Policies

Circulation Policies and Services

Need a library card? It’s easy to get one! You are eligible for a free library card if you live, own property, work, or go to school in Hardin County. If you wish to borrow material but don’t meet any of those criteria, you can get a non-resident card for an annual fee of $25.00.

library CardPlease see 'How to Get a Library Card' to find out what you need to bring with you to the library to apply for your first library card!

Your library card is like a credit card. Do not lend it and notify the library immediately if it is lost or stolen. The card will be stopped immediately. You will need to present photo ID to receive another card.

Please let us know if you have moved, changed your phone number, or changed your email.

If you forget your library card, adults must present a photo ID such as a current valid driver’s license or state-ID card. Children will be asked to verbally verify information in their borrower record.

BORROWING MATERIALS

The Library has a large collection of books, magazines, and audiovisuals suitable for all age groups. Newspapers, reference books, and genealogy materials are restricted to in-house use only. Materials may be checked out or returned to either the Main Library, North Book Locker or the bookmobile. Remember, if you want to read it so may someone else. Show courtesy to your fellow library patrons by returning your library material on time.

  1. Books, audio books, books on CD, and music CDs have a standard loan period of fourteen (14) days.
  2. Reserve books, DVDs, have a standard loan period of seven (7) days.
  3. New items, purchased within the last six months, as well as DVDs can only initially be checked-out for the standard loan period. All other circulating items can be initially checked-out for up to fourtneen (14) days.
  4. In order to check-out, a patron’s fines/fees cannot be in excess of $10.00.
  5. No more than twenty (20) items in any combination of materials can be checked out to any one patron at one time.
  6. Within each patron’s limit of 20 items, there is a limit of
    • No more than five (5) new fictoin and/or non-fiction titles
    • No more than five (5) DVDs
    • No more than five (5) music CDs.
    • No more than ten (10) audio books and/or books on CD
HOLDS

A hold or reserve is a request that the Library pull an item when it is returned and set it aside for the borrower who is next in line.

Holds are on a first-come, first-served basis and the Library cannot guarantee any book will be available by a certain date. Once the requested item is in the Library, you will be notified either by telephone or email. The Library is not responsible if our message is not passed on to the person placing the request. Holds are kept at the specified pick-up Library for three days. On the fourth day, your hold is cancelled and the next person in line will be notified.

Holds can be placed either online or in the Library.

RENEWALS

Renewals may be done in person, over the telephone, or online. Most material can be renewed up to four times. Renewals cannot be made on items that have been requested by other customers, interlibrary loans, or items that have already been renewed four times.

Attempts at online renewal may fail for the following reasons:

  1. Item has been requested by another user.
  2. Maximum renewal limit has been reached.
  3. Library card is blocked due to accumulated fines and/or fees of more than $10.00.
  4. Library card has expired (library cards expire after one year; to renew your current information will need to be verified, all overdue materials must be returned, and ALL fines and fees must be paid in full).
OVERDUE MATERIALS, FINES, DAMAGED ITEMS

Overdue notices are sent by sent by email (sign up for notifications here). These notices should be considered only as courtesies. Failure to receive an overdue notice does not exempt the borrower from any fine due.

Items that have more than one piece will not be checked in until all pieces are returned. Overdue fines will be charged until all pieces are returned.

There is no charge for minor damage to books we can fix in-house. If a book is so damaged that we cannot fix it, the borrower must pay the replacement cost of the item and any fine due. The borrower may then keep the item upon full payment.

If you lose or damage an item, the replacement cost will be charged to your account. The Library can accept a new item with the same ISBN (or newer edition, if non-fiction), in lieu of paying the replacement costs. Hardback items must be replaced with hardback items and a receipt from the retail establishment the replacement was purchased at must be presented. A borrower may receive a full or partial refund for lost and paid for item provided the item is located and returned to the library within the time allotted according to the following schedule.

  • 100% refund for items returned within 30 days of the date of which the item was paid
  • 50% refund for items returned within 31-59 days of the date of which the item was paid.
MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES

Fax Machine

Library staff members are happy to assist those needing to send faxes. The charge is $1.00 per page to send a fax to a long-distance telephone number. There is no charge to send a fax within the local calling area or to a toll-free number.

There is a $1.00 per page for all incoming faxes, and the recipient holds the responsibility of coming to the Library to pick up incoming faxes. Library staff will notify you that your fax has arrived, as time permits. Material that has been faxed to a patron will be held in the library for seven (7) days. After such time, material will be discarded.

The library is able to send faxes internationally as well. The charge is $6.00 for the first page and $3.00 per additional page.

Photocopier

Our photocopier is not self-service. Library staff members will assist anyone needing items photocopied. The charge is $0.25 per page.

Scanning

Items may be scanned and saved to a flash drive. Items may also be scanned and directly emailed to an individual. The library will charge 50 cents for each scanning transaction, not to exceed 5 pages.

Printers

Persons using the Internet or word processing computers are able to print in black and white. Printing charges are $0.15 per page. Patrons must pay for all pages they print. Persons refusing to pay printing charges may have printing privileges revoked.

Book Drop

The outdoor book drop at the Main Library and North Book Locker are both open 24-hours a day for the return of library materials.