Minitex Renewal Process: Best Practices

When it comes to facilitating renewal requests, Minitex plays a key role as both a lender and borrower. To ensure timely renewals for patrons, we ask that you follow these best practices:

As a Lender

• Respond to renewal requests as promptly as possible.
• When approving a renewal, please provide a new due date.
• Minitex processes renewal requests throughout the day. Since we do not own the items, we must contact the original lender for approval. If we do not receive a response from the lender within three business days, we will automatically grant a renewal and the new due date will match the original loan period (for example: if the initial due date was set at 30 days, the renewal will extend the due date 30 more days).
• Minitex will not request a renewal from the lender if the item is already overdue. We frequently encounter renewal requests for items that are more than two weeks overdue, which complicates the process.

As a Borrower

• Request renewals before the due date. Educate patrons about the importance of requesting renewals before items become overdue. Since patrons typically initiate renewal requests, it is important they understand that lenders are unlikely to approve renewals for overdue items.
• Timing the renewal request. There is a delicate balance between avoiding overdue items and not requesting renewals too early. We often receive renewal requests for items that have just arrived at the borrowing library. In some systems, this results in an extension of only a day or two, not what the patron might expect. Typically the best time to submit a renewal requests is 3-7 days prior to the due date.

If you have any additional tips, we would love to hear them!