Did you know the quickest and easiest way to return library books is at the Returns Room through the self-return machines? You will find the Returns Room on the Ground Floor of the Sir Duncan Rice Library, to the right of the main entrance.
Photo by Library staff
It’s as simple as placing the books through the slot one by one. They are removed from your borrowing record as soon as they have passed through. You don’t even need to use your ID card to return books this way.
You will also find an external slot on the right-hand side of the entrance to the Library. This is only available when the library is closed so you don’t need to wait for us to open to return your books! You will need your ID card to be able to use this.
Don’t forget to take your receipt as proof of your returned items.
Heavy Demand books can be returned in the Heavy Demand Area on Floor 1 (using the self-issue/returns machine), or at the Returns Room.
If you have any problems with book returns, please speak to any member of staff, or email library@abdn.ac.uk.
Welcome to the University of Aberdeen. We are pleased that you have chosen to study and do your research while using our resources. We also realise that you may have questions regarding how many books you can borrow, and our rules and regulations. Please read on to learn more about borrowing from the hundreds of thousands of high-quality books available in our Library Collections.
The table below shows you how many books you are able to borrow from our Libraries at any one time, depending on the type of Library Account you have.
Type of Library Account
Number of books you can borrow
Undergraduate Student
20
Taught Postgraduate Student
20
Research Postgraduate Student
40
University Staff
50
Temporary Services Staff
10
NHS Grampian Staff
10
External Members
10
SCONUL Access Students
5
How long can I borrow the books for?
The books available in all of our Libraries can be borrowed for different lengths of time, depending on how much they are expected to be used for teaching or research. See below for an explanation of the different loan types available and how you can easily identify them on the shelves.
Heavy Demand
How can I tell if a book is Heavy Demand?
There will be blue tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark. These books are core reading materials across all courses and therefore have the shortest loan periods in our collection. Please also be aware that you can only borrow 2 booksat a time from this collection.
How long is the loan?
1 day, due back 10.30am the next day – or Monday if borrowed on a Friday or over the weekend.
If borrowing before 10.30am please check the due date and time carefully – if the item is booked it will be due back at 10.30am that day. Check the screen and your receipt for the due date and time.
A few items are on 3 hour reference. You may borrow the item using the self-service kiosks in Heavy Demand but must return it within 3 hours.
Can I renew the loan?
No phone renewals are allowed. Renewals must be done in person, with the item present. This is because items must be returned by a specific time during the day and very often the item has already been reserved for another reader.
3- Day Loan
How can I tell if a book is 3- Day Loan?
There will be yellow tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark. These books have been recommended for reading on different courses.
How long is the loan ?
Return within 3 days, weekends included e.g. borrowed Wednesday, due back on Saturday. Holds may be placed to reserve these.
Can I renew the loan?
Items may be renewed as long as no-one else has placed a hold on the item.
Items will be renewed automatically for you if not requested by another reader.
If the book is recalled an email will be sent to your University account telling you when to return it.
You can renew 3-Day Loan items yourself via MyAccount in Primo, or in person at one of our libraries up to 9 times.
4-Week Loan
How can I tell if a book is 4-Week Loan?
There will be white tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark.
How long is the loan ?
4 weeks from date of borrowing, but they can always be recalled at any time by another user of the library, including over holidays.
If the book is recalled an email will be sent to your University account telling you when to return it.
Can I renew the loan?
Items may be renewed unless recalled or on hold by another reader. If the book is recalled an email will be sent to your University account telling you when to return it.
Items will be renewed automatically for you if not requested by another reader (Aberdeen University students and staff).
You can renew 4-Week Loan items yourself via MyAccount in Primo, or in person at one of our libraries up to 9 times.
Long Loan
How can I tell if a book is Long Loan?
There will be no coloured tape on the book’s spine, only the shelfmark.
How long is the loan ?
Until the end of the Summer term, but they can always be recalled at any time by another user of the library, including over holidays. If the book is recalled an email will be sent to your University account telling you when to return it.
Can I renew the loan?
Recalled items cannot be renewed. Before the annual return of books in May items can be renewed via MyAccount in Primo or in person at one of our libraries.
24 Hour Restricted Loan
How can I tell if a book is 24 Hour Restricted Loan ?
There will be a 24 Hour Loan label on the first page of the book. There will be no coloured tape on the book’s spine, only the shelfmark.
