Q. How long can I check out a book, movie, or other item?

Branch and Central Libraries | books, audiobooks, music cds, dvds, blurays, 4k disks, vinyl records, wi-fi hotSPOTs, sunlight calculators, water saver usage meters

Checkout period: 21 days.

Renewals: Renew up to 2 times, for 21 days at a time. Exceptions: Items with holds on them from other customers and items checked out for 6 weeks on Group Cards will not be renewed. 

The Austin Public Library offers courtesy automatic renewals. Materials due today will be automatically renewed if the items are eligible. Exceptions: Items will not be automatically renewed if they have been requested by other users, have already been renewed 2 times, or if your account is not in good standing. 

​Overdrive / Libby | eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, magazines and streaming videos

Checkout period:

• eBooks and downloadable audiobooks: 7, 14 or 21 days. Set the length of your checkout period.
• Magazines: 21 days. Always available, no holds, no limits!

Renewals: Rather than renew, you can request to immediately borrow the title again 3 days before the item expires (if there are no holds on the item). If the title has a hold, you will see the option to Request again 3 days before the item expires to get placed on the hold list for the item. 

hoopla | eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, streaming video, and music albums

Checkout period: 

• eBooks and downloadable audiobooks: 21 days.
• Music albums: 7 days.
• Streaming videos: 3 days.
• BingePasses: 7 days.
• All items expire at 7 PM on their last lending day.

Renewals: Yes. 24 hours before a title is set to return, a renew button appears below the item. A renewal counts towards monthly checkout limits. You do not need to re-download the item. After renewing, your title will remain on your device for another borrowing period. Exception: Due to record label restrictions, music albums can be checked out only twice per month.

Kanopy | streaming video

Checkout period: Viewing periods vary depending on the video, from 3 days to 21 days.

Renewals: Not available, but you can get the item again immediately if you still have tickets remaining in your monthly limit.

EBSCOHost | eBooks

Checkout period:

• Online - For 30 minute sessions. Prevent the reading session from expiring by any action that updates the eBook (e.g. turning the page, etc.). Sessions typically expire after 30 minutes of inactivity.
• When reading multiple eBooks online, reading sessions expire in the order that they were opened.

Renewals: Not applicable because access is only while online.

cloudLibrary | eBooks

Checkout Period: 10 days. "Save for Later" if the title isn't available.

Renewals: Not available because these are Lucky Day items - high-demand titles available for immediate checkout, with no holds, no renewals, and a shorter loan period.

TumbleBook Library | eBooks

Checkout Period: No limit.

Renewals: Not applicable because there are no checkout limits.

Links & Files

•  How can I read an EBSCO eBook I find in the catalog?
•  How do I view an eBook that I find in the catalog?
•  Why are there so many eBook collections? It's a lot to learn.