Borrowing Policy

Registration Requirements

The Newman Regional Library District is a tax-supported public library. This means that people residing within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Newman Regional Library District pay taxes to support the library.

Adults wishing to register for a borrower’s card, renew an expired borrower’s card, or replace a lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed borrower’s card at the Newman Regional Library District must bring with them two forms of identification, at least one of which bears their name and local address and at least one of which is a government issued photo ID. These forms of identification include (but are not limited to): driver’s license, utility bills, official mail, or voter’s registration card.

Upon initial registration patrons will be required to fill out a paper application for each individual in the household who will be obtaining a library card on that visit.

All children under the age of 18 must have a parent’s signature on their application form for a library card. The application must be completed with both the child and adult present in the library. Children under the age of 16 may use the proof of residency provided by their parent, or may choose to provide their own proof of residency.

Resident Policy

Those people who live within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Newman Regional Library District need pay no additional fee to be eligible to receive their first library card that is good for 12 months. After that, library cards are renewed every three years without additional fees, provided the library card holder continues to reside within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Newman Regional Library District and is a patron in good standing.

Non-Resident Policy

Individuals residing beyond the jurisdictional boundaries of the Newman Regional Library District and not within the boundaries of another public library, and owning no property within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Newman Regional Library District, may purchase a non-resident fee card.

If the applicant owns a home, the fee will be $.0025 multiplied by the taxable value of the home property as shown on a recent tax bill. If the applicant does not have a recent tax bill, the librarian can call the county supervisor of assessments to get the latest information, if the applicant comes in while the assessors’ office is open. If the applicant rents a home, the fee will be 5% of the applicant’s monthly rent. The applicant must bring a recent receipt from the rent payment. This fee entitles the entire household to use the Newman Regional Library District and all other participating public libraries in Illinois.

If a non-resident’s principal residence is outside the service area, but he or she owns property within the service area of the library, no fee is charged for one card. Non-resident property owners must provide library officials with proof of property ownership, which would be a copy of a recent property tax statement. All non-resident cards, fee charged or no charge are for a 12-month period and renewable on the anniversary date.

Eligibility to Borrow

Individuals presenting valid borrower’s cards issued by the Newman Regional Library District are eligible to borrow materials from the Newman Regional Library District when the following conditions are met:

1. No materials which are more than one circulation period are overdue on their card.

2. No outstanding replacement costs have accrued to their card.

3. No materials borrowed for them from another library are overdue in any amount.

The library staff may not waive these regulations without the specific permission of the librarian, however, the patron may request and receive a 24-hour hold on the item(s) he or she wishes to check out to allow the patron to correct the situation which has resulted in loss of eligibility to borrow.

Individuals presenting a valid card from another public library in Illinois may borrow materials from the Newman Regional Library District. The card must have the name of the individual presenting it, and an expiration date in the future. The card must be either a resident borrower’s card or a system borrower’s card to be valid for reciprocal borrowing and not have blocks set by patron’s home library.

Lost, Damaged, and Overdue Books

The Board of Library Trustees is invested with the specific power under the Public Library Act to provide, by ordinance, fines and penalties for injury to any book or other library material, or to any real or personal property belonging to or in the custody of the library, and for failure to return any book or other material or personal property belonging to or in the custody of the library and to exclude from the use of the library any person who willfully violates the rules prescribed by the Board. The purpose of this policy is to prevent, discourage, and prohibit the injury to any book or library material or property, real or personal, and the failure to return any book or library material or property to the library. Therefore, the policy of the Newman Regional Library is as follows:

1. Newman Regional Library District does not charge fines for overdue materials. However, patrons are expected to return items by the due date to ensure all library patrons have equal access to materials.

2. Materials are considered overdue if not received by the due date. Materials returned in the book drop when the library is not open are considered to have been returned on the last open day of the library.

3. A courtesy reminder will be sent each week the item is overdue.

4. Any item that is 28 days overdue will be considered “Lost” by the library system and the replacement cost for the item will be added to the patron’s card. The “Replacement Cost” is the price the library must pay to obtain another copy of the item. If the title is no longer available, the replacement cost is a figure based on the average price of such an item so that the library may obtain another title of a similar nature.

5. If materials marked “Lost” are returned undamaged, the Library will reverse all charges associated with that item.

6. Damaged materials

   1. If items are returned in damaged condition, but can be rebound, a bindery fee covering the cost of rebinding will be charged;

   2. If items are returned in damaged condition that makes them unusable, a replacement cost will be charged for each item.

7. In addition to the foregoing, in the event that any person's failure to return any book or library material, in an undamaged condition, is determined to be willful, the Director of the Library shall report such violation to the State's Attorney for prosecution pursuant to the applicable terms of the Illinois Criminal Code and shall exclude such person from further use of the library or any privileges attendant thereto until full restitution to the library has been made. For purposes of this section, "willful" is to mean "without good cause."

8. All fines and penalties for the commission of injury upon the library, its grounds, or the property thereof shall be paid into the general fund of the library or the body enforcing this ordinance.

Circulation

Circulation Period

The “Circulation Period” of an item borrowed from a library is the time between loan and due date. If an item is renewable and is renewed on or prior to the due date, the circulation period is the time between renewal and the new due date. The circulation period is determined by the item’s owning library.

Interlibrary Loan

When patrons want material that is not available within the Newman Regional Library District, we ask other agencies to provide it. This is the process of interlibrary loan. Materials borrowed through interlibrary loan have a circulation period, which is determined by the lending library, not the Newman Regional Library District. