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Create your profile
Add your name, location, photo, and a short bio so lenders know who they are lending to.
Opening the shelf...
Gathering books, requests, and trust signals.
Gathering books, requests, and trust signals.
How it works
Borrowed helps readers share private libraries safely. List your books, choose who you lend to, and track every loan from request to return.
The basic idea
Borrowed lets members list books they own, discover books from other readers, request to borrow, and keep every handoff tracked. You stay in control of which books are public, who can request them, and when they need to be returned.
Borrowing
A practical path from profile to return, with trust checks before any book leaves a shelf.
Add your name, location, photo, and a short bio so lenders know who they are lending to.
Profiles and shelves are free. Borrow requests require an active paid membership.
Borrowers pay a refundable R500 Library Protection Deposit before requesting books. This helps create accountability and gives lenders more confidence.
Search by title, author, genre, city, or suburb. If multiple members own the same book, Borrowed groups the copies so you can choose the best lender.
Send a request to the lender. The lender can review your profile, ratings, location, subscription status, and trust indicators before approving.
Once approved, the owner confirms handover and the loan becomes active. Due dates and condition notes are tracked.
When you return the book, request return confirmation. The owner confirms the return and the loan is completed.
After a successful loan, both sides can leave a rating or review to help build trust in the community.
Lending
Mark books as public, private, available, or unavailable at any time.
You approve or decline every request. Nobody can borrow your book without your approval.
Borrowed records approvals, handovers, due dates, return requests, and owner confirmations.
Trust and safety
Borrowed gives lenders context before they approve a request, and gives borrowers a clear record of what was agreed. The Library Protection Deposit may be forfeited after admin review if a borrowed book is lost, stolen, or not returned.
Members have profiles and trust indicators.
Borrowers need an active membership and Library Protection Deposit before requesting.
New users have limited borrowing access.
Overdue loans and open disputes block new requests.
Owners confirm handover and return.
If something goes wrong
If a book is lost, stolen, damaged, or not returned, the lender can open a dispute. Borrowed pauses the borrower's ability to request more books while the issue is reviewed. If the borrower is found responsible after review, their Library Protection Deposit may be forfeited, their account may be flagged, and repeated confirmed incidents can lead to a permanent ban.
Borrowed cannot promise that books will never go missing, but it creates accountability, tracking, and consequences so lending feels safer.
Borrowed works especially well for book clubs, churches, schools, offices, universities, neighbourhood groups, and reading communities. A private shelf can become a shared library without losing track of who has what.
Ready when you are
Borrowed grows best when every shelf is shared with intention and every handoff is tracked kindly.
Successful completed loans can earn Borrowed Credits. Future payout options may become available as the community grows.
Disputes are reviewed before penalties or deposit forfeiture.
Exact addresses are never shown publicly.