How Lending Works

Agathos Books makes it easy to share physical books with your community. Here’s how the lending process works from start to finish.

The Lending Flow

Every loan walks through the same five steps:

Borrow — You find a book, tap Borrow, and send your request
Approval — The library or the book’s owner approves the request (a member owner responds from their Loans page; a library admin from the library’s Lending page — or straight from the notification)
Handoff — The book gets to you, either via a pickup spot or a direct handoff
Loan — You have the book for the loan period
Return — You return it when you’re done

Two Kinds of Books

Libraries hold two kinds of books, and they’re approved in slightly different ways:

Library-owned

Books that belong to the library itself, like a traditional library’s collection.

Approval — depending on the library’s settings, requests are either approved automatically or reviewed by a library admin on the library’s Lending page (see Handling borrow requests as a library admin)
No personal owner — the library manages the copy

Member-owned

Personal books that a member has chosen to share with the library.

Owner approval required — the member who owns the copy decides whether to lend it
Personal property — the member keeps ownership; the book just travels for a while
Fallback — if the owner doesn’t respond within a day, the request is passed to the next member who owns a copy (one owner at a time, so you’re never waiting on two people at once)

Requesting a Book

Open the book’s page
Tap Borrow
If the book is at more than one of your libraries, pick which one — ready-now libraries are listed first
Confirm in the dialog. Auto-approved copies use Borrow now (and Ready now on the library row); when a library admin or a member who owns a copy still needs to approve, the dialog says so in one line and the button reads Send request
If more than one source can lend the book right now (the library plus one or more members, or several members), choose Where do you want to borrow from? — that list appears after you pick a library when both apply
- Library — borrow a library-owned copy. If the library holds more than one edition of the same title, any available copy may be lent.
- Member — borrow a specific member’s copy. Each row shows their name, how quickly they usually answer (“Usually answers within a day” or “Can take a few days to answer”, once they’ve had a few requests), and whether you’ve borrowed from them before. Members you’ve borrowed from before come first, then those who answer fastest. When sources hold different printings, the row also shows a short edition line (year and binding) so you know which one you’re asking for.
- Let the system pick for me — Agathos routes the request automatically based on availability and how quickly owners answer. You are not choosing a specific edition.
After you submit, the book page status card shows whose copy you requested (the member’s name when applicable).

When owners decide whether to lend, they see your name, how many of your recent returns were on time (for example “Returned 6 of 6 books on time”, or “No returns yet”), and a short heads-up only if one applies — never a score or grade. See Understanding your track record.

If no copies are available, the same button reads Join waitlist. See Joining a waitlist.

Different editions of the same book

Agathos separates the work (the title, e.g. “The Holiness of God”) from editions (specific printings with their own ISBN, publisher, binding, and cover).

On a book’s detail page, Available Editions lists the physical formats when more than one exists. Expand the section to compare covers and ISBNs — it is informational only, not a separate page.

Waitlists are for the title, not a specific ISBN. Any edition can fulfill your request when a copy returns.
Choosing a specific edition happens when sources hold different printings and you pick a member (or the library) in the source picker (step 5 above). If every available source has the same printing, the picker omits edition details. You cannot request “this ISBN from anyone” through the waitlist.

When you add books by scanning, the barcode picks the exact edition. See Adding books if you need the right ISBN on your shelf.

Getting the Book

When the lender approves the request, they commit to a specific day to get the book to you — you’ll see that day on the loan so you know when to expect it. How the book actually travels is flexible: the lender can leave it at a pickup spot or hand it to you in person, whichever ends up easiest. There’s nothing to decide up front — the app records whichever one happens.

Pickup spot

The most common path for community libraries:

The lender leaves the book at one of the library’s pickup spots
You get a notification when it’s ready — it names the exact spot (with a photo and description when the library has added them)
Pick the book up within 7 days (after that the loan is cancelled and the book goes to the next person in line)
Tap Confirm pickup in the app when you take possession to start the loan

If you haven’t confirmed yet, follow-up reminders are not a strict 24-hour clock at church or school libraries — they wait until the next day that pickup spot is typically open. Community libraries still remind you about a day later, then the day after that. See Borrowing a book.

If you already have the book but the app still says On its way (lender hasn’t marked dropoff yet), tap I have the book instead.

Direct handoff

If it’s easier to meet in person:

Arrange a time to meet — every loan has its own private chat for exactly this (the app doesn’t share contact details)
After the handoff, both parties confirm in the app — the lender taps Mark handed off, and you tap I have the book to acknowledge it. Until you confirm, either of you can undo the handoff.

