Removing Books from Your Library
Sometimes a book needs to come off the shelf: a member left the church, a copy fell apart, or a title just isn’t right for your library anymore. Removing it takes a few taps — but depending on who’s waiting for that book, it can affect other people, so it’s worth knowing what happens before you tap.
Two Kinds of Books
Section titled “Two Kinds of Books”Your Inventory holds two kinds of books, and they behave differently when you remove them:
- Library-owned books belong to the library itself. You bought them, you can remove them.
- Member-shared books belong to a member who has shared their own copy with your library. Removing one takes it off your shelf — the member still owns it and keeps it in their personal books.
For more on the difference, see Understanding member roles.
Removing a Book
Section titled “Removing a Book”- Go to the Inventory tab
- Find the book and tap its ⋯ menu
- Tap Remove from library
- Read the confirmation, then confirm
To remove several at once, tick the books in the list and use Remove in the toolbar that appears.
What Happens to People Waiting for It
Section titled “What Happens to People Waiting for It”This is the part worth reading. The confirmation tells you which of these applies before you commit.
If someone has requested the book but hasn’t picked it up yet, their request is cancelled and they’re notified. They don’t get a chance to respond — it just goes away. If a member has been waiting a while, it’s kind to message them first.
If someone already has the book checked out, removing it does not end their loan or get the book back. They keep it, and the loan runs its course. Removing it only stops anyone new from borrowing it.
The owner of a member-shared book is always notified when you remove their book from your library.
Library-owned books work differently: you can’t remove one while any copy is on loan. Wait for it to come back, then remove it.
What You Can’t Remove
Section titled “What You Can’t Remove”A few books are protected:
- The library owner’s shared books can’t be removed by anyone
- Another admin’s shared books can only be removed by the library owner
- Library-owned books with an active loan have to wait until the loan ends
When a book can’t be removed, the reason appears under it in the list and the Remove from library option won’t be in its menu.
Removing One Copy, Not the Whole Title
Section titled “Removing One Copy, Not the Whole Title”If two members have both shared the same book, your Inventory shows that title once with both copies listed underneath. Each copy is removed separately — taking Sarah’s copy off the shelf leaves Michael’s exactly where it was.
The title only disappears from your library when the last copy is gone.
When Not to Remove a Book
Section titled “When Not to Remove a Book”Removing isn’t always the right tool:
- The book is lost or damaged, but the member is staying. Ask them to switch off lending for that copy instead — it stays connected to your library and comes back to the shelf when they’re ready. See Sharing books with a library.
- You just want it out of a collection. Removing it from a collection leaves the book in your library. See Browsing library collections.
- A member is leaving. Removing their books one by one isn’t necessary — their shared books come off your shelves when they leave the library.
Related Articles
Section titled “Related Articles”Still Need Help?
Section titled “Still Need Help?”Removed a book by mistake? A member-shared book isn’t gone — ask the owner to share it with your library again, and it comes right back. A library-owned book needs adding again from Add Books. If something doesn’t look right, contact support.