Borrowing & Renewals

Your TrentU card is your library card. You can borrow items using your Trent Card and use digital resources with your Trent login.

You’re welcome to grab a book from the stacks and bring it to the Library Service Desk or the Bata Self-Check Out Machine to sign it out. You can also request items through Omni, which can be picked up from either Library Service Desk and signed out.

When you want to return an item, just drop it in the external return bins outside of Bata Library or outside Building A on the Durham campus. There are also return bins inside both libraries.

Policies & Guidelines

Current faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students can easily request books from other Omni libraries and choose to pick them up at Bata Library, Durham Library, or at an Omni institution close to you using your TrentU card. You'll be notified by email when they're ready, and you can usually borrow them for 120 days. Most of these items can be renewed online through your My Library Account in Omni.

At Trent Library, there are no daily overdue fines on books unless it has been recalled, the item is a Short Term Loan, or the item is a 4 hour Course Reserve.

The following items will incur overdue fines of $4/day, up to a maximum of $56:

  • Short-term loan items
  • Recalled items (not returned within the 7 day recall period)

A 4-hour Course Reserve will incur fees of $4/hour if the item is overdue.

Other special items like media, equipment, board games, and some items loaned from other libraries have specific fines and loan periods that are intended to ensure equitable access and responsibility for library resources. 

If any item is not returned or renewed within 30 days of its due date, it is considered "lost" and incurs a $125 replacement charge. This fee may be eligible to be waived automatically if the item is returned after the 30 days have elapsed; however, in cases of high-use or newly-acquired materials, the fee may be non-refundable. Additionally, returning a damaged item will result in a $125 replacement fee.

Please note that outstanding fines/fees can impact your library borrowing privileges. Fines/fees exceeding $20 will result in your account being blocked from borrowing more items until the fine is reduced; fines/fees exceeding $50 may result in restricted access to Online Transcript Request, Grades Inquiry, and Course Registration (including drops). Please pay all outstanding amounts at the earliest opportunity.

Alumni and Community Members may have different policies for overdue books or owing fees. You can review that information on our Alumni & Community Member Services page.

You can request physical items that are currently unavailable, at a different branch, or in the general collection but inaccessible to you at the moment. For items not available at Trent, you can use interlibrary loan (ILL) or the Omni system to request items from partner institutions, selecting your preferred pickup location. Once a request is placed and fulfilled, you can track its progress in "My Account" under "My Requests" and will be notified when it's ready for pickup, with items typically held for 7 days.

Renew most items in your "My Account" tab in Omni, provided your account is in good standing and the item is eligible for renewal. Please note that some items, including Short Term Loan items, have limited renewal periods, and that renewal policies for Alumni & Community Members may be different.

For current Trent students, staff, faculty, and retirees, the renewal policies are as follows for most items:

  • Books & Annuals: Renewals - up to 36 months
  • Bound Serials: Renewals - up to 36 months
  • Course Reserves: No renewals
  • Curriculum collection: 60 days renewal
  • Current Periodicals: No renewals
  • Government Publications: Renewals - up to 36 months
  • Maps: 60 days renewal
  • Media: Renewals - up to 36 months
  • Short-Term Loan: 4 days renewal

If you have any questions about renewals or need help with a renewal, you can come visit the Library Service Desk or send us an email at library@trentu.ca.

The Trent University Library & Archives welcomes students and faculty from other Canadian universities under the CURBA (Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement). With a valid card from your home institution, you can obtain a Trent Library Card for free, allowing you to borrow up to 25 books at a time for 14 days, with online renewals up to 60 days. In addition to borrowing physical items, you'll have access to our archives and limited online resources (through Eduroam) while on campus, as well as assistance from our Library Service Desk.