Borrower information

We urge Library members to please read the Library regulations and to familiarise themselves with our loans, returns and renewal procedures. To avoid any unwelcome suprises please read the section below about Library fines. >

Information for borrowers

You will need your Library card whenever you want to borrow material from the Library. We have three self-issue machines located in the circulation hall on the 4th floor in the South Block that will allow you to borrow books without having to queue at service points, please follow the instructions on the screen. To ensure that you have checked your books out correctly, please examine your receipt carefully, the receipt will also provide the date each item is due back. If you experience any problems checking out a book, or if you would like a demonstration of how to use the self issue and self return machines, please see a member of staff at the circulation desk. Alternatively you can take your items straight to the circulation desk, there the book will be issued to you and the date it is due for return will be stamped inside the cover.

Most books can be borrowed for up to four weeks with some of our more popular books on a one or two week loan period. Reference items are not for loan.

Loan allocations

  • University of London undergraduates can borrow up to 8 books at a time
  • University of London taught postgraduates can borrow up to 10 books at a time
  • University of London research postgraduates and academic staff may borrow up to 12 books at a time
  • Study abroad programmes borrowers may borrow up to 8 books for 2 weeks at a time
  • SCONUL Band A borrowers may borrow up to 4 books at a time
  • For all other borrowing categories, up to 8 books may be borrowed at a time

Please remember to return or renew the book by the due date or a fine will be charged. Always check your Library account to ensure you are aware of any due dates, fines or charges.

The Issue Desks closes 15 minutes before the advertised Library closing time. Please make sure you allow sufficient time for your books to be issued. Please do not attempt to leave the Library with any item which has not been issued to you.

Returning books

The date a book is recorded on your Library record. You can check the due date of any book you have borrowed at any time by checking your library account .

All books can be returned to the Returns Desk on the 4th floor South Block where we also have a self-returns machine. Please follow the instructions on the screen and remember to take your receipt with you. Remember that you are responsible for the safekeeping and timely return of all books borrowed on your Library card. Please return them to the Returns Desk by the due date or you will be charged for each day that the book is overdue. If you would like help using the self return machine, please ask a member of staff at the circulation or the enquiry desk counter and they will be pleased to assist you.

A Returns Box is located on the ground floor of the south block of Senate House next to the reception desk. This is available from 7 am to 9.30 pm Monday to Friday and from 9am to 6pm on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays. It is emptied at the start of each day Monday - Saturday. Please note, all books in the box count as being returned to the Library on the morning it is opened and the books are checked in by library staff not the day before.

A dropbox for returned books is conveniently situated at our Egham Offsite Store for Senate House Library users at Royal Holloway. The dropbox is located near the entrance of the Offsite Store, which is at Spring Rise. It is available for use Monday to Friday between 9.00AM and 4.00PM.

We recommend that you return items in person as they remain your responsibility until they are received by the Library. If you do have to post items back to us we advise the use of a signed for service such as Recorded Delivery. The address to use to return your books is: - Book Returns, Senate House Library, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

Renewing books

Items that you have on loan can be renewed, provided that someone else has not reserved them, you do not have any outstanding charges of over £3 on your Library card and your library membership is still current.

There are three ways to renew:

  • Online through your library account by using the Log in option.
  • By telephone on 0207 862 8500 option 1
  • At any Issue Desk in the Library

Please remember that fines are charged on overdue books so please ensure you renew any books you are still consulting before they are due for return.

Fines and charges

To encourage the prompt return of items fines on books from the Senate House Library collections are charged at 30p per day. Please note that different levels of fines apply to other collections. Please see the information regarding the ISA and ICOMM collections below. Readers will not be allowed to borrow or renew books if they have a fine of £3 or more.

There is a replacement charge of £50 for each lost book. You may, if you prefer, buy a replacement copy of the lost book yourself. Replacement copies which are provided by readers to replace lost or damaged library materials are subject to a £10 fee for administration and processing. Fines drop to a maximum of £10.20 for a late return.

There is a replacement charge of £10 for lost Library cards.

Fines for ISA Collection

Fines for ISA books are charged at a rate of 30p per day per book. These items are 1 week loans. Fines drop to a maximum of £10.20 for a late return. There is a £50 billed fee and a £10 administration fee for replacing a lost or damaged book.

Fines for ISA Teaching Collection

All ISA teaching collection books are issued during the day for two hours at a time only and then must be renewed. Overnight loan are issued between 4pm until 10am the next day. Weekend loans are from 4pm Friday until 10 am Monday. Fines for this collection are £1 per hour. Fines drop to £50 maximum for a late return. There is a £50 billed fee and a £10 administration fee for replacing a lost or damaged book.

