How do I book equipment?
Most equipment in the collection is bookable for periods of up to 7 days at a time, and can be picked up from the Library Service Desk during open hours.
A VIU ID card is required when picking up equipment.
Answer
The equipment loans page allows VIU students, employees, and retirees to book equipment in a self-serve manner.
Please note that laptops are not available to be booked in advance. Read more here.
Booking equipment:
- Select the campus that you would like to book equipment from on the left.
- Find the equipment that you would like to borrow. You can browse everything at once, or narrow to specific categories using the drop-down "category" menu
- Click on the item you would like
- Click the "Go To Date" button to select the date you would like to borrow it
- If it's available, click on the green square to select a pick-up time
- Select a return date on the bottom of the page
- Click "Add & Request Booking Now" to complete your transaction; or "Add to Request" if you would like to add additional equipment
- Read through the Terms & Conditions; click "Agree & Continue" to accept them.
- Fill in the form and click "Submit Booking Request"
Below are a series of screenshots showing each of these steps. Use the arrows on the sides to navigate.
Your booking will be mediated by a library employee, and you will receive a confirmation notice if it is approved. Once your request has been approved, bring your VIU card to the Library Service Desk at the date and time that you specified to pick up the equipment.
Renewing equipment:
Equipment can only be booked for 1 week maximum at a time. When you request a booking, ensure that you will be able to return the equipment in-person to the Library Service Desk on the date it is due.
To book equipment for 2 or more weeks in a row, request 2 or more back-to-back bookings of the exact same equipment. Use the "Go To Date" button as described in Step 4 above to create bookings that starts up to 2 weeks from the current date. Make sure the equipment you are booking has the exact same barcode (or "BC") from week to week if you choose to rebook equipment this way. To avoid equipment becoming overdue, please ask a library employee if you are unsure about consecutive bookings.