Direct handoffs skip the pickup-spot step entirely. The loan starts when the lender marks the handoff, and your confirmation closes the loop so they know it arrived.

If you forget to confirm, we remind you the next day and again the day after. If you still haven’t confirmed after a week, we record it as confirmed automatically — the loan is never cancelled for a missing confirmation, and nothing goes on your track record. If you don’t actually have the book, tell your lender so they can undo the handoff.

Either way, the loan starts the same — the lender simply marks whichever transfer actually happened.

Loan Period

Length — typically 21 days. Each library sets its own (7–90 days).
Reminders — a heads-up 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
Renewals — starting 7 days before the due date, you can tap Renew and pick a new due date on the calendar (each library caps how far past the current due date that can go — typically 14 days). When no one is on the waitlist, renewals are instant and you can renew as many times as you need. When a waitlist exists — or the lender has asked for the book back early — the lender decides (with a waitlist you also get a set number of renewals per loan — one, unless your library allows more). Libraries can also turn renewals off entirely. Lenders can also give you more time without you asking — handy when they know they don’t need the book back soon.

Returning a Book

Go to Loans, find the book, and tap Return book
Say how it’s getting back:
- Drop off at a pickup spot — leave it at the library
- Hand off in person — give it straight back to the lender (member-owned books only)
Confirm in the app

If someone is on the waitlist, they’re notified when the book is back — and if you dropped a member’s copy at a pickup spot, it can stay right there for the next reader once the lender approves the handoff, so nobody has to carry the book around twice. Full details in Returning books.

Letting the borrower keep the copy

If you lent a personal copy and you want the borrower to keep it, open the loan, tap ⋯, and choose Let them keep it. The loan ends, they keep the copy in My Books, and you don’t need a return. This is only available for member-owned books you own — not library-owned copies. See Returning books.

Talking to the Other Person

Every loan has its own private chat — coordinate the handoff, ask about the book, or sort out a misunderstanding. For member-owned books the chat is between you and the lender; library admins never see it. For library-owned books the chat is with the library admin team. If chat isn’t enough, you can pull a library admin in by tapping Get help at the top of the Messages tab. See Messaging on a loan for the details.

Your Track Record

There’s no score or grade. Your track record is a plain record of what you’ve done: how many books you returned on time, and how quickly you answer requests for your own books.

As a borrower — owners see how many of your recent returns were on time. If a book is a week or more overdue, two of your returns in the last six months were more than a week late, you missed two pickups in 90 days, or you were found at fault in a loan dispute, they also see a one-sentence heads-up. It goes away on its own — for an overdue book, as soon as it’s returned.
As a lender — borrowers choosing between lenders see whether you usually answer within a day.

When someone asks to borrow from you, the request shows you how many of their returns were on time, whether they’ve borrowed from you before, and a heads-up if one applies — so you can answer without going hunting. It’s context, not a recommendation: declining is always a fine answer.

Saying no is an answer. A decline within a day counts the same as a yes for how quickly you answer; only leaving a request unanswered works against you. If a request has been waiting more than a day, the decline sheet reminds you that answering within a day keeps your lending record strong.

See Understanding your track record for the full picture.

Tips

Keep notifications on — pickup windows, renewal answers, and requests to return a book early are all time-sensitive
Add your dropoff day to your calendar — after you approve a request, the confirmation screen offers Add reminder to calendar so the day you committed to lands in Google, Apple, or Outlook
Prefer a text? — the same confirmation screen can set up SMS. Opt in once and we’ll text you for the time-sensitive loan moments: the morning of each day you’ve committed to getting books to someone, when books are dropped off for you and you haven’t opened the notification, when a pickup window is about to close, when a borrowed book goes overdue or the lender asks for it back early, when someone asks to borrow your book, and when a lender cancels a loan you were counting on. Everyday updates stay in the app and email. You can turn texts off anytime in Settings → Notifications
Pause lending if you need to — going on vacation or just need a break? You can pause new requests from Settings → Lending availability, or right from your Loans page (the Lending tab on a phone, the right-hand column on a computer) — requests you decline while paused don’t count against your lending record. While paused, your books show as unavailable and interested members can join the waitlist; they’re notified automatically when you resume. If a request catches you at a bad time, the approval dialog’s Can’t make it within a week? link offers the same pause right there.

Still Need Help?

If you have questions about lending, contact support.