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Borrow, Renew, Return: Reserving Resources

Reserving Resources

University of Suffolk students and staff based at our Ipswich campus are permitted to make up to 8 reservations at any one time. Partner students and external members cannot place reservations.

When you place a reservation on a library book, the first available copy of the title will be held for you.

  • If the title is available in the library, it will be collected from the shelf within 24 hours.
  • If the title is currently on loan, the person(s) who have it will not be permitted to renew and will be prompted via email to return it.

When the reservation is available for collection, an automatic email will be sent to your student/staff account to advise you. Your reservation will be held for a maximum of 7 days, at which point it will be returned to the shelf or allocated to the next patron. 

How to place and collect reservations

It’s incredibly easy to place a reservation from home or on the go! Simply follow the steps below:

  1. Search for the title you’d like to reserve in Discovery; consult our guidance here if you’re not sure how to do this.
  2. Locate the title in your search results and click on the title to open the record.
  3. Click the blue “Place Reservation” button to the right of the screen.
  4. You may be prompted to authenticate with your standard University of Suffolk credentials (S number and password).
  5. Wait for the subsequent page to load and click the blue “Submit” button.

This item has now been reserved.

You will receive an email when your reserved item is ready to collect. If you would like to check on the status of your reservation in the meantime:

  1. Login to your library account.
  2. Click the “My Account” drop-down on the upper right of your screen.
  3. Select “Requests” from the drop-down menu.
  4. Find your reserved item on the list; item status will be listed under the “Status” column.

If you would like to cancel your request, click the checkbox to the left of the title, and click the “Cancel Requests” button at the top of the page.

 

When your reservation is ready to collect, you will receive a notification email to your student/staff account. Your reservation will be held for a maximum of 7 days; if it is not collected in this time frame, it will be returned to the shelf or allocated to the next patron.

To collect your reservation, simply stop by the Hold Shelf to the immediate left of the Library Helpdesk. Reservations are organised alphabetically by last name; make sure to verify your name and student number on your reservation slip to ensure you’re collecting the correct item!

Before leaving the library, ensure you issue your reservation to your account via the self-service kiosks or helpdesk.