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Circulation Policy

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Introduction

  • This policy exists to provide library staff and patrons with a clear statement of the rights and responsibilities of patrons in regard to access to materials within the library collections.

 

Registration

  • Free library registration and cards will be issued to residents of the City of Swisher, contracting cities, rural Johnson County and users of all Iowa Open Access libraries.

  • BRIDGES registration will only be issued to residents of the City of Swisher, contracting cities, and rural Johnson county residents, per the contractual agreement with BRIDGES.

Access to Materials

  • Access to Library materials will not be restricted based on age, gender or any other consideration.  Certain items, due to cost or condition,  may be withheld from interlibrary loan and reciprocal borrowing agreements at the discretion of the Library Director.

  • Specialized resources available in other local libraries will not be needlessly duplicated.

  • The library participates in programs designed to provide patrons access to materials not owned, such as interlibrary loan, reciprocal borrowing agreements, and access to Internet resources.

  • Materials selected for the collection may be physically owned by the Swisher Community Public Library or may be accessed through the library’s or a vendor’s web site.

Circulation

  • Books and Audiobooks may be checked out for three weeks.

  • DVD’s may be checked out for one week.

  • Hot Spots may be checked for one week and will require a signed “Mobile Hotspots Lending Agreement” (see Appendix F) on file before the item can be checked out.  This agreement will be considered a part of this Circulation Policy.

  • Back issues of periodicals circulate following regular circulation rules. At the discretion of the Library Director back issues may be discarded.

  • E-books, downloadable Audiobooks, and all other materials from BRIDGES (online resource) may be checked out on-line.  Lending periods, renewals and return policies for these materials are established by BRIDGES.

 

Renewals

  • Books, Audiobooks, and DVD’s may be renewed twice, provided there are no holds on the materials.  Further renewals are at the discretion of the Library Director.

  • Hot Spots may be renewed once, provided there are no holds with no further renewals.

  • Renewals may be done in person, over the phone, or by email.

 

Fines and Overdue Materials

  • The Swisher Community Library does not collect overdue fines, except for Mobile Hotspots.  A fine schedule for Hotspots is contained within the Lending Agreement (App. F)

  • Patron will be notified by text message or e-mail 3 days before materials are due.

  • Overdue notices will be sent by e-mail once materials are more than 5 days overdue.

  • Items shall be declared lost and replacement charges billed after 12 weeks or at the Library Director’s discretion.

  • Replacement cost for items returned more than 12 weeks past the due date will be billed to the library patron who has the items checked out, along with a $5 processing fee per item.

  • Parents or legal guardians are responsible for all assessed library fees for minor children according to Iowa Code section 613.16.

 

  • Items that patrons “claim return” will be searched for in the library for 12 weeks and then will be considered lost and the cardholder may be billed replacement and processing fees.

     

Interlibrary Loan

  • If the Library does not have certain material requested by a patron, the librarians will be glad to request the sought-after materials from SILO (State of Iowa Libraries Online). If not found on SILO, the materials will be requested from OCLC-First Search.

  • Limits: Patrons will be limited to 3 items requested at one time. Additional items may be requested at the Library Director’s discretion. When items are returned by the patron, more items can be requested.  There is no cap on the number of items a person may request in the course of a fiscal year (July-June).

  • Circulation Period:  The circulation period is set by the lending library. Renewals are up to the discretion of the lending library. If a renewal is requested by a patron, we will e-mail the lending library and request an extension; then contact the patron with the answer.

  • Patrons will be contacted up to 2 times when an item is received at the library and contact dates will be noted in the patron record. If the item(s) is not picked up by the patron by the date due, the item will be returned.

 

Approved 3/27/12 Updated 8/25/15  Updated and approved 10/22/18 

Updated and approved 6/27/2021

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