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We do, but only to the UK mainland, and it comes with some special procedures. Please read the following terms and conditions, before emailing us about it.
Version 1.1, February 2024.
The library also operates a postal service which delivers books to your registered UK home address. Readers must cover the cost of postage, both ways (please see https://www.royalmail.com/price-finderfor possible costs). Postal loans are not possible to locations outside the UK mainland (if you are unsure about this, please ask us).
1. Please email us that you would like to start using the Heythrop Library Postal service, and that you agree to the Terms& Conditions, as set out in this document.
2. We will raise an invoice of£50, which we ask you to pay promptly. Please be aware that we ask for an initial BACS transfer of £50; we will use this as credit for any postal loan costs.
Please be aware that any unused credit can be reimbursed if/when your library membership ends, or you state that you no longer wish to use our postal service.
3. Please let us know the answers to the following questions:
a. Is there a safeplace at your address? (in case no one is in at time of delivery)
b. Would you like the parcel to arrive in 24h or 48h? (We use 24h tracked as standard, but – of course –it will cost more of your credit).
c. Do you want us to give Royal Mail your email address, and/or mobile number; or both, or neither(if neither: we need to add our email address for notifications on delivery, when placing the online postage order).
4. You will need to return the books as if you had borrowed them in person, i.e. if the book has been requested by someone else, you will need to return it within the requested 7 days. Also, you are expected to return books before the given due date.
5. You can return any of our books in person, or by post (if the latter, please use tracked delivery).
If the book gets lost either on the way to you, or on the postal return to us, you will need to pay for the replacement costs:
a) If the book is still available, we will charge you the RRP at the time of you reporting it lost as the cost for the replacement.
b) If the book is irreplaceable, we charge a minimum of £50; the exact charge is dependent on the perceived value of the book.
Like with any book borrowed (whether in person or by postal service), the following might impact the speed by which you will receive the book. It can happen that:
a) another borrower may place a request on the book issued to you, at any time. This might mean the time you can borrow the book is very short (once a book has been recalled by another borrower, it should be returned within 7 days of the notification email being sent).
b) If you recall a book, it might take 7days or more to be returned to us, before we can then post it to you.
c) 24 hour tracked delivery cannot always be guaranteed, i.e. it might be delayed by the time we receive the book, and put it into the post box, or indeed the next collection time of the post box.
d) The book is in one of our offsite stores which have the normal delivery times before we can then post it to you (i.e. 3x a week, with cut-offs normally on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays: for delivery to us on Wednesdays, Fridays and Mondays).
Readers may currently take up to six books out on loan for up to four weeks.
How can I renew books?
1 Go to catalogue
2 Log in with your name and your Heythrop Library card number (starting with ‘019…’)
3 Click on x items currently checked out
4 You can then try to ‘renew all’, or select specific books and ‘renew selected’. If you have problems with renewing, please ask for your books to be renewed in person, or by contacting us.
The following cannot be borrowed:·
* Periodicals
* Reference books (with red spine labels on books in our reading room)
* Restricted or fragile items (you will be informed as soon as we have assessed them)
Some items in the Heythrop Library collections are too fragile to leave the library. We cannot guarantee that all books ordered from the off-site store will be in a condition fit for borrowing until they arrive. The librarians will alert readers if fragile books need to be consulted as reference-only materials in the Mount Street reading room. Such decisions may be made at short notice. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes and thank you for your understanding.
Often the Library is not that busy, and sometimes you might find that you are the only library user. However, we still believe calls should not be taken in the library (on a mobile or a video call on a laptop)– another library user might walk ‘into your phone call’. Calls can betaken in the corridor outside the Library, or if not inconveniencing others in the Cana Room (at the end of the basement corridor).
To check the books on your account, and to see how many times they have been renewed, please do the following:
1. Go to our catalogue (https://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/search~S3/)
2. Click on "Login to your account"
3. Use your first name and surname (with a space, so "Joseph Bloggs")
4. The Heythrop Library card number, without spaces: 019.... (see the back of your Heythrop Library card)
5. Click on '[x] Item currently checked out' [x being the number of books you have borrowed]
Heythrop Library is open to anyone with a serious interest in theology or philosophy and the related academic disciplines represented in the collection. We welcome enquiries about using the library’s collections and reading room at the London Jesuit Centre. The next two sections of this FAQ answers most membership questions, or download the most current Reader's Guide (link below).