How long is the loan?
Return within 24 hours from the time of issue, weekends included, e.g. issued 16.45 on Tuesday, due back by 16.45 on Wednesday.
Can I renew the loan?
Restricted loans may be renewed as long as no-one else has placed a hold on the item. You can renew 24 Hour Loan items on loan to yourself via Primo up to 9 times.
Self Issue Machines and PINs
Set up your PIN now to access the self-check machines in our libraries!
Did you know that there is an automated system for issuing and returning books in both the Sir Duncan Rice and the Taylor (Law) libraries? Once you have set up your PIN you will be able to use your student ID card and issue books to your library account without requiring the assistance of a staff member!
How to set up your PIN:
You can either follow the instructions and the link sent to you by email shortly after you’ve registered, or you can visit any of our libraries (Sir Duncan Rice, Taylor (Law), Medical) and ask a member of staff to do that for you at one of the Information Points or Help Desks – don’t worry, it only takes a few seconds!
Library Fines
Following a steady reduction in the amount of fines in recent years, and in light of the current cost-of-living crisis, we have permanently stopped charging fines for overdue books. We have done this to ensure wider access to our resources and to ease financial stress on students and staff.
As fines were in place to encourage people to bring items back on time, we need everyone to play their part to make this work – support your University community by checking your University e-mail account regularly and returning items by their due dates.
If items are not returned on time, we will not ask you to pay a fine, but as other students need access to our items, your library account will be frozen and you will not be able to borrow any more items until the overdue item has been returned.
If the item has not been returned after two weeks, we will need to ensure we have a way to provide it to others, so we will begin the process of invoicing you for the replacement cost plus a handling charge.
We also conduct an Annual Return of Books every May across the library service, so please ensure that you keep an eye on your library account.
If you have any questions about borrowing books, or about using our libraries, our staff are always happy to help. Please email us via library@abdn.ac.uk.
A comfortable study and learning environment for all The Library is here to support your study and research by providing a range of study spaces to suit your individual needs. Members of staff can be contacted at any point, in person or via email/telephone, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries about the Library’s facilities and services.
Finding the information you want – using the resources Find books and journals in print and electronic format, museum objects, theses, images, exam papers and more just by using Primo, the Library’s discovery tool. If you would like help using the different functions within Primo, speak to a member of staff in the Subject and Enquiry Team, at the Information Centre on Floor 1 of The Sir Duncan Rice Library. Subject and Enquiry team staff can also be found on Floors 5 and 6 of the Sir Duncan Rice Library. Please contact us at library@abdn.ac.uk.
If you have a subject-specific question, need help constructing a search strategy or using one of our specialist databases, speak to the Information Consultant for your discipline. A detailed list can be found here.
Borrowing enquiries, fines, using the Heavy Demand section, collecting reserved items Speak to staff at the Information Centre onFloor 1 if you need help placing requests on books or collecting reserved items. Staff on Floor 1 can also advise on Inter-Library Loans and access to your borrower record. The Heavy Demand section is on the west wall of the building, next to the Information Centre. It contains books that are heavily used, a DVD collection, study spaces, self-service kiosks for borrowing and returning. It also contains MFDs for copying, printing, and scanning. Staff on Floor 1 can provide advice on how the Heavy Demand section works.
Copying/printing Speak to any member of staff on floors 1, 5 and 6 if you need help using the MFDs. Also, there are detailed guides on the notice boards behind the MFDs to help you understand the functions of scanning, printing and photocopying. These guides are available from the University’s Toolkit, found here. Remember to top up your printing budget! For information on paying for printing, click here.
IT-related queries Our IT service desk is the first point of contact for issues relating to connectivity, printing, username & password problems, remote access and more. The service desk is located on Floor 1 of The Sir Duncan Rice Library. You can also email servicedesk@abdn.ac.uk or call 01224 -273636 (this number also connects you to the Out-of-Hours service). Calls can also be logged through MyIT, a self-service facility for reporting problems.
