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Home > Legal Info and Policies
> Library Policies
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Statement of Policy & Text
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- In order to borrow items from the San Jose Public Library System or the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, a customer must be a registered borrower.
- Borrowers must present a valid library card to check out materials. If a borrower does not have his card, a replacement will be issued. While this policy also applies to King Library, accommodations may be made as appropriate.
- At the discretion of the library, some items may not be borrowed, and are for library use only.
- The University reserves the right to determine the lending policy of the University collection, and the Public Library reserves the right to determine the lending policy of the Public Library collection.
- Borrowers are responsible for all materials checked out on their library cards. Parents or guardians are responsible for all materials checked out on Juvenile cards.
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Need for the Policy
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So that all customers are treated equitably and fairly, it is important that standard guidelines in the lending of materials are followed.
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Requirements & Guidelines
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Item limits and loan periods
- Loan periods are dependent upon item type and borrower type.
- Temporary borrowers have a limit of 1 San Jose Public Library item until they verify their address, at which time they become Standard or Juvenile borrowers and have the limit appropriate for that borrower type.
- See: Item Limits, Loan Periods and Renewals for specific item limits by item type.
Loan Period Extension
- The extended loan period is determined at the time of checkout. It is limited to six weeks and is generally granted only for San Jose Public Library print material. Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis and are subject to supervisor approval.
- The extended loan period is not granted for items with outstanding requests.
- The extended loan period may not be used to circumvent standard renewal procedures.
Renewals
- Items may be renewed, if there is no request pending for the item. See: Item Limits, Loan Periods and Renewals for renewal information for specific item types.
- After the final renewal, the item must be returned to the shelf before the same borrower can check it out again
- Items may only be renewed to the card on which they were checked out.
Customer privacy
- The San José Library circulation records, and other records identifying the names of library users are confidential in nature. Any individual customer, upon furnishing proper identification, may review and examine his or her personal library circulation records. For details, See: Confidentiality of Patron Records Policy.
- In the event that the cardholder is a Juvenile borrower type (San Jose Public Library borrower under the age of 18), and the parent or guardian is in possession of the child’s card, parents or guardians may request specific information regarding their child’s record. If the child’s card is not in the parent’s or guardian’s possession, the information provided will be limited to materials which are overdue, lost, damaged, or if fines are owed.
Checkout without library card
- To encourage effective operations as well as security of library card accounts, customers are required to bring their library card to the library for checkouts.
- In some rare instances, customers may check out materials using their photo ID if they do not have their library card with them.
- Staff will search for the borrower in the database and verify the borrower’s information before checking out.
Card has been set lost
- If an adult customer’s card has been set “Lost” in the database, the customer must show photo ID to obtain a new library card
- If a juvenile customer’s card has been set lost, the customer must show photo ID or be accompanied to the library by their parent.
- The card will be reissued. A fee may be charged for replacement cards.
Claims Returned
- If a library borrower disagrees with the accuracy of the list of outstanding items on their patron record, library staff will make every effort to locate the material and clear it from the borrower’s record
Fines
- Fine rate: See: Schedule of Fees and Charges
Payment for lost items
- Policies vary between San Jose Public Library and San Jose State University. The Public Library charges the cataloged price plus a handling charge for all items owned by the Public Library. For all University owned items, the University charges a standard price plus a handling charge and applicable fines. See: Schedule of Fees and Charges
- The Public Library does not accept Payment In-kind. The University accepts approved exact duplicate items as Payment In-kind. See: Payment In-kind Policy
- If an item is found and checked in after it is paid for, no refund is issued. See: Lost and Paid Refund Policy
- See: Fines and Lost Materials Payment Policy
Payment for damaged or incomplete items
- In general, the library does not charge for unintentional damage to items owned by the Public Library, so long as the damaged item is returned. The University reserves the right to charge for damage to its materials.
- The library does charge for intentional damage to library materials.
- The library does charge for lost parts under some circumstances. If the parts are not all returned and the item cannot circulate without all the parts, the item is not considered returned and the borrower is charged full price. If the item can be circulated without the missing part, the borrower is not charged.
- When a borrower pays for a damaged item, the item becomes the borrower’s property.
Restriction of borrowing privileges
- Borrowers with fines or overdues above a certain threshold may be denied checkout.
- See: Fines and Lost Materials Payment Policy
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Applicable Personnel/Departments
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Access Services / Circulation
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Approval(s)
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Reviewed and approved by:
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Signature/Name
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Date of Approval
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Assistant City Librarian
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Ned Himmel
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1/02
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Distribution
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http://sjlibrary.org/legal/policies.htm
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History & Dates
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Category of Policy: User Services
Author(s): SJPL Library Assistant Gayle Davis
Authorized by: Ned Himmel
Date Written:12/04
Date Effective:7/90
Date(s) of Revision(s):11/02, 1/02, 7/05, 8/05
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References
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A. Confidentiality of Patron Records Policy
B. Fines and Lost Materials Payment Policy
C. Payment In Kind Policy
D. Lost and Paid Refund Policy
E. Schedule of Fees and Charges
F. Item Limits, Loan Periods and Renewals
G. Lost and Paid Refund Policy
H. Schedule of Fees and Charges
I. Item Limits, Loan Periods and Renewals
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ID#: PL_339
Supersedes/amends: new
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