Borrowing a Book

On Agathos Books, books are shared so they get read — don’t be shy about borrowing one. Here’s how the request, pickup, and loan flow works end to end.

Finding a Book

Open any book to see where it’s available across the libraries you belong to. The book page shows, for each library:

Available — at least one copy is ready to borrow right now
All copies loaned out — every copy is checked out (you can join the waitlist)
Not in this library — the library doesn’t carry this title

If the book is available in more than one of your libraries, you’ll pick which one to borrow from in the next step.

Requesting the Book

Tap Borrow from the book page (tap the book cover from any page). Under the button you’ll see a short summary — which library, who’s lending when known, and how long loans last at that library.
If the book is at more than one library, choose which one. Libraries with a copy ready now are listed first (Ready now); others sit under Or join a waitlist
If more than one person (or the library and a member) has a copy, pick who you want to borrow from — or choose Let the system pick for me. When you also had to pick a library, that source list is the next step after Continue
Confirm. For a library-owned copy the dialog shows the pickup spot (photo and an address that opens Maps) and a short 21-day loan line (the length your library sets). Tap Borrow now if the copy is ready, Send request if an admin or member still needs to approve, or Join waitlist if you’re waiting
The dialog then says what happened and who acts next — for example Request sent to Anna and “You’ll get a notification when Anna replies.”, or Ready for you to pick up for a copy you can take now. Tap Done. If the request couldn’t be sent, the dialog says so and keeps your choices, so you can try again

What happens next depends on how that library handles requests:

Auto-approved (self-service) — the copy is set out for immediate checkout. The loan is approved instantly and the pickup spot (with photo and description) appears right away — head to the spot, take the book, and tap Check out. The one exception: while your track record has a heads-up, a library volunteer confirms the request first. The book then shows Needs admin approval and the button reads Send request; after you send it the dialog says Request sent to [Library] and “A library volunteer will confirm it.”, and the loan shows “Waiting for a library volunteer”. See Understanding your track record.
Needs staff retrieval — the book is kept in storage, so a library volunteer fetches it and either hands it to you in person or sets it out at a pickup spot. While you wait, the loan shows “Waiting for a library admin at [Library]”. You’ll be notified once it’s ready.
From a member — a fellow member owns this copy (you’ll see their name when there’s one clear lender, or when you pick them). They get notified and decide whether to lend it. When they approve, they commit to a day to get the book to you — at a pickup spot or handed to you directly, whichever ends up easiest. If you let the system pick, any available member may receive the request. If you picked a specific person and they don’t respond within 7 days, the request closes and you can pick someone else.

If no copies are available, the same button reads Join waitlist — see Joining a waitlist. You’ll see your place on the waitlist and be notified once it’s your turn.

Tracking Your Request

Go to Loans → Borrowing to see every active request and loan. Each row shows the current status and the next action (if any is on you).

Picking Up the Book

For self-service books the copy is already set out at the pickup spot — the spot is shown on the book page and in your notification, so you can collect it and check out immediately. Otherwise the lender (or a library volunteer) sets the book out at the pickup spot or arranges a direct handoff, and you’ll get a notification when it’s ready.

Go to the pickup spot shown in the notification
Pick up the book
Tap Check out (self-service) or Confirm pickup in the app to start the loan

If your lender already gave you the book but forgot to mark it dropped off, the loan may still say On its way. Tap I have the book on the loan to start the loan anyway.

If someone drops off several books for you at once, you get one notification covering all of them rather than a separate alert per book. It may arrive a couple of minutes after the first book is set out, so the rest of the stack can be included.

We try more than once. Because a waiting book is time-sensitive, the “ready for pickup” alert escalates if you don’t open it: a push notification first (or email if push isn’t working on your device), then a text a couple of minutes later if you’ve opted into SMS, then email as a last call. As soon as you open the notification — or pick the books up — the follow-ups stop.

Books that skip the drop-off wait: if you claimed a spot on a waitlist and the previous reader left the member’s copy at a pickup spot, the owner can approve your request by simply leaving it there — you get the “ready for pickup” alert naming the spot right away, with no delivery day in between.

Pickup window: You have 7 days to pick up the book. You’ll usually get reminders as the window narrows (around three days out, then the last day, then a few hours before it closes). After that the loan is cancelled, the book goes to the next person waiting, and the missed pickup goes on your track record (two in 90 days show owners a short heads-up). Those reminders follow the library’s Pickup days. If the window ends on a day the spot isn’t open, you may not get a separate last-day or last-hours ping after the reminder on the last open pickup day. If the library hasn’t set pickup days, the reminders follow the clock.

