Borrowing books from the Balfour Library
How to see if a book is on loan
Loan periods
Important: BOOKS CANNOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM CAMBRIDGE. All of our books are subject to recall by other readers and so we need to be able to get them back easily if required. Please make sure that you return all books on loan to you BEFORE you leave Cambridge for any period of time.
However, vacation borrowing exists for the Christmas and Easter vacations for undergraduates only.
Undergraduates may borrow a maximum of two titles at any one time.
Research workers in the Department of Zoology may borrow 10 Open Shelf books for the length of term / vacation, + 2 Overnight Loan books (overnight only).
Overnight Loan books can be borrowed after 4:00pm Monday to Thursday and MUST be returned by 11:00am the following day. On a Friday, Overnight Loan books can be borrowed after 3:30pm, and MUST be returned on Monday morning by 11:00am. During vacations research workers in the Department of Zoology and non-members of the Department of Zoology can borrow Overnight Loan books for 2 weeks at a time.
Books on ordinary shelves (2 week loans) may be borrowed by undergraduates and members of other departments for up to two weeks, subject to recall.
Loan periods can be extended to cater for readers who may have particular requirements, please see the Disabled access page for more information.
How to borrow a book
You will need to register your University Card with us before you are able to borrow. Please find instructions on how to do this here.
There is a 'self-check' facility in the Library, which readers, after registration, use to issue ALL books to yourself, 24 hours a day (access to the library granted to card holders only).
This consists of a PC with a flat-screen monitor, keyboard, mouse and barcode scanner. These are located on the corner shelf outside the Library Office. This shelf is monitored by one of the CCTV cameras present in the Library.
The basic principle is that you will scan your University Card or Cambridge University Library card barcode, then type in your surname, and then scan in the barcode of the book(s) you want to borrow. Upon successful issue, the system will desensitise the book(s) so that you can take it out of the library without triggering the alarm.
Only books that have been borrowed legitimately, i.e. within a reader's borrowing rights according to their status and the number of books they can borrow, will be issued and desensitised in this way. It will NOT be possible for books to be issued unless the person borrowing them is eligible to.
How to use self-check
- Scan your University Card / University Library Card
- Type in your last name
- Click on "Next"
- Open the book at the page where the barcode is located on one of the front, right hand side pages
- Place the book on the plate and scan the barcode
- Wait for the green light underneath the scanner to come on. KEEP THE BOOK ON THE PLATE UNDERNEATH THE BARCODE SCANNER UNTIL THE GREEN LIGHT GOES OFF
- Note the book's due date as displayed on the screen
- Follow this procedure for each book
- Click on "Finish"
If you set off the alarm when you leave the library, try issuing the book again, making sure you have followed these instructions carefully. If the alarm still goes off, please put the book in the Drop Box and library staff will deal with it the next day.
Special arrangements for the borrowing of books can be made if you cannot use the self-check facility, contact the Librarian for more information.
How to return a book
Sign your name and the book details in the Returns Register, which is located on the old wooden desk outside the Library Office.
Leave the book(s) in the Drop Box underneath the desk, for Library staff to return on the circulation system and re-shelve. DO NOT put them straight back on the shelf.
How to renew a book
The 'My library account' widget via Library Search (see the link to this in the top right-hand corner of the Library Search screen) can be used to renew your books and see what you have on loan from all the libraries in Cambridge that you have registered with. Simply enter your borrower number in the Barcode box. This is the 5-character code beginning with 'V' printed on the reverse of your University Card or on the front of your University Library Card. Enter your last name in the box below this. Click on the 'Log in' button. Click on the title of the book to renew it.
Sometimes online renewals may not work because the book you are trying to renew is already overdue, you may have renewed the book as many times as you are permitted to, or the book may have been requested by another reader. In these instances please contact the library concerned for assistance.
If you want to:
- See and renew your books on loan, or search Library Search without accessing the catalogue itself, try the iGoogle gadget - view and renew books on loan, view and cancel outstanding requests and access Library Search from your iGoogle homepage with this widget: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/toolbox/igoogle.html. A Raven username or library card barcode is required.
- There is also a Facebook application for this tool at: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/toolbox/facebook.html
If you want to:
- Access your library account in CamTools, log in to CamTools at https://camtools.cam.ac.uk/, then click on (Customise) next to "My Startpage" and select Cambridge Libraries Widget from the list.
How to see if a book is on loan
At the end of the book's catalogue record on Library Search, the book's 'Status' is given. If it's currently on loan, the status will be 'Charged' or 'Renewed' and a due date for return provided. If the book isn't on loan, the status will be 'Not on Loan'. On LibrarySearch a book is either 'Charged' or 'Discharged' / 'Available'.
If you are having problems locating a book on the shelves that you think should be there, please contact Library staff for assistance.
How to recall a book
You can do this remotely via Library Search, click on the 'Help' link in the top right-hand corner of the Library Search page at http://search.lib.cam.ac.uk/, but you can also ask Library staff to recall a book for you.