Understanding loan statuses

Quick-reference guide to every loan status — what it means, and who acts next. For the full lending flow, see How lending works.

You’ll see slightly different labels depending on whether you’re the borrower or the lender — the label table below maps them.

Status reference

Requested

The request is waiting on someone.

Library-owned books: waiting on a library admin (or auto-approved if the library has that turned on).
Member-owned books: waiting on the book’s owner. If the top-scored owner doesn’t respond, the request fans out to other owners over the next few days.

Who acts next: the owner (or library admin).
You can: cancel the request from the loan card or the book’s detail page.

On Its Way (borrower) / Drop Off (lender)

The owner approved the request and is preparing the transfer.

Who acts next: the owner — drop the book off at the pickup spot, or confirm the direct handoff.
You can: still cancel from the loan card.

Ready for Pickup (borrower) / Ready (lender)

The book is at the pickup spot, waiting for the borrower.

Who acts next: the borrower — find the book at the pickup spot and tap Confirm Pickup.

With You (borrower) / Lent Out (lender)

The borrower has the book and the loan timer is running. The due date is set at this point — not when the request was approved — so the clock doesn’t tick while the book is sitting on a shelf.

Who acts next: the borrower, eventually — return the book on or before the due date.
You can: request an extension (starting 7 days before the due date). If you’re the lender, you can recall the book if you need it back early.

Overdue

The due date passed without a return. Overdue is a continuation of “With You” — the borrower still has the book; it hasn’t moved anywhere. Reliability impact scales with how late the return is.

Who acts next: the borrower — return the book.

Returned

The loan is complete. The book is back, the borrower’s reliability score is updated, and anyone on the waitlist is notified. Final status.

Special states

Declined

A request never became a loan. This happens when:

The owner declines the request.
The borrower cancels before pickup.
No owner responds within 7 days (auto-cancelled).
The 7-day pickup window expires without the borrower picking up.

Declined is also a final status. The book becomes available again and the queue (if any) activates.

Disputed (Admin escalation)

Something didn’t work out the way the message thread alone could fix — for example, the lender insists the book was dropped off but the borrower can’t find it. When one of you taps “Get help” at the top of the loan’s Messages tab, the loan moves to “Disputed” and a library admin reviews it.

Who acts next: a library admin — or the person who opened the escalation, if they want to withdraw it.

A few things to know:

You should try chatting first. The message thread on the loan is private between you and the other person. Library admins never see it. Most disagreements get sorted there.
Opening an escalation doesn’t hurt anyone’s reliability score by itself. Reliability is affected only if an admin assigns fault when they resolve it.
You can withdraw your own escalation anytime. The loan returns to whatever it was before.
Library admins see the loan history and the conversation in the escalation thread — not your private chat with the other person.

For the full chat + escalation walkthrough, see Messaging on a loan.

Borrower vs. lender labels

The same loan looks slightly different to each side. The status is the same; only the label changes:

What you see (borrower)	What the lender sees	What’s happening
Requested	Requested	Waiting on the owner
On Its Way	Drop Off / Approved	Owner is preparing the book
Ready for Pickup	Ready	Book is at the pickup spot
With You	Lent Out	Borrower has the book
Overdue	Overdue	Past the due date
Returned	Returned	Loan complete
Declined	Declined	Request didn’t become a loan

Still Need Help?

If a status doesn’t match what you’re seeing, contact support.