Circulation Policy
Clarence Regional Library Circulation Policy
Registration of Borrowers
All permanent residents of the Clarence Valley Council, Nambucca Shire Council and Bellingen Shire Councils are eligible to register for membership to the Clarence Regional Library service (Proof of residency is required).
Individuals who are not permanent residents but are current members of another public library service may also join as a reciprocal member (Proof of reciprocal membership is required).
Non-permanent residents who are not registered with another library service may also join as a temporary member, provided suitable identification is provided and the payment of a refundable deposit is made (See Clarence Regional Library Schedule of Library Fees & Charges). A driver’s licence or other photo identification along with proof of current address is required for verification of residency.
An individual who applies for a library card is required to sign the application (in blue or black pen) and accept responsibility for all items borrowed. If a person is unable to sign his/her name then another person may sign on their behalf. Individuals under the age of 18 require a parent or guardians signature and proof of the guardians address must also be provided. Cardholders and parent/guardians of junior and young adult members are responsible for all the items borrowed by that member.
Members are required to present their library cards at the circulation counter for the most efficient service. If an individual has forgotten his/her library card Library staff may ask to see some identification before issuing items if that person is not personally known to them.
Members details will be checked every 6 months to ensure records are accurate. Inactive cards are deleted every 4 years from the Library’s records.
A library card will be issued upon membership, individuals that have lost or damaged their cards are responsible for paying for a replacement card (See Clarence Regional Library Schedule of Library Fees & Charges).
Loans and Renewals
All material available for borrowing has a loan period of 3 weeks if borrowed from one of the branches. Items borrowed from the bookmobile have a loan period of 4 weeks. High demand items may have the loan period adjusted to suit demand.
Items may be renewed twice if there is not a reserve placed on the item.Renewals may be made by phone, through the online catalogue or in person.
The loan limit per card is 10 catalogued/ barcoded items, per format type held by the Library.
In addition to catalogued/barcoded stock the library also holds a large selection of uncatalogued donated material that is also available for loan.
Borrowing rights may be adjusted to meet individual needs on a case by case basis at the discretion of the Library Staff or the Regional Librarian.
Overdue Material/Fines
It is the responsibility of members to be aware of the due date for items borrowed. The late return of library material prevents other users from accessing the material. Fines are charged to encourage the timely return of material.
The Library will forward a courtesy written reminder regarding overdue material 2 weeks after the due date, either by post or email. A second and final reminder will be forwarded 3 weeks past the due date, but the responsibility to return materials on time rests with the borrower.
Fines are charged after the due date at the rate outlined in the Clarence Regional Library Schedule of Fees and Charges. Items not returned after 8 weeks past the due date will be considered lost and a letter of demand may be sent as a result. In cases where there may be grounds for waiving fines, the matter should be referred to the Regional Librarian. Borrowing privileges will be temporarily suspended when fines owed reach the threshold outlined in the Schedule of Fees and Charges, or when notice of non-returned items (3 months overdue) is registered in the borrowers account.
Lost or Damaged Material
Materials that are lost or damaged beyond repair must be paid for by the borrower. Payment for lost books includes the replacement cost (incl. GST) and processing fee per item.
Reservations
Individuals may reserve items that are currently on loan or held at the various library service locations. Reserves may be placed in person, over the phone or via the online catalogue. Notification of availability of reserved material will be made either by written correspondence, email or by phone. Material awaiting collection will be held for one week at the circulation counter. Uncollected material will be made available to the next reserve request or placed back on the shelves.
A reservation request may be cancelled by a client at any time by contacting the Library or through the clients account on the online catalogue. Clients that no longer require a reservation for a particular item are requested to contact the Library as soon as possible. This will enable the Library to forward the item on to the next client on the reservation list or return it to the shelves and made available for general lending.
A non-collection fee may be applied to clients that do not collect their reservations.
Inter-Library Loans
Material not available within the Region may be requested through interlibrary loan (ILL). Members receiving ILL must abide by the due dates and any other restrictions that are set by the lending library. An administration fee is applied to each request and is payable upon receipt of the item. Any additional charge applied by the lending library will be passed on to the borrower. An outline of the inter-library loan fees can be found in the Clarence Regional Library Schedule of Library Fees and Charges.
Should an inter-library loan request be no longer required by a client it may be cancelled by the client at any time prior to request being processed by the Reader Services Officer without a charge. However, once the request is processed the standard administration fee does apply to each request.
Cancellations of an inter-library loan request can be made by contacting the library by phone, email, in person or through the clients account on the online catalogue.
Return of Library Materials
The return of library material can be made at any of the Clarence Regional Library branches or to the mobile library either in person or via the post. After-hours shutes are available at all branch libraries except the bookmobile.
Draft August 2007
Adopted by the Executive Council - Clarence Valley Council