BORROWING POLICY

Library Card Eligibility

Library cards are free to all residents and visitors to Colusa County. Patrons must show a current/valid picture ID to receive a library card. If the address on the ID presented is incorrect, the patron is required to show supplemental proof of residency.

Children may apply for their own cards; there is no minimum age. A parent or guardian must sign their child's registration form and present the signed form in person to the library. Parents must show a current/valid picture ID. Parents or guardians are responsible for all materials checked out by their children.

Lost cards can be replaced for $3.00.

Library cards are registered for a period of one year and information must be updated annually. The patron must verify and update their personal information on their record in order to continue to exercise their loan privileges.

Loan Periods

There is no charge to check out library materials. All Colusa County Free Library materials are loaned for 21 days, except for DVDs and magazines which circulate for 7 days.

Renewal

Most library materials, unless reserved for another patron, may be renewed for up to two additional loan periods. Library patrons may renew materials by telephone, in person at any branch location, or by accessing their online account.

Patrons are restricted from renewing materials online if their materials are overdue, their library card registration period has expired, or the material has been requested by another patron.

Borrowing Limits

Library patrons may have up to 30 borrowed items on their account at any given time. Within this limit, patrons may borrow up to 5 DVDs or Audiobooks.

Borrower Records

California State Law protects the confidentiality of all patron records. The Colusa County Free Library complies with all sections of the State of California Public Records Act (Protection of Library Circulation and Registration Records, Government Code Title 1, Division 7, Chapter 3.5). All registration and loan records of library patrons shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person, local, state, or federal agency unless required by law or court order. Confidentiality extends to database search records, computer use records, and all other personally identifiable uses of Library materials, programs or services.

Patron records will only be released to the person(s) whose name(s) appear on the library borrower's record. No information from any patron's record is to be released to any person, including law enforcement, unless required by a court order. Any inquiry about library use will be treated as an invasion of patron privacy. Staff may not access any information about any library use for any purpose except that related to the transaction of library business. Parents or legal guardians with proper identification may have access to their children's records only when the materials become overdue.

Patrons may view their record and modify personal information by accessing their online account. A library card number and personal identifying number (PIN) code is required.

Reserves

Individuals may reserve materials from the circulating collection in person or online at www.countyofcolusa.org/library. Materials that have been put on reserve for one patron cannot be renewed by another patron. Patrons are restricted from placing materials on reserve if they have lost or overdue fees, or the library card registration period has expired. Reserves are held for three days after notification that materials are in and ready for pick-up. After three days, materials are returned to the collection.

Returning Materials

All borrowed materials may be returned to any library location in Colusa County, at any time, regardless of where the materials were borrowed. Books may be returned inside the library during business hours or in the book drop after normal business hours. Media such as CDs or DVDs should be returned to the service desk when the library is open. Materials may also be mailed to the Colusa County Library at 738 Market Street, Colusa, California 95932.

Fees and Charges: (Fines and Fees Schedule)

Once a card has amassed $5.00 or more in unpaid fines or fees, the card cannot be used to check out library materials until the entire fine or all fees are paid. Parents or guardians are responsible for all materials checked out by their children.

Charges for damage to library materials will be determined using established guidelines outlined in the Fines and Fees Schedule, or to the best discernment of library Staff.

Charges for lost materials are determined by the unit price of the item, as listed in the catalog.

Lost items obtained through interlibrary loan are subject to a minimum charge of $100. The charge for lost periodicals is $5.

Refunds

Monies paid for lost items will be refunded when the items are returned in good and usable condition, if returned within a 6 month period. The exception to this rule is interlibrary loan (ILL) materials; any overdue fee paid for these items is nonrefundable. Fees paid for damaged items are nonrefundable.

Copyright

Patrons are responsible for being aware of all possible copyright restrictions while using the library materials. Most information available in library materials is copyrighted, and therefore is legally protected from duplication by the public.