If you’ve collected it but haven’t checked out yet: we nudge you to tap Check out or Confirm pickup. That’s about a day after the book became available, and once more the day after that — unless the library has set Pickup days, in which case a nudge that would fall before the next open day waits until that morning. A Monday drop-off at a library open only on Wednesday is reminded Wednesday morning, not Tuesday. It matters because until you check out, the copy still looks available to everyone else — and if the window closes, the loan is cancelled even though the book is physically with you. If you still haven’t confirmed after those follow-ups, we let the lender or library know the book may already be gone, so nobody goes looking for it at the pickup spot.

Direct handoff: Some loans skip the pickup spot — you and the lender meet in person and both confirm the handoff in the app. When your lender marks the handoff, the loan starts right away and shows Handed to you: tap I have the book to confirm (or I don’t have it if it never reached you). We remind you the next day and the day after if you don’t. Nothing is cancelled if you forget — after a week it’s recorded as confirmed automatically.

While the book is on its way: the loan shows the day your lender planned (“Ruth drops it off by Tue, Sep 29”). If that day passes, it says so (“Ruth planned to drop it off Thu, Sep 24”) and offers Message so you can check in. If the book already reached you, tap I have the book.

Add it to your calendar: When a book is ready, tap Add to calendar next to the pickup date on the loan to save it. In the app, your calendar opens with the event already filled in — including the library location, so your calendar can remind you and map the way — and you just tap Add. On an iPhone, the button then reads Added to calendar.

During Your Loan

Loan length — each library sets its own length (typically 21 days, range 7–90). You’ll see that length on the book page before you request, and again in the confirm dialog. The due date starts when you check out, not when you request.
Reminders — one a week before the due date (when renewals open), again 3 days before, on the due date, and follow-ups 1 day, 3 days, and a week past due
Add to your calendar — tap Add to calendar next to the due date on the loan (same labeled button on the book page) to save the due date. In the app it opens your phone’s calendar with the event ready to add; in a web browser you can pick Google, Apple, or Outlook. On an iPhone, if you keep your schedule in Google Calendar or Outlook instead, just cancel the event screen — you’ll be offered both as alternatives. (Prefer the one-tap flow? Add your Google or Outlook account to your iPhone’s calendar in iOS Settings, and the event screen can save straight to it.) It’s an extra, self-set reminder; you’ll still get the app notifications either way.
Returning — go to Loans, open the loan, and tap Return book. See Returning books for the full flow.

Renewing a Loan

Need more time? Starting 7 days before the due date (and any time while overdue) you can renew it. Before then, the loan and the book page say when renewing opens (“You can renew from Sat, Oct 10, a week before it’s due.”) — as long as this loan can be renewed then. If your library has turned renewals off, or other members are waiting for a library copy, the loan doesn’t make that promise. Renewed once already? You can renew again the next time you’re inside the 7 days.

Open the loan from Loans or the book page
Tap Renew and pick the new due date on the calendar — nothing is preselected. Days your library’s pickup spots are open are marked with a dot, so it’s easy to land the return on one.

No one is waiting: the renewal is instant — the sheet closes and the loan shows its new due date. To add it to your calendar, tap Add to calendar next to the due date on the loan. You can renew again the next time you need more time — there’s no cap as long as the book has no waitlist.
Someone is on the waitlist: the lender decides. The sheet confirms who your request went to, and the loan shows “You asked Ruth to renew until {date}” until they answer. They’re notified right away (with a reminder if they haven’t answered after a day), and the request shows the deadline for their decision. You can add an optional note for the lender — that note also appears in the loan’s Messages tab. If they still haven’t responded within 48 hours, the request is resolved automatically — declined while others are waiting, so the waitlist isn’t held up. That’s a timeout, not the lender personally turning you down; plan to return the book by the original due date. When a waitlist exists, you get a set number of renewals per loan (usually one — each library chooses) so the lender isn’t pestered repeatedly.

Each renewal can only move the due date as far as the library’s per-renewal cap (typically 14 days past the current due date).

Lenders Can Give You More Time

Lenders and library admins can also give you more time without you asking. If a lender does this you’ll get a notification with the new due date — no action needed on your end.

Cancelling a Request

You can cancel any time before the book is in your hands — while it’s pending, being dropped off, or waiting at the pickup spot. Tap Cancel request on the loan, then confirm — or tap Keep request to back out. The book becomes available for the next person in line. If your lender or a library volunteer already put the book at the pickup spot for you, they’re told they need to take it back.

Once you’ve picked up the book, return it instead of cancelling.

Still Need Help?

If you’re stuck on a request or pickup, contact support.