Library charges

These charges are non-refundable if you cancel, items cannot be found or we proceed to purchase.

ItemCharges
Books Free
Reservations from Kent £1
Free to exempt card holders
Reservations from SELMS partners £3
Interlibrary loans £7 (£1 placement charge, £6 on completion)

Or for items only available via the British Library or abroad we will contact you separately once we have located the item, if you agree to proceed we will pass on the completion charge costs incurred to us. For the most up to date costs visit the British library website.
Suggest a purchase £1.50
Adult films Premium titles: £2.50 for 3 days
Standard titles: £1.50 for 1 week
Children's films £1.50 for 1 week
Non-fiction DVDs £1.50 for 3 weeks
TV programme DVDs £1.50 for 1 week
TV box sets £5.00 for 3 weeks
Music CDs £1.50 for 3 weeks
Children's CDs Free
Audiobooks £2 for 3 weeks
Language courses - up to 9 CDs per set £2 for 3 weeks

People with disabilities and mental health problems

If you have an exempt card you may not need to pay to borrow items. Find out more about getting an exempt card.

Music and drama sets for groups

Find out about borrowing music and drama sets for performances.

If you return your library item after the date it's due back you will need to pay a charge.

Books returned or renewed on time cost nothing.

Pay a library charge

To find out if you owe any money or to pay online log in to your library account. You can also pay library charges in your local library.

If you have more than £5 of outstanding charges you will not be able reserve more items or use the public computers until the charges are paid.

ItemCharges
Books (adults and over 60s)20p per day (£8 maximum charge per book)
Books borrowed by children and under-18sNo charge
DVDsHire charge will be reapplied
CDs borrowed on an adult's cardHire charge will be reapplied
CDs borrowed by under-18s or over-60sHire charge will be reapplied
Reminder letters we send you60p

If you owe us more than £5 (including children) you won't be able to borrow items, use the computers or wifi in libraries.

Check when your library items are due back by logging in to your library account. You can also renew items if you want to keep them for longer.

Sign up to free email reminders so you don't forget to return things.

We don't offer faxing, photocopying and printing in every library so check your local library before visiting.

Faxing

DestinationFirst page costExtra page cost
UK£1.0050p
Europe£1.5050p
Rest of world£2.00£1.00
Receiving faxes40p10p

Photocopying and printing

ColourSizeCost
Black and whiteA415p per side
Black and whiteA320p per side
ColourA450p per side
ColourA375p per side

Borrowed items

If you lose or damage an item borrowed on the card of a child who is under 5, there is no charge.

If you lose or damage an item borrowed on the card of a person over the age of 5, we will charge you for the full retail cost of the item. We will add the cost to your library account. If you find a lost item within 3 months of paying for it, we can refund the charge.

Library cards

We charge £1.50 to replace a lost or damaged adult card (includes a key fob) and 50p to replace a lost or damaged children’s card.

Find out more about getting a new library card.