Printing and binding your dissertation The University’s binding service is on 23 St. Machar Drive. Services include colour and black & white printing, soft and hard binding, lamination, large format poster printing and more. Tel: 01224 – 272578 Email: printshop@abdn.ac.uk
RefWorks See our RefWorks Library guides at www.abdn.ac.uk/library/support/library-guides-101.php#R (Navigate to our Library guides section on the Library website and select ‘A-Z’, then click on ‘R’ and scroll down to ‘RefWorks’)
For Research Postgraduates and staff, further instruction on how to use RefWorks’ advanced features is provided in our Literature Searching Essential Skills workshop series. These run 3 times a year. To search for and book these sessions, please see the course booking website. Alternatively, speak to one of the Information Consultants.
Did you know how to seek permission to take library books abroad?
You may need to take library books out of the country so that you can continue reading during your vacation. For items from The Sir Duncan Rice Library, please speak to a member of the Subject & Enquiry team. Staff can be found in the offices on floors 4-6.
It is best to go to the office closest to where the book is from – for example, for books on arts & humanities go to the Floor 4 office, for sciences go to the Floor 5 office, for social sciences & divinity go to the Floor 6 office. For books from Taylor (Law) or Medical libraries, please visit the branch and talk to staff on the issue desk.
You will be asked to fill out a short request form. The staff member will check that the books are suitable for taking abroad and finish filling out the form with you.
Please note that items are still subject to recall even when out of the country. If a book is recalled from you while abroad, you will need to post the book back to us. Make sure you check your University email regularly to avoid any fines.
It’s as simple as that! Please do get in contact if you have any further questions.
We can reassure you that you don’t need to worry about returning your library books during the lockdown period.
Your books will be automatically renewed while the library buildings are closed.
So, holding on to your books for now will not incur fines or stop you from graduating.
Returning books would probably involve non-essential travel, which doesn’t comply with Scottish Government guidance.
We’ll get in touch via University email to update you once the situation changes.
If you have any questions, please contact library staff, who will be happy to help, or check out our website for the latest information on your Library services.
Are you unsure about how many books you can borrow from our Libraries at any one time? Are you a little confused about how long you can keep them to study, use for research, or read for pleasure? Please read on to learn more about borrowing from the hundreds of thousands of high-quality books available on our miles and miles of Library shelves.
How many books can I borrow?
The table below shows you how many books you are able to borrow from our Libraries at any one time, depending on the type of Library Account you have.
Type of Library Account
Number of books you can borrow
Undergraduate Student
20
Taught Postgraduate Student
20
Research Postgraduate Student
30
University Staff
50
NHS Grampian Staff
10
External Members
10
SCONUL Access Students
5
How long can I borrow the books for?
The hundreds of thousands of books available in all of our Libraries can be borrowed for different lengths of time, depending on how much they are expected to be used for teaching or research. The tables below explain the different loan types available and how you can easily identify them on the shelves.
Heavy Demand
How can I tell if a book is Heavy Demand?
There will be Blue tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark. These books are core reading materials across all courses and therefore have the shortest loan periods in our collection.
How long for?
Can I renew the Loan?
Fines, if late back?
1 day, due back 10.30am the next day – or Monday if borrowed on a Friday or over the weekend.
If borrowing before 10.30am please check the due date and time carefully – if the item is booked it will be due back at 10.30am that day. Check the screen and your receipt for the due date and time.
A few items are on 3 hour reference. You may borrow the item using the self service kiosks in Heavy Demand but must return it within 3 hours.
No phone renewals are allowed.
Renewals must be done in person, with the item present.
This is because items must be returned by a specific time during the day and very often the item has already been reserved for another reader.
Please note: there is a steep scale of fines for late returns of Heavy Demand books!
75 pence per hour if returned after 10.30am
The fine increases hourly every hour the library is open
Three Day Loan
How can I tell if a book is Three Day Loan?
There will be yellow tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark. These books have been recommended for reading on different courses.
How Long for?
Return within 3 days, weekends included e.g. borrowed Wednesday, due back on Saturday. Holds may be placed to reserve these.
Can I renew the loan?
Items may be renewed as long as no-one else has placed a hold on the item.
Items will be renewed automatically for you if not requested by another reader.
You can renew 4 Week Loan items yourself via MyAccount in Primo, or in person at one of our libraries up to 9 times.
There will be white tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark.
How Long for?
Four weeks from date of borrowing, but they can always be recalled at any time by another user of the library, including over holidays.
If the book is recalled an email will be sent to your University account telling you when to return it.
Can I renew the loan?
Items may be renewed unless recalled or on hold by another reader.
