Joining a Waitlist

When no copy of a book at a library can be borrowed right now — every copy is checked out, or the owners have paused their lending — you can join the waitlist. The next time a copy becomes available, the person at the top of the line gets 24 hours to borrow it — no need to check back.

How Waitlists Work

1. You join the waitlist for a book at a specific library
2. When a copy becomes available, the person at #1 is notified that it’s their turn
3. They have 24 hours to borrow it
4. If they don’t (or they pass), the turn moves to the next person

Waitlists are per library — if the book is shelved at more than one of your libraries you can join each library’s waitlist independently.

A copy “becomes available” when a borrower returns it, when a new copy is added — or when an owner who had paused their lending resumes.

Joining the Waitlist

When no copy at a library is currently borrowable:

1. Open the book’s page
2. Tap Join waitlist (the same button reads Borrow when a copy is available)
3. If the book is at more than one library, pick which library’s waitlist to join
4. The dialog tells you your place (e.g., You’re #3 on the waitlist) and that you’ll get a notification when it’s your turn. Tap Done — your position also appears on the book page

Your Position in Line

Your position tells you how many people are ahead of you:

• #1 — you’re next when a copy becomes available
• #2, #3, … — the people ahead will be offered the book first

The position updates automatically as people ahead of you borrow the book, pass, or leave the waitlist.

On the Loans tab, waiting entries appear under On the waitlist. When it’s your turn, the entry moves to Act now (under Your turn) with a borrow-by time. It only moves to Urgent in the last few hours of your turn.

You’ll also see an estimated wait time. When the app knows a concrete date — the soonest due date of a checked-out copy, or the end of an owner’s lending pause — the estimate is anchored to it (that’s also the “Expected back ~date” you may see on the book page). Otherwise it falls back to your position and the library’s typical loan length. Either way it’s an estimate — actual times depend on when current borrowers return.

When It’s Your Turn

When a copy becomes available and you’re at the top of the line:

1. You’ll get a notification that it’s your turn, naming the book
2. The book page shows when your turn ends (Borrow by a day and time)
3. Tap Borrow to take your turn, or Leave waitlist to pass it to the next person

If you don’t borrow before your turn ends, it passes to the next person automatically. You can rejoin the waitlist afterward — you’ll start at the back of the line.

Sometimes the book is already waiting for you. If the previous reader dropped a member’s copy at a pickup spot, your Borrow request asks the owner to simply leave it there for you. Once they say yes, you’ll get a “ready for pickup” notification naming the spot — grab the book and tap Confirm pickup. If the owner prefers to hand it over themselves, the request continues like any other borrow.

Leaving the Waitlist

You can leave any time:

1. Open the book’s page (or find it under On the waitlist on the Loans tab)
2. Tap Leave waitlist, then confirm (or tap Stay on waitlist to keep your spot)

Leaving doesn’t affect your track record, and you can rejoin later (at the back of the line).

Tips

• Join multiple waitlists — you can be on waitlists for as many books as you like at the same time
• Keep notifications on — your 24-hour turn doesn’t pause if you miss the alert

Related Articles

• Borrowing a book
• How lending works

Still Need Help?

If you have questions about waitlists, contact support.