Hopefully you all know how to request items that are out on loan. If not, our website talks you through the process here (look under the subheading “Reserving items that are out on loan.”

But do you know how to cancel unwanted reservations? One of the most frequent types of message we receive in our library inbox are emails from students and staff telling us you no longer require a book that has arrived for you. This can easily happen; perhaps you’ve changed your essay topic, found a better alternative resource or even decided to buy the book. Whatever the reason, if you no longer need an item that’s been reserved for you it’s good practice to cancel your reservation as soon as possible so that someone else can use the book.

Although Library staff are happy to help with this did you know you can cancel your own reservations quickly and easily – and in less time than it takes to send us an email – by logging in to your Library Record online either via MyExeter or directly from the Library catalogue. Once you’ve logged in, you will see any requests you’ve made listed as ‘1 (or more) request(s) (hold)’. If you click on this link you will see the details of the item(s) requested in addition to a box labelled ‘cancel’.

When you click on the ‘cancel selected’ box a new page will appear asking whether you would like to proceed or not with the cancellation and you can then confirm your choice. This will free up the book for the next person to use.

Please help your fellow Library users by promptly cancelling any requests for items you no longer require.