The three ways in
Browse as a Visitor — no account. Enter your church's passcode
to look through the shelf. You can't borrow or lend.
A member account — for a person. Made with Create an
account using your church's passcode. Every member account can both
request books and list their own books on the shelf — there's no separate
borrower or lender type to choose.
A church account — one per church, run by a leader. Made in Register a
Church. It creates the church's passcode, approves new books, and can
edit any book's description if a lender's is thin. It can also list books of
its own on the My Lending tab — the church's own books show on the shelf
straight away.
Signing in with a username (not an email)
Every account signs in with a username and password — no email needed.
A whole family can share one real email address and still have separate member
accounts. Your email is kept only as contact information (and for password
resets).
Your church's passcode
One passcode covers everything: enter it in Browse as a Visitor to look
through the shelf without an account, or under Create an account to join and
start borrowing and lending. Ask a leader, or scan the QR code on the notice at the
back of the church — it fills the passcode in for you.
Making an account
On the home screen tap Create an account, verify your email, pick a
username and password, and enter your church's passcode. That's it — you can
request books and list your own from the same account.
Registering a church account
Register a Church on the home screen creates the church's own login and
its passcode. The church account manages the church's details, the
people who've joined, the printable notice, and reviews each new book before it
appears on the shelf.
Borrowing & the transfer code
Request a book, choose how long you need it, and the lender approves. When
you actually collect the book, the lender scans the QR on your My Requests
screen (or types your 6-digit transfer code from your Account page). That
starts the return clock. Returning the book works the same way. You'll see reminders
7, 3, 2 and 1 days before it's due, and you can ask the lender for more time
from My Requests.
Church Shelf itself never handles a book — it's a noticeboard, not a courier.
Arranging where and how to hand a book over, and to return it, is between the
borrower and the lender.
Listing lots of books at once
Got a whole collection? On My Lending tap Import many books from a
file. Save your list from Excel or Google Sheets as a CSV file (with
column names in the first row — Download a template shows how), choose it,
check the preview, and import. A list of just ISBNs works too; the titles, authors
and covers are looked up for you.
Tags
Tags are short labels on a book — like marriage, youth or lent —
that make a big shelf easier to browse. Add them when you list a book (or any time
with Edit), separated by commas. On Browse Books, tap a tag on any book,
or use the All tags menu, to see just those books; the search box finds tags
too. A church can also add or fix tags on any book from My Church.
Waitlists & the wishlist
If a book is already out, tap Join the waitlist on the shelf — you'll get
an alert (and an email) the moment it's returned. The Wishlist tab is for
books the shelf doesn't have yet: add a title and everyone in the church can see
what's wanted.
Install it as an app
You can add Church Shelf to your phone or computer so it opens like a
normal app — and it still lets you browse the shelf when the signal is weak.
- iPhone / iPad (Safari): the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.
- Android (Chrome): the ⋮ menu, then Install app / Add to Home screen.
- Windows (Edge or Chrome): click the install icon in the address bar
(or the menu → Apps → Install). Once it's installed you can right-click it and
choose Pin to taskbar, and it appears in the Start menu.
Forgot your password?
On the sign-in screen tap Forgot password?, enter your username and the
email address on your account, and we'll send a 6-digit code to that email so you
can set a new password.
Your data & privacy
Church Shelf keeps only what it needs to run a lending shelf: your username and
contact email, anything you choose to add (name, phone, hand-over address), the
books you lend, and your borrow history. From Account you can
download everything held about you as a file, or delete your account.
Deleting removes you and your personal details; your church's past lending records
stay, with your name replaced by "deleted member".