Terms of Service

1. Who we are

These terms apply to this website and the book-sharing service run through it (the “Library”). The Library is operated by The Cloud Library Collective (“we”, “us”), a community library run by volunteers on a not-for-profit basis. The volunteers we appoint to run the Library are called “admins”. Members can ask to become an admin, and the library owners decide. Admins can see members' contact details and must keep them private and use them only to run the Library.

By signing in, requesting a book, sharing a book or otherwise using the Library, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use it.

2. Who can join

You must be at least 18 years old and have a Google account. You become a member as soon as you sign in and agree to these terms, and we may refuse or withdraw membership. Your membership is tied to the email on your Google account, so you always sign in with the same one.

3. Your account

• You sign in with Google. We never see your Google password.
• Give us accurate information, and keep to one account each.
• Keep your account to yourself. You're responsible for what is done through it, so tell us if you think someone else has used it.

4. How the library works

Members share books and borrow books that other members have shared. No money changes hands between members for books. Books change hands at the hub shown on the site, or directly between the two members.

We don't promise that any particular book will be available or that any request will be accepted. Owners decide whether to accept a request for their book.

5. Credits and money

• Credits keep track of sharing and borrowing. They have no cash value, can't be bought, sold or transferred, and are not money.
• Credits work as a deposit. The owner of a book decides what it is worth, from 1 to 10 credits. While a borrower has the book, that many of their credits are held by its owner, and they go back to the borrower when the book is returned. Credits held for a book you have lent are not yours to spend until it comes back. A book that is lost is not returned, so the deposit stays with its owner, and the lost-book rules below also apply. Every new member starts with 5 credits unless an admin says otherwise. Books shared before this system began keep the value an admin gave them. Admins may correct any value or balance in good faith.
• Credits may be held while a request is open. Admins may correct a balance if there has been a mistake or misuse.
• Your balance can go below zero, for example if you lose a book (section 7). If it reaches -10 credits, your account is locked and you will be asked to contact an admin. It is unlocked once an admin raises your balance above that.
• The Library doesn't currently charge or collect any money from members. If that ever changes, we'll update these terms first.

6. Sharing a book

If you share a book, you confirm that:

• you own it, or have the right to share it, and it is lawful (no pirated or illegal copies);
• your description is honest and your photos are of the real book, showing the covers, spine and any wear;
• the phone number you give is yours and reachable;
• you have chosen how long a borrower may keep it, between 3 and 90 days, and that period is shown to borrowers before they ask; and
• if you have chosen to share your contact details, you agree that, when you accept a borrower's request, your email and phone number are shown to that borrower (see section 9). This is off unless you turn it on.

We may decline or remove a listing. Sharing a book does not transfer ownership to the Library or to a borrower unless you and an admin agree otherwise.

7. Borrowing a book

• You need to be an active member with enough credits. The owner accepts or declines your request. For library-owned books, an admin does.
• Once accepted, arrange the hand-over and confirm on the site when you have the book.
• The book's return date is the loan period its owner chose (shown before you ask; 14 days for library-owned books), counted from the day you confirm you have it. Return it in the condition you received it (ordinary reading wear is fine), to its owner or the hub, and tell us on the site by tapping “I returned it”. The owner then confirms. Please return it on time. We'll email you if it becomes overdue.
• A book counts as lost if it is not returned within 10 days of its return date. The borrower then loses 5 credits from their balance and the book's owner receives 5 credits, automatically. If the book turns up, the credits are put back. An admin can also settle a disagreement about a return. If a book is damaged, for example by torn pages or water, replace it with one of equal value and condition.

8. Hand-overs, returns and reminders

After an owner accepts a request, the owner and the borrower arrange to meet, at the hub or directly. We email you both the next hub day, and remind you as dates get close. We do not penalise anyone for a hand-over that doesn't happen.