Items will be renewed automatically for you if not requested by another reader (Aberdeen University students and staff).
You can renew 4 Week Loan items yourself via MyAccount in Primo, or in person at one of our libraries up to 9 times.
Fines, if late back?
20p per day, for items that have not been requested by another reader. Overdue recalled or on hold 4 Week Loan items are fined at the normal £1 per day rate.
Long Loan
How can I tell if a book is Long Loan?
There will be no coloured tape on the book’s spine, only the shelfmark.
How long for?
Until the end of the Summer term, but they can always be recalled at any time by another user of the library, including over holidays. If the book is recalled an email will be sent to your University account telling you when to return it.
Can I renew the loan?
Recalled items cannot be renewed. Before the annual return of books in May items can be renewed via MyAccount in Primo or in person at one of our libraries.
How can I tell if a book is 24-hour Restricted Loan ?
There will be a 24 Hour Loan label on the first page of the book. There will be no coloured tape on the book’s spine, only the shelfmark. Very few books have 24 hour loan periods.
How long for?
Return within 24 hours from the time of issue, weekends included, e.g. issued 4.45pm Tuesday, due back by 4.45pm Wednesday.
Can I renew the loan?
Restricted loans may be renewed as long as no-one else has placed a hold on the item.
You can renew 24-Hour Loan items on loan to yourself via MyAccount in Primo or in person at one of our libraries.
Fines, if late back?
50p for the first hour overdue. 5p per hour thereafter for every hour the Library is open.
Self Issue Machines and PINs
Set up your PIN now to access the self-check machines in our libraries!
Did you know that there is an automated system for issuing and returning books in both the Sir Duncan Rice and the Taylor (Law) libraries? Once you have set up your PIN you will be able to use your student ID card and issue books to your library account without requiring the assistance of a staff member!
How to set up your PIN:
You can either follow the instructions and the link sent to you by email shortly after you’ve registered, or you can visit any of our libraries (Sir Duncan Rice, Taylor (Law), Medical) and ask a member of staff to do that for you at one of the Information Points or Help Desks – don’t worry, it only takes a few seconds!
Didyou know how to seek permission to take library books abroad?
For books from The Sir Duncan Rice Library- speak to a member of the Subject and Enquiry team (offices on Floors 4-6), who will then ask you to complete a form. Ideally, go to the office on the floor nearest to where the book came from- for example if you have mainly Art books from Floor 4, then go to the Floor 4 office or for Engineering books go to the Floor 5 office.
The library staff member will check if it is suitable for the books to be taken abroad and finish filling out the form with you. The important thing to remember is that all our books are subject to recall, so if this happens while you are abroad then you will need to post the item back.
For Taylor (Law) or the Medical library, please speak to a member of staff at the respective Issue Desks.
Did you know you may be eligible to borrow material from other UK University libraries? Our University is a member of the SCONUL Access reciprocal scheme. SCONUL Access grants borrowing privileges to various types of library users working or studying at participating higher education libraries in the UK and Ireland.
Who’s eligible?
SCONUL Access provides borrowing privileges for most:
academic staff
postgraduate research students registered for a PhD, MPhil or similar qualification
part-time, distance learning and placement students
full-time postgraduates
SCONUL Access also provides for a reference only service for most full-time undergraduate students and staff of a few higher education libraries not participating in the reciprocal borrowing arrangements.
Borrowing entitlements – e.g. number of loans, loan period and types of material may vary among institutions.
Please note that access to IT facilities and electronic resources are not normally included in the scheme. You may however be able to access the wireless network on your personal device while visiting other university libraries if they use the same Eduroam wireless network as ourselves. See the university’s guide to Eduroam to learn more.
Click here to find out a bit more about the scheme and how to apply!
Did you know that logging into Primo with your University of Aberdeen username and password will open a range of additional features to help you manage your Library account and record any searching that you do?
This includes being able to see what you currently have on loan, the option to renew books if possible, and also the chance to see what you have borrowed previously. Additionally, you can see the saved details of items you have found when searching in Primo, or the search terms you used to find them. Follow the steps below to learn more about using the My Account feature in Primo.
Log in to Primo
Enter your University of Aberdeen username and password
Once logged in click My Account for further details
Options available in Primo once you log in
By using the My Account feature in Primo you can become more organised in how you go about searching and using our collections, allowing you to record what searching you have done and build up a collection of useful library materials that you can refer back to any time that you login to Primo. The Help option at the top of the Primo screen goes into more detail on these aspects.
