Handling Borrow Requests as a Library Admin

When a member asks to borrow a book the library owns, the request goes to the library’s admins — not to a personal owner. You need to be a library owner or admin to respond.

Where requests show up

A notification. Every admin gets a push notification and an email (if enabled). Tapping the notification, or the email’s View request link, opens the request on your library’s Lending page. The push’s Approve button and the email’s Approve request link skip straight to the approval screen.
The Lending page. Open your library, tap Manage, then Lending. Pending requests are listed there, each with Approve and Decline buttons. On a phone, the admin panel’s bottom bar has a Lending tab.

Requests for member-owned copies work differently: the member who owns the copy decides, from their own Loans page. You can open those loans on the Lending page to see where they stand, but you can’t approve or decline them for the owner.

If your library approves requests automatically, there is usually nothing to do — the book is set aside for the borrower the moment they ask. You choose this under Manage → Settings → Lending rules, and can override it for individual books from Inventory.

The one exception: when the borrower has a heads-up on their borrowing record (for example a book a week or more overdue), their request waits for an admin or volunteer to confirm it, like any other request. The borrower is told “A library volunteer will confirm this request.”

Approving a request

Tap Approve on the request, or open the approval screen from the notification. Under the book you’ll see how many of the borrower’s recent returns were on time (for example “Returned 6 of 6 books on time”) and their heads-up, if they have one. It’s context, not a verdict — approving or declining is your call.
Choose how the borrower gets the book:
- Hand it over now — the borrower is with you. The loan starts right away.
- Leave it at a pickup spot — pick the spot. The borrower is told the book is being prepared.
Add a note for the borrower if you like, then confirm. That note also appears in the loan’s Messages tab.

If you chose a pickup spot, put the book there and then tap Mark ready for pickup on the same loan. That is what tells the borrower the book is waiting — until you do, the loan stays “being prepared.”

Declining a request

Tap Decline, pick a reason, and confirm. The borrower is notified, and the copy becomes available to others again. Declining a library-owned request never counts against your own lending record: you are acting for the library, not lending your own book.

Members with a heads-up

The Lending page also lists Members with a heads-up — members of your library whose borrowing record currently shows owners a note: who they are, the note itself (for example “Heads-up: Anna has a book that’s 9 days overdue.”), and since when. Tap a name to open their member details. The list appears only while someone has a heads-up, on every plan, and the same members show in the alerts on your dashboard.

A heads-up goes away on its own: an overdue book’s note as soon as it’s returned, and the others after on-time returns or with time. See Understanding your track record for the rules.

Still Need Help?

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