Video and audio materials on loan from the library may not be used for commercial or theatrical distribution, and may not be broadcast or cablecast. They may not be used in a public gathering (library, school, daycare, etc.), unless public performance rights are included with the item. Most of the items in the library's collection do not have public performance rights included.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

More than 9 million books are available through a consortium of Northern California libraries, including Sacramento, Folsom, Woodland and Sutter libraries. The materials can be requested at the library, or through your online account accessible on our website, www.countyofcolusa.org/library. Requested books may be picked up at your preferred branch, with a loan period of 21 days. A three-week renewal is allowed, unless the item has been requested at the owning library.

If the materials cannot be located through the online catalogue, patrons may request Staff to try to borrow them from other libraries through interlibrary loan (ILL). Any items borrowed from other libraries may have shorter loan and different renewal periods, as per the owning institutions rules. Patrons are responsible for identifying any damage to or missing pieces of items loaned from other libraries at the point they are checking the items out. Upon return, Staff will check items for condition. Any damage or missing pieces are the responsibility of the borrower. Patrons are charged the full replacement value for these items.

Conditions of Service

All interlibrary loan transactions are made between local and other lending institutions. All library patrons must request an ILL through their home library. The Colusa County Library follows and endorses the principles relating to interlibrary loans included in the American Library Association (ALA) Interlibrary Loan Code, the California State Library and Archives Commission Interlibrary Loan Protocol, the United States Copyright Law, and the United States Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted works (CONTU) guidelines and federal and state laws governing confidentiality of library records.

ILL Borrowing Policy

Patrons requesting an interlibrary loan are required to have a Colusa County Library card in good standing. Requests are not filled if the patron has outstanding fines or overdue materials on their record.

Requests are limited to three items per patron. The library reserves the right to limit the number of requests per patron. If an item requested has a value of $50.00 or more, only one request per patron is allowed.

The Library will attempt to borrow any media. However, most libraries do not loan the following materials: rare items, reference materials, bestsellers, video or other audiovisual materials. When available, Staff will supply contact information from other sources on non-book media (microfilm, etc).

Patrons must complete an interlibrary loan request form. Information on the request form must include full bibliographic information that includes author, title, publication date, publisher and international standard book number (ISBN). Periodical articles must contain complete citation information, including author, title, periodical source, date and/or volume number and page numbers. The patron must include a current daytime telephone number. Patrons may request materials in-person, over the telephone or email, but a signed interlibrary loan form must be turned in at the library before requests are submitted.

The Colusa County Library submits interlibrary loan requests as quickly as possible. The delivery of the requested material is contingent upon how quickly the lending library processes the order and ships the material. A rule of thumb for the receipt of the requested material is 7 to 10 business days.

Lending libraries set their own loan periods and restrictions (such as renewals, in-library usage, etc.). Failure to return interlibrary loan items on time or to pick up items within three days of notification of arrival may result in the suspension of interlibrary loan services.

Materials borrowed through interlibrary loan must be returned to the Colusa County Library and not to the lending library. The interlibrary loan wrapper is not to be removed by anyone other than a Staff member.

If an interlibrary loan item is lost, stolen or damaged, the patron is responsible for the cost of the item and any processing fees determined by the lending library.

ILL Lending Policy

The Colusa County Library will lend materials to all established libraries. Those wishing to borrow materials from the Library must initiate their request through an established library. The borrowing library may request materials through online computer library center (OCLC), fax or ALA form. Any decision to loan materials is made at the discretion of the County Librarian or designated Staff member.

The Library does not loan the following: reference and local history materials, genealogy, special collections, microfilm, periodicals, media (audio-books, CDs, videos, and DVDs), best-sellers, or leased books. These materials can be loaned to other libraries, archives and educational institutions by special request, upon approval by the Library Director.

All materials are loaned free of charge. The loan period is four weeks to allow for delivery to the borrowing library and checkout by their patron. All materials are subject to recall. Renewals are at the discretion of the Colusa County Free Library.

The Library will make 1 to 50 photocopies per request. There is a .10 cents per page fee for black and white copies; color copies are .25 cents per page. Copies are made at the discretion of Library staff and determined by the condition of the original materials.

The Library assesses a fee on a lost, stolen or damaged item based on the cost of the item plus any processing fees deemed appropriate. All charges are nonrefundable.