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We only issue overdue fines for laptop loans and inter-library loans that are returned late. For all other items, no overdue fines are charged. However, your library account will be blocked from borrowing more items until you return the overdue ones.

We will send you an email to your Birmingham Newman email address on the day your item is due back if it has not renewed, followed by some extra reminders. If you don’t see the emails, you are still responsible for returning items on time and for paying any fines accrued. 

Please note that you are still responsible for returning your books when you are on placement. Please consider returning your books before you go on placement to avoid incurring charges and to allow other students the chance to borrow them.

If you have any unpaid fines or charges on your account, you will not be able to borrow anything else. This applies to all types of charges, including replacement costs.

If you are struggling to get to the Library to return your books, please contact us to discuss your options.

You can pay your charges and fines in the library or online. We do accept part payments.

You can pay at the Service Desk on level 1 during staffed hours, or at the self-service kiosks on level 1 and 2. Please bring your student card and a debit/credit card to pay your balance. The Library is cashless and will only accept card payments.

Alternatively, you can pay online via the e-store. You will need to manually input your charges and fines into the 'Amount (£)' section, which is auto-set to £1. Payments made via the eStore will not be credited to your account immediately. We aim to process online payments by the end of the next working day, so you will need to allow longer for your account to be updated over the weekend and during Bank Holidays / University closed periods.

Long Overdue and Lost items

We will charge a replacement fee equivalent to the amount it will cost the Library to replace the item (capped at £40) plus a £5 processing charge when either:

• an item becomes overdue by 5 weeks, or
• you tell us that you have lost an item

If you find and return the item, the replacement charge and processing charge will be automatically waived and your account will be unblocked. However, we cannot give refunds if you find the item after paying the replacement charge.

We will contact you by phone, personal email address and post if an item becomes Long Overdue. If items remain unreturned for a sustained period, our last resort is to refer you to a debt collection agency.

Damaged items

If you return an item in a damaged condition, we will assess whether the damage caused during your loan of the item was avoidable and if the item is still usable.

If we decide that the damage was avoidable and the item is unusable, we will charge a replacement fee equivalent to the amount it will cost the Library to replace the item (capped at £40) plus a £5 processing charge. 

Library staff are very experienced at understanding the expected life and wear of books and we will use our discretion fairly before we apply any charges for replacement of damaged items.

Charges for inter-library loans

We do not charge for inter-library loan requests, or renewals of inter-library loans. However, you will be charged fines if you are late returning inter-library loans at a rate of £3.00 per item per day. This is because inter-library loans cost the library money.

Charges for losing or damaging inter-library loans can be substantially higher than our charges and are at the discretion of the library that lent us the item.

Please read our inter-library loans pages for more details.

Postal Loans

Our standard charge for postal loans is £7.50 for up to 4 items. This is to cover postage and packing costs of us sending the books to you. It does not cover the cost of returning the books, which will remain your responsibility.

Please read our Postal Loans terms and conditions for more details.