• The meet-up code. The borrower's account shows a 4-digit code. When you meet, the owner types it and the hand-over is confirmed at once. When the book comes back, the owner's account shows a code and the borrower types it. The buttons on the site (“I handed it over”, “I got the book”, “I returned it”, “I have it back”) do the same job if someone forgets.
• Completed: the borrower confirms they have the book, or the owner types the code. If the owner says the book was handed over and the borrower then says nothing for 7 days, we treat the hand-over as complete.
• Lapsed: if a hand-over isn't completed within 7 days of the owner accepting, the request lapses. The book goes back in the catalog and the credits held for the request are released. Both people are told, and nothing is held against either of them.
• It didn't happen: a borrower can tell us the book never arrived, after 24 hours from acceptance (or straight away once the owner says it was handed over). The request is closed and the admins follow up.
• More time: a borrower can ask once for 7 more days. The owner decides.
• Reminders and check-ins. We email reminders before and after dates, and an admin may write to you to check how a hand-over or return is going. Please answer, or tell us if something has changed.

Admins may pause an account of someone who repeatedly misses hand-overs or returns, after speaking to them. Please be honest with the codes: never share yours with anyone but the person you are meeting.

9. Contact details and your data

This is a summary. The full details are in our Privacy Policy.

What we collect. From Google: your name, email address and profile photo. In the Library: your membership details (member ID, status, credits), your requests and activity, your phone number (required to borrow or share a book), and, for books you share, the title, author, condition and photos.

How we use it. Only to run the Library: to check who you are, handle requests, value books, send you notifications, keep records and prevent misuse. We don't sell your data and we don't run ads.

Who sees what. Admins can see what is needed to run the Library. The owner of a book sees your name when you request it, but not your email, phone number or credits. If you have chosen to share your contact details, a borrower sees your name, email and phone number only after you accept their request, and an owner sees a borrower's the same way while the book is out; otherwise they see the next hub day instead. This is only while the hand-over or return is in progress. Nobody else can see them.

Using someone's contact details. If you receive another member's details, use them only to arrange that hand-over. Don't share them, use them for marketing, or contact the person about anything else.

Where it is kept. Records are kept in a database and photos in private file storage, both connected through Vercel, which also hosts the website. Notification emails are sent through Gmail. Those services have their own terms.

Your choices. You can ask to see, correct or delete your data by contacting us (section 18). We may need to keep some records, such as completed hand-overs, where that is needed for safety and to keep the Library fair.

10. Behaving well

Please don't:

• lie about a book, use photos that aren't of it, or pretend to be someone else;
• harass, threaten or pressure other members;
• share unlawful, pirated or harmful material;
• try to get around the Library's rules or security, including a pause or credit lock, or use more than one account;
• scrape, overload or interfere with the website.

11. Your photos and content

You keep ownership of your photos and anything else you send us. You give us permission to use them only to run the Library: to list your book, to keep records, and to show them to admins and to signed-in members considering borrowing your book. If you ask us to remove them, we will, except where we need to keep a record.

12. Staying safe

We don't check members, books or hand-overs in person. Use good judgement when you arrange a hand-over: prefer the pickup point where you can, and don't share your home address. Tell an admin if something doesn't feel right.

13. Suspending or ending an account

We may pause, block, lock or remove an account that breaks these terms or the credit limit, and we'll try to tell you why. You can leave at any time by asking an admin. Leaving doesn't cancel anything you already owe, such as returning a book you have borrowed.

14. No promises about the service

The Library and website are run by volunteers and are provided “as they are”. We can't promise they will always be available, error-free or secure, or that any listing, description or member is accurate or reliable.

15. Limits on our responsibility

To the extent the law allows, we aren't responsible for books that are lost, damaged or not handed over, for what members do or fail to do, or for the Library being unavailable. Nothing in these terms limits any responsibility that the law doesn't allow us to limit.

16. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. We'll change the “last updated” date at the top and, for important changes, say so on the site or by email. If you keep using the Library after a change, you accept the new terms.

17. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of India, and the courts of Bengaluru can hear any dispute, without affecting any rights you have under law that can't be waived.

18. Contact

Questions, data requests, or a decision about your account you think is a mistake: an admin (see the contact details on the site).