Colchester / Loughton: All books are loaned for 7 days, but will auto-renew meaning that you can keep them for as long as you need (up to 1 year) unless they are recalled for another user. See other exceptions in our Auto-renewals FAQ in the links below.

The self-service machines will email you a receipt when you borrow the books, this date will show as 7 days time, but this can be ignored unless you receive an email to ask that you return the book by a specific date.

Interlibrary loans will not auto-renew and need to be returned on the date given when you borrowed the book.
 

Southend: All University of Essex books at Southend Forum are 7 day but are set to automatically renew if no one else needs the book. If no one requests the book, you can keep it for up to a year. If a book is requested you will be notified by email and have 6 days to return. For more details, check the Southend Autorenewals page. 

Southend Library users also have access to the South Essex College and Southend Borough Council books held at the Forum. These are 7 day or 3 week loans.