Library staff are pleased to announce that we’ve made a number of changes to our rules and regulations that will improve your experience of borrowing items from the Library:
We’ve increased the amount of items you can borrow.
SGUL students/staff and NHS staff are now able to borrow up 15 items at one time. Some exceptions do apply*.
We’ve increased the amount of renewals on your loans.
Items on your record will now be automatically renewed until the end of your course.
Loans for NHS and SGUL staff will be automatically renewed until their Library account expires. This means you won’t have to remember to renew the items yourself, or bring them back to the Library when they have reached their renewal limit.
However, items won’t successfully renew if another user requests them, or you have accumulated more than £10 in fines. You’ll be notified by email if your book has been requested by another user.
We’ve changed the way we charge overdue fines.
By introducing these rolling renewals, we hope our users will accumulate fewer overdue fines over the course of their studies.
However, if a book is recalled, you’ll be charged 20p per day until the book is returned.
We’ll also continue to issue invoices for non-returned, lost or damaged items, which cover the cost of a replacement plus an additional administration charge.
By increasing the amount of books you can borrow and extending your renewals, we hope that borrowing books from the library becomes a more flexible experience for the majority of users.
However, rolling renewals will mean that books are likely to be off the shelves for longer periods if they aren’t requested by other users. Therefore it will become more important for users to request books that are on loan by placing a hold (or reservation). If you’ve not placed a hold before, see our FAQs below for further instructions.
FAQs
How can I check when my books are due?
You can manage your account by signing sign in to Hunter using the login option in the top right-hand corner (or by clicking the ‘My Account’ link on the library homepage).
SGUL staff and students should login using their University username and password. NHS staff can obtain their login by emailing library@sgul.ac.uk
Your Library Card overview will show you everything you have on loan, and their due dates:
How do I place a hold on a book I need?
To place a hold on a book you’ll need to make sure that:
a) you are signed in to Hunter
b) all copies of the book you need are on loan to other users
If that is the case, an option to ‘Place Hold’ will appear above the location information for your book:
Click on this link and you’ll then be asked to confirm your request.
Step-by-Step instructions for placing a hold can be found here.
Don’t forget, you can manage your holds by signing-in to your account in Hunter. If you no longer need a particular title, please do be courteous and cancel your request so it becomes available for another user.
I’m going on placement – what if someone requests the book I’ve borrowed?
If you know you are going to be away for St George’s for some time, we’d usually recommend using an electronic version of the book you intend to borrow to avoid picking up fines on physical items you are unable to return.
However, using an electronic version isn’t always possible. While it’s likely that the rolling automatic renewals will last the duration of your placement, if someone has placed a hold on your item it will still need to be returned by the due date. Otherwise you’ll be charged 20p per day until the book is returned.
If your book has been reserved but you are unable to return it, please sign-in to your Library account on Hunter and attempt to renew it manually by clicking the ‘Renew’ button next to the correct item in your ‘Loans’ section. By doing this, if another copy of the book is returned, your renewal will be successful. You may need to attempt this over a few days to allow enough time for another user to return their copy.
I have outstanding fines on my account – do I need to pay them?
Yes – although fines are changing, you will still need to pay any outstanding fines on your account. Try to pay them as promptly as possible: once your fines reach £10.00 your books won’t automatically renew and you won’t be able to borrow further items.
If you have any further questions about these changes, please send them to the User Services team by emailing library@sgul.ac.uk or ask a member of staff at the Library Helpdesk.
*Exceptions include: honorary members of staff, elective students & placement students. Some NHS job categories are only eligible for restricted loans or reference only access.
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