Patron and Circulation Policies

CHAPTER II

PATRON AND CIRCULATION POLICIES

A. PATRONS

1. Eligibility

a. Any person residing in the City of Menasha may register for a borrower's card free of charge. Persons residing in municipalities or counties which have contracted for services with this library directly or through the Winnefox Library System are entitled to the same privileges.

b. Any person holding a current and valid borrower's card from a Winnefox Library System Library or from a library in any other system with which Winnefox has contracted for reciprocal borrowing services is eligible for borrowing privileges subject to the terms of the inter-system agreement and this library's policies. The library reserves the right to contact the applicant's home library and to refuse or restrict privileges to persons with records of non-return, late return or damage of library materials.

c. A corporation or institution located in the City of Menasha may, with the authoriza¬tion of the Director, be issued a borrower's card. Such cards shall be used only to borrow materials for corporate or institutional purposes and are not intended for personal use. The owner or other responsible official shall sign for the card, and the corporation or institution will be held responsible for library materials borrowed.

d. Menasha residents holding valid borrower's cards from this library are eligible for library services from many Wisconsin public libraries and a number of non-public libraries in the Fox Valley area. Patrons may obtain information at the main circulation desk.

2. Patron Responsibility

a. Patron registration will include a signed statement indicating the patron's agreement to library rules and to return library materials promptly and in good condition.

b. Library patrons who willfully abuse library privileges may have those privileges revoked or restricted at the discretion of the Director. Privileges may be restored at a later date.

c. Card-holders are responsible for materials checked out on their cards. Lost cards should be reported to the library at once.

3. Registration Procedures

a. Prospective borrowers must present personal identification in the form of a photo ID or a bill or receipt with a printed name and address.

b. Borrowers are registered for a period of one year. No charge will be made for re-registration.

c. When a borrower's card is lost or damaged, there is a charge for replacement. For adult cards, the charge is $1.00. For children's cards, it is $.50.

d. Borrower's cards are issued for one patron. The library does not issue "family cards." The patron who actually borrows library materials must be a registered borrower and the library reserves the right to demand proof of identity in addition to a library card.

4. Young Patrons

a. A child may have a library card at any age that his or her parent(s) wish(es) him/her to have one.

b. All registration cards for children age 11 or under at the time of registration must be signed by a parent or guardian indicating that he/she will be responsible for the reasonable use and return of materials borrowed.

c. Children age 11 or under may borrow materials from other library depart¬ments, but are asked to first request materials from the Youth Department.

d. Parents or legal guardians are allowed to indicate on registrations for children 11 or under that their child is not to be allowed Adult Department borrowing privileges. Parents may remove or add this restriction after the initial registration. The library will not restrict children 12 or older at the time of registration.

e. Patrons with new cards will be limited to three items for their first check out.

5. Confidentiality of Patron Records

a. All library circulation records and other records identifying patrons by name are regarded as confidential regardless of source of inquiry.

b. Such circulation records will not be made available to anyone except pursuant to such process, order or subpoena as may be authorized by law.

c. Upon notification of such process, order or subpoena, consultation shall be made with the library's legal counsel to determine if such process, order or subpoena is in good form and if there is a showing of good cause for its issuance. If not in proper form, or if good cause has not been shown, insistence shall be made that such defects be cured before any records are released.

6. Service to Non-Card Holders

Non-card holders may use library facilities, but may not borrow books or other materials except by special arrangement and payment of a security deposit. Visitors from certain areas of Wisconsin may borrow materials using their own "home library card" based on inter-system contracts between the Winnefox Library System and their own respective systems.

B. CIRCULATION POLICIES

1. Loan Periods will be established by the Library Director for each category of library materials to maximize the convenience of library patrons, balancing the need of patrons for sufficient time to utilize materials and the need to make the materials available to other patrons.
a. Any items not listed below check out for 28 days.

b. New Adult Fiction and magazines check out for 14 days

c. Videos and DVDs check out for 7 days.

2. Patron Restrictions

a. Newly registered (unverified residence) patrons may be temporarily limited to a designated number or value of items they may borrow. Patrons with reported records of habitual non-return of items or substantial unpaid fines or replacement fees at other libraries may be likewise restricted until a record of responsible library use is established at this library.

b. Patrons who habitually fail to return items, accumulate excessive unpaid overdue fines or excessive replacement fees for lost or damaged items may have their borrowing privileges restricted or suspended. Repeated claims of items returned contrary to library records or other apparent repeated violations of library circulation policies may be considered reason to restrict or suspend privileges.

c. Parents may request that their children ages 11 and under at the time of registration be restricted to Youth Department borrowing only. The library cannot selectively restrict borrowers to particular portions of the Adult Department collections (see A.4.d).

