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.
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 | 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 books at 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.
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