Fines for ICOMM Teaching Collection

There is a two day loan period for full time students and a one week loan period for part time students. Fines are charged at £1 per day. No courtesy notices are sent. There is a £50 billed fee and a £10 administration fee for replacing a lost or damaged book. Fines drop to £25 maximum for a late return.

Library notices

Please note that we contact our users by email. It is the reader's responsibility to return books to the library on time. While the Library makes every effort to contact readers, we cannot confirm or guarantee delivery of notices. Failure to receive a Library notice, for whatever reason, will not be deemed sufficient grounds for being exempted from paying fines. Please ensure the Library has your correct email address and that you check your emails on a regular basis. Readers can check their contact details by logging on to their account via the Library catalogue.

Important warning to Hotmail users
The Hotmail default setup filters out emails sent by anyone other than your selection of nominated email addresses. You MUST adjust your Hotmail account to allow our notices to pass through the Hotmail default filter. Please make sure that this address: circadm@catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk is setup as authorised to send you email. Failing to adjust the Hotmail filter will result in our notices being treated as junkmail.

Library services and handheld devices
We are unable to guarantee that emails from Senate House Library will be received if you are using a handheld device such as an iPhone or Blackberry or that we will receive emails sent from such devices. Nor can we guarantee that access to our online services including the catalogue, renewals and online databases will work correctly from such devices. If you wish to contact us or use our electronic services we strongly advise that you use a notebook or desktop computer.

Reserving books

If the book you want is on loan to another reader you can reserve it as follows: search the catalogue for the item you want and click on the title. If it is on loan, under "other sources" choose the "classic catalogue" option on the right hand side, click on the "request it" button. Follow the on-screen instructions. You will be prompted to type in your name and user number (the number written underneath the barcode on your Library ticket). When typing in your user number, ensure that you type in the whole number without leaving any spaces and include any final check digit or character such as X . Once a reservation has been placed on a book, it will not be possible for the current reader to renew the item again and it will need to be returned by that reader on or before the due date to prevent fines incurring.

You will be notified by email when the book is available for you, or you may check your account via the Catalogue by choosing the Log in option. Reserved books will be held for 8 days, and can be collected from the Circulation Desk on the 4th floor of the library.

Your library record

You can check your Library Record using the Catalogue. Choose the Log in option and follow the on-screen instructions.

You will need to type in your name and Library ticket number in order to access your record. Type in the whole number as it appears underneath the barcode on your Library ticket (omitting any spaces) and the final check digit or character such as X..

Using this option you can:

  • Check your name, address and any other personal information kept about you by the Library
  • Check when your membership with the library expires
  • Check which books you have on loan (checked out) and when they are due for return
  • Renew any books which are due for return that you still require
  • Check any reservations (holds) you have made
  • Check any outstanding charges (unpaid fines) you may have

Please keep your Library ticket safe and report its loss immediately to prevent unauthorised access to your record. Tel. 020 7862 8439.

Postal loan service

If you have borrowing membership of Senate House Library we can post books out to you upon request. We only post books to addresses in the UK and Ireland.

Placing an order
To order postal loans, please use the online Postal Loan Order Form.

What can be posted?
We can post out anything that can normally be borrowed. This means we cannot lend periodicals, Reference Only books, or books that were published more than 100 years ago. We may sometime decline to post an item out if we consider it to be too large or fragile.

How long will it take?
Most requests will be satisfied within 3 working days. We use Parcel Force’s 48 hour service to ship items to you.If any of the items you have ordered are unavailable we will contact you to let you know before posting anything to you.

What does it cost?
The cost is £9 per parcel. We will parcel books up in such a way that it works out at the cheapest possible cost.We will contact you before posting anything if more than one parcel will be required.

How to pay?
The total amount is added to your library account as a bill. You can then pay by cheque when you return the items. Cheques should be made payable to ‘University of London’.

Please note, that you will be unable to access electronic resources, or renew your books until you have paid the postage costs. You may therefore wish to pay over the telephone, rather than waiting until you return the books. To pay over the telephone, please call 0207 862 8500 and quote your membership number.

Returning books
You may return books either in person or by post. However, you remain responsible for the books until we actually receive them. You may therefore wish to use registered post with insurance. If a book is lost or damaged before it reaches us, you will be liable for the replacement cost. Please post you books to: Book returns, Senate House Library, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU.