or you may be subject to a fine.

Returning items

Return items using the returns sorter at the main entrance, staff can show you how. We also currently offer a Freepost returns service for people living in the UK.

Responsibility for items on loan

You're responsible for all items borrowed using your card, so do not let anyone else use it. Contact Information Services immediately if you lose your student card, a book or other Library resource.