Messaging on a Loan

Every loan on Agathos has its own conversation. Use it to coordinate a pickup time, ask about the book, or work out a misunderstanding. If you need more help on the loan, you can request help from your library admin.

Opening the Conversation

Go to Loans and tap the loan you want
Tap the Messages tab at the top of the loan details

The Messages tab is where you and the other person talk. A small badge appears on the tab when there are unread messages, and the same indicator shows on the loan card in your loans list — you don’t have to open each loan to find new activity.

Who You’re Talking To

Who’s in the conversation depends on who owns the book for this loan:

Member-owned copy — the borrower and the lender (the book owner). Either of you can start or reply in Messages. Library admins never see this conversation.
Library-owned copy — the borrower and the library admin team. Either of you can start or reply in Messages.

What to Discuss

Common things people use the chat for:

“I’ll be at the library around 5pm — does that work?”
“Just dropped it off! It’s on the second shelf, third from the left.”
“Loved this one. What did you think of chapter 8?”
“Could you leave it on the porch? I’ll grab it tomorrow.”
“I can’t find the book at the pickup spot — are you sure it’s there?”

Most issues about a loan get sorted out in chat. You can also contact a library admin if needed.

When You Need a Library Admin

If you’ve tried chatting and you can’t work something out — the lender insists the book was dropped off but it isn’t there, the borrower says they returned it but the lender hasn’t seen it back, anything that needs a third party — you can pull a library admin in.

From the Messages tab, tap Get help in the top right
Write what’s going on in your own words (a few sentences is plenty)
Optionally add more context the admin should know
Tap Open escalation

A few things to know:

Your private chat stays private. Admins don’t see your conversation with the other person. They see a separate thread with just the message you wrote when you asked for help.
Opening an escalation doesn’t hurt anyone’s reliability score. Scores only change if an admin assigns fault when they resolve it.
The other person is told you asked for help. They’re not shown the reason you wrote — just that an admin will be looking at the loan.
You and the other person can keep chatting. The original conversation stays open while the admin reviews.

Once you’ve escalated, a new Admin Review tab appears at the top of the loan details. That’s where you talk to the admin team about the situation. Library admins resolve escalations from that same Admin Review tab when they need to record a final decision.

Withdrawing an Escalation

Changed your mind, or worked it out with the other person after all? You can take the escalation back.

Go to the Admin Review tab
Tap the ⋯ menu in the top-right
Tap Withdraw escalation

The loan returns to whatever status it was in before, admins are told it’s been withdrawn, and the Admin Review tab closes.

When an Admin Resolves It

If the admin steps in to settle things, they’ll pick a resolution based on what they find:

The loan moves to the status they choose (returned, still out, etc.)
One or both reliability scores may be adjusted, depending on whether anyone was at fault
Both of you get a notification explaining the outcome
The Admin Review tab closes; the original conversation stays available

Reporting or Blocking Someone

Most conversations are friendly. If something crosses a line:

Report a message — long-press or tap ⋯ on the message and choose Report message. Library admins see the report in their moderation queue. The sender isn’t notified.
Block someone — from a message they sent, tap ⋯ and choose Block this person. A block applies in both directions and across the whole app:
- Neither of you can send new messages on any shared loan. Past messages stay visible.
- Neither of you can request or lend books to the other. Existing loans you’re already in finish normally.
- Their reading activity stops appearing in your community feed (and yours stops appearing in theirs).
- Their profile page shows only their name and avatar to you — and yours shows only your name to them.
To unblock, open the blocked person’s profile and tap Unblock, or remove the block from Settings → Blocked Users.

After the Loan Ends

The conversation stays open after the book is returned — there’s no timer or automatic close. Feel free to keep chatting about the book, swap recommendations, or just say thanks once you’re done.

When Direct Messaging Isn’t Available

Sometimes you’ll open the Messages tab and see “Direct messaging isn’t available on this loan.” Past messages stay visible, but the composer is hidden. This happens when one of the people on the loan has direct messaging turned off — for example, a younger member whose account is set to keep messaging off by default, or someone whose parent or guardian manages that setting for them.

If you need to reach the other person, Get help from an admin at the top of the Messages tab — a library admin can step in and help. That escalation path is always available, no matter what.

You can find your own direct-messaging setting at Settings → Direct Messaging (or, if you’re a supervised minor, your parent or guardian controls it from their Supervised Accounts dashboard).

Still Need Help?

If something feels off and chat isn’t the right fix, contact support.