For further information on using Primo see our video guides and our three library guides: our general quick guide as well as ones on searching for books or journals.
Are you unsure about how many books you can borrow from our Libraries at any one time? Are you a little confused about how long you can keep them to study, use for research, or read for pleasure? Please read on to learn more about borrowing from the hundreds of thousands of high-quality books available on our miles and miles of Library shelves.
How many books can I borrow?
The table below shows you how many books you are able to borrow from our Libraries at any one time, depending on the type of Library Account you have.
Type of Library Account
Number of books you can borrow
Undergraduate Student
20
Taught Postgraduate Student
20
Research Postgraduate Student
30
University Staff
50
NHS Grampian Staff
10
External Members
10
SCONUL Access Students
5
How long can I borrow the books for?
The hundreds of thousands of books available in all of our Libraries can be borrowed for different lengths of time, depending on how much they are expected to be used for teaching or research. See below for an explanation of the different loan types available and how you can easily identify them on the shelves.
Heavy Demand
How can I tell if a book is Heavy Demand?
There will be Blue tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark. These books are core reading materials across all courses and therefore have the shortest loan periods in our collection.
How long for?
1 day, due back 10.30am the next day – or Monday if borrowed on a Friday or over the weekend.
If borrowing before 10.30am please check the due date and time carefully – if the item is booked it will be due back at 10.30am that day. Check the screen and your receipt for the due date and time.
A few items are on 3 hour reference. You may borrow the item using the self-service kiosks in Heavy Demand but must return it within 3 hours.
Can I renew the loan?
No phone renewals are allowed. Renewals must be done in person, with the item present. This is because items must be returned by a specific time during the day and very often the item has already been reserved for another reader.
Fines, if late back?
Please note: there is a steep scale of fines for late returns of Heavy Demand books!
75 pence per hour if returned after 10.30am. The fine increases hourly every hour the library is open
Three Day Loan
How can I tell if a book is Three Day Loan?
There will be yellow tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark. These books have been recommended for reading on different courses.
How Long for?
Return within 3 days, weekends included e.g. borrowed Wednesday, due back on Saturday. Holds may be placed to reserve these.
Can I renew the loan?
Items may be renewed as long as no-one else has placed a hold on the item.
Items will be renewed automatically for you if not requested by another reader.
You can renew 4 Week Loan items yourself via MyAccount in Primo, or in person at one of our libraries up to 9 times.
There will be white tape on the book’s spine, as well as the shelfmark.
How Long for?
Four weeks from date of borrowing, but they can always be recalled at any time by another user of the library, including over holidays.
If the book is recalled an email will be sent to your University account telling you when to return it.
Can I renew the loan?
Items may be renewed unless recalled or on hold by another reader.
Items will be renewed automatically for you if not requested by another reader (Aberdeen University students and staff).
You can renew 4 Week Loan items yourself via MyAccount in Primo, or in person at one of our libraries up to 9 times.
Fines, if late back?
20p per day, for items that have not been requested by another reader. Overdue recalled or on hold 4 Week Loan items are fined at the normal £1 per day rate.
Long Loan
How can I tell if a book is Long Loan?
There will be no coloured tape on the book’s spine, only the shelfmark.
How long for?
Until the end of the Summer term, but they can always be recalled at any time by another user of the library, including over holidays. If the book is recalled an email will be sent to your University account telling you when to return it.
Can I renew the loan?
Recalled items cannot be renewed. Before the annual return of books in May items can be renewed via MyAccount in Primo or in person at one of our libraries.
How can I tell if a book is 24-hour Restricted Loan ?
There will be a 24 Hour Loan label on the first page of the book. There will be no coloured tape on the book’s spine, only the shelfmark. Very few books have 24 hour loan periods.
How long for?
Return within 24 hours from the time of issue, weekends included, e.g. issued 4.45pm Tuesday, due back by 4.45pm Wednesday.
Can I renew the loan?
Restricted loans may be renewed as long as no-one else has placed a hold on the item.
You can renew 24-Hour Loan items on loan to yourself via MyAccount in Primo or in person at one of our libraries.
Fines, if late back?
50p for the first hour overdue. 5p per hour thereafter for every hour the Library is open.
InfoLinks 