3. Library Materials Restrictions

a. The maximum amount of items that can be checked out on one card is 100, or a total materials value of $1000.

b. There is a limit of six DVDs per card.

4. Reserves

a. Patrons may place "reserves" on any items in the library's collection which are not currently available for lending.

b. Patrons may place "reserves" on items in the collections of other Winnefox Area Library System libraries, and patrons of other WALS libraries may reserve materials in Menasha's collections.

c. A postal or email notice will be sent to the patron when the item is available. Patrons must request email notices. The item will be held for pickup for seven days, after which it will be available for lending to other borrowers.

d. The library limits each card to 20 reserves at one time.

5. Interlibrary Loan

a. Interlibrary Loan in this policy means the obtaining of information or materials from other libraries other than WALS member libraries for a patron.

b. Any library cardholder shall be eligible for interlibrary loan services.

c. Library materials requested and not owned may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

d. The patron will be notified when the item is received. The item will be held for pickup by the patron.

e. The patron must follow the conditions for borrowing of the owning library, including return date and financial responsibility.

f. Photocopies may be substituted for original materials in some cases and the patron may be charged for the cost.

g. The Library Director may limit the number of interlibrary loan requests permitted for individual patrons or establish a charge for interlibrary loans beyond a reasonable limit.

h. Interlibrary loans require considerable staff time and expense and, therefore, should be used for reasonable purposes.

1) Requests deemed frivolous may be refused.

2) Requests for items owned by the library may be refused unless the item is "long-overdue" and presumed lost.

3) Requests for items not eligible for acquisition under the libraries selection policies may be refused.

i. Fines for interlibrary loans are $1.00 per day.

6. Late Return Fines

a. Adult Department

1) Unless otherwise noted, fines are $.10 per item per day. Fines will accumulate to $3.00 per item.

2) Weekends and holidays are included for computation of fines. An exterior book return slot is available.

3) Accumulated fines of $5.00 (total of Adult and Youth collections) will result in termination of borrowing privileges until payment to reduce total fines below $5.00 is made.

4) Fines for interlibrary loans are $1.00 per day.

b. Youth Department

1) Unless otherwise noted, fines are $.05 per item per day. Fines will accumulate to $1.50 per item.

2) Accumulated fines of $5.00 (total from Youth or Adult collections) will result in termination of borrowing privileges until payment to reduce total fines below $5.00 is made.

7. Library's Obligation to Secure Return

a. Non-return of library materials is designated as theft under Wisconsin Statutes.

b. The library will make every effort to secure the return of library materials, including employment of the services of collection agencies and/or issuance of criminal complaints.

8. Fees

a. Unless specified in these policies, all library materials permissible for borrowing by patrons shall be lent without fee of any sort.

b. Reserves for items from Menasha or other Winnefox Area Library System libraries will incur a small fee.

c. Certain items of audiovisual equipment may be lent on the basis of a reasonable rental fee.

d. Certain items not normally permissible for borrowing may be lent on the decision of the Director or other designated librarians on the basis of a refundable deposit fee.

9. Lost or Damaged Items

a. Patrons are expected to return materials to the library in the same condition as when borrowed.

b. Minor damage or soiling of materials attributable to normal usage shall not incur a penalty.

c. Loss of or serious damage to any library materials shall incur a charge for the replacement or repair of the lost or damaged item or the purchase of other library materials.

d. Cost will be determined by the current list price, price as listed in the WALS database, or a "generic" price for a particular type of material, according to the availability of such information.

e. A patron may purchase a new and identical copy of the material for the library if it is delivered to the library within three weeks of determination of loss or damage. The patron may then be given the original damaged item.

f. If a damaged item is readily available for library purchase ("in print"), a patron may pay the full current list price and retain the damaged item. "Out-of-Print" damaged items will be retained by the library for possible repair.

g. A handling charge may be added to the replacement cost.

10. Implementation and Review

a. The Library Director shall establish such additional rules and procedures as are necessary to implement the above policies.

b. Exceptions to the above policies may be granted for good cause by the Library Director or designated staff members.

c. All circulation policies, procedures, and actions are subject to the review of the Library Board.