Library Card

Personal Card
A person age 16 and over may obtain a library card by completing an application and providing proof of residency by showing a valid driver’s license or state issued ID, current utility bills, mail, voter’s registration card, property tax bill, or other documentation acceptable to the Library Director or designated staff as evidence of library district residency.
A library card is valid for 3 years from the date of issue and may be renewed by presenting the card at the circulation desk with one current proof of identification.

Use of a personal library card is limited to the patron whose name appears in the library card account.
As a resident card holder, the borrower may physically take his or her library card to any public library in Illinois and ask to borrow materials. Those materials are the responsibility of the individual who borrows them, and are subject to all of the fines, rules and regulations of the lending library. Often libraries limit the borrowing privileges of reciprocal borrowers, and it is important to be aware of local rules and procedures before making selections.

Children’s Card
A child under age 16 may be given a personal library card if the parent or legal guardian signs the card application and accepts financial responsibility for any fees or charges that the child incurs with that card. The parent or legal guardian who can verify with approved identification that they reside at the same address is accepted as proof of residency for the child.

• A child who has a library card may access all available library materials, including books, movies and other materials.
• A child aged 12 through 15 may be given permission to use the Library’s Internet-accessible computers by the parent or legal guardian during the card application process.
• A child has the same rights to privacy and confidentiality as any other patron. The parent or guardian who has signed the application has the right to restrict use of the library by withdrawing the child’s personal library card at any time.

Family Card
One account with one library card number is issued per family. A family is defined as all members of a household who can verify with approved identification that they reside at the same address. A family card is valid for 3 years from the date of issue.

• A library family card may be renewed by presenting the card at the circulation desk with one current proof of identification.
• A child aged 12 through 15 may be given permission to use the Library’s Internet-accessible computers by the parent or legal guardian during the card application process.
• The parent or legal guardian who signs the application for a family card is the primary cardholder and is responsible for any fees or charges to the account.

Resident
A resident is any person who resides within the boundaries of the Windsor Storm Memorial Public Library District.

Non-Resident
Non-residents are those living outside the boundaries of a library service area. To obtain a library card, a non-resident must apply to the closest library and pay a non-resident fee. Non-residents of the WSMPL District are eligible to receive a WSMPL card if they meet the above criteria. The annual non-resident fee is established by the WSMPL Board of Trustees based on the Illinois State Library’s property tax formula.

Property Owners Living Outside the WSMPL Boundaries
Those who live outside of the boundaries of the WSMPL, but who own property within the boundaries of the WSMPL, may have one personal library card for use by the individual whose name appears on the tax bill without additional payment.

Reciprocal Borrower
Any person holding a valid library card from a library participating in the Illinois Reciprocal Borrowing Program may borrow library materials.
If patron’s library is not a part of the SHARE regional automation consortium which includes the WSMPL, an application must be completed, the patron’s home library must be contacted to verify that the patron is in good standing, and the information from the library card application must be entered into the SHARE patron data base.

Reciprocal borrowing privileges are valid until the user’s home library card expires.

All WSMPL policies apply to reciprocal borrowers. The WSMPL follows the ILLNET code which requires that a reciprocal borrower, whose home library is not a fully participating member of the SHARE automation system place requests for items via interlibrary loan through the home library.
Use of the reciprocal card is limited to the patron whose name appears in the library card account.

Lending Periods
All circulating library materials are checked out for a period of two weeks with the following exceptions:
Certain materials in the library’s Reference Collection and Local History/Genealogy Collection do not circulate or have a limited checkout period.
Current issues of magazines do not circulate.

Items borrowed from other libraries will circulate according to the lending library’s circulation policy.

Children are not limited to materials in the juvenile collections. Parents must supervise their own child’s selection of library materials. Limits on the number of items that may be borrowed are determined by the Library Director and designated Staff. Temporary restrictions may be necessary if there is a shortage of materials in certain areas or in order to ensure that an entire collection is not checked out at one time.

Lending policies may be waived for an individual in special circumstances with the specific permission of the Library Director or designated staff. Vacation checkouts for extended periods of time are available only on WSMPL materials at the discretion of the staff.

Renewals
All circulating items owned by the WSMPL may be renewed in person, by telephone, or by computer via the Library’s website for an additional two week period unless there are requests on the title. Items owned by other libraries within the SHARE automated catalog database may be renewed if there are no outstanding requests for the item. One renewal is possible if no requests are outstanding. The length of the loan period per checkout and renewal is set by the lending library.

Patrons may place a request for any circulating item that is available in the SHARE database either directly through their online account in the public access catalog on the Library’s website or with the help of the Library Staff.

The Library Staff will attempt to notify the patron when the requested item becomes available. The information is also available through a patron’s account in the public access catalog site. The requested item will be held for seven days for the patron. After that time the item is made available for circulation or returned to the lending library.

Overdue Materials
An overdue fine of $.10 per day will be charged for each item, up to a maximum of $5.00 per item.  Fines on an overdue item shall not exceed the replacement cost of the item. Items due on a given date must be returned to the library before closing time on that date in order to avoid a fine.
The Library Staff will attempt to contact the patron with overdue materials during the first five weeks that the item is overdue. Charges will appear on the patron account if the materials are not returned.

Lost and Damaged Materials
If an item is lost, the borrower is liable for the replacement cost of the item.  If an item is damaged, a charge will be assessed based on the cost of repair. If the item is damaged beyond reasonable repair, full replacement price will be charged. The fees will remain on the account until they are paid.  Fines are waived when a borrower pays the replacement cost of a lost or badly damaged item. Borrowers who pay for a damaged item within 14 days may have that item. After 14 days, the damaged item charges will remain, but the item will be discarded. The Library Director may place borrowing restrictions on a patron who habitually damages materials. A full refund, minus the amount of fines for materials lost and paid will be made if the materials are returned in good condition with the original receipt within ninety (90) days of the date of payment for the loss. Items borrowed from another library will be subject to the charges and fees set by that library for lost or damaged items.

Replacement Costs
The replacement charge include the price of an item plus shipping and processing charges that are necessary in order to obtain and circulate a replacement copy of the lost or badly damaged item. If the item is no longer available, replacement costs cover the expense of obtaining materials of a similar nature.

Theft or Deliberate Damage of Library Materials
The WSMPL District Board of Library Trustees will enforce rules and regulations pertaining to the removal or retention of library materials from the Library or to the mutilation of same. The definition of “library material” as stated in Illinois Criminal Code of 1961 shall apply. Any person attempting to remove books or other materials from the Library without checking them out will be charged up to the replacement cost of each item stolen or damaged, may have suspended library privileges according to established procedures, and/or may be prosecuted by the Shelby County State’s Attorney’s Office.