Borrowing and charges

What you can borrow

Library members can borrow free of charge:

  • books
  • eBooks
  • eAudiobooks
  • language courses

For a small charge, members can also borrow:

  • CDs
  • audiobooks
  • DVDs

How many items you can borrow

Library members can borrow up to 25 items.

Adults can borrow up to:

  • 12 books
  • 8 audiobooks and CDs
  • 2 language courses
  • 4 DVDs

Children can borrow up to:

  • 15 books
  • 10 audiobooks
  • 2 language courses

How long you can keep items

You can keep the following items for 3 weeks:

  • books
  • audiobooks
  • CDs

Language courses can be borrowed for 6 weeks.

DVDs and Blu-rays can be borrowed for 1 week.

You may be able to renew an item.

Charges

You will pay concessionary rates if you are any of the following:

  • aged 16 to 24
  • aged over 65
  • getting certain benefits and financial support, like: 
    • Job Seekers Allowance, Housing Benefit or Universal Credit
    • Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit
    • Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or other confirmation of long-standing disability

Reservation charges

  Standard adult membership Concessionary membership Under 16s membership
Reserving items available in our catalogue  Free Free Free
Reserving items requested to order – items not available in our catalogue £3.30 £1.65 Free

The reservation charge is an administrative charge you pay when you make your reservation. We do not a guarantee an item can be supplied. We aim to supply most items but, if it's not possible, we'll let you know.

Borrowing charges

  Standard adult membership Concessionary membership Under 16s memberships
Music CDs hire charge per item £1 50p Unavailable
DVDs or Blu-ray blockbuster (new release) £3.50  £1.75 Unavailable
DVD or Blu-ray feature film, TV series and documentaries £2 £1 Unavailable
Multi-DVD set (items with 3 or more discs) £2.50 £1.25 Unavailable
Audiobooks (spoken word) £1 50p but free for over 65s Free

Audio-visual subscription fees

  Standard adult membership Concessionary membership Under 16s memberships
Yearly subscription £22 £11 Unavailable
3-month subscription £6.60 £3.30 Unavailable

Our audio-visual subscription means you pay a flat fee and do not pay borrowing charges for audio-visual items. 

Overdue charges

  Standard adult membership Concessionary membership Under 16s memberships
Overdue items (except DVDs/Blu-Rays) 30p per item per day 17p per item per day Free
Most you can be charged for overdue items (except DVDs/Blu-rays) £7.20 £4.08 Free
Overdue DVDs/Blu-rays If DVDs and Blu-rays are not returned on time, you pay the borrowing fee again for each week they're not returned, up to the most you can be charged. If DVDs and Blu-rays are not returned on time, you pay the borrowing fee again for each week they're not returned, up to the most you can be charged. Unavailable
The most you will be charged for overdue DVD or Blu-ray blockbusters £17.50 £8.75 Unavailable
The most you will be charged for overdue DVD or Blu-ray feature films, TV series and documentaries £12 £6 Unavailable
The most you will be charged for overdue multi-DVD sets £15 £7.50 Unavailable

Lost or stolen library card

Standard adult membership Concessionary membership Under 16 membership
£1 per replacement 50p per replacement 50p per replacement

Lost and damaged items

If you lose or damage an item, we charge you the cost of replacing it. In the case of DVDs and Blu-rays, this is the cost of the rental edition. 

If the lost or damaged item is out of print or production, there are standard charges to a maximum of £10.

For reserve stock items, there is a fixed charge of £27.50 per item.

Small ads

To display a small ad on the library noticeboard, the charge is £3.50 per 3-week period.

Ads should be no bigger than A5 size.

Printing and photocopying

The cost for printing or photocopying in black and white is:

  • 20p for A4
  • 30p for A3

The cost for printing or photocopying in colour is:

  • 50p for A4
  • £1 for A3

Scan to email

The charge is 5p per side of paper to each email address.

Outstanding charges

Any unpaid charges of £10 or more will block your account. To start using your account again, you will need to clear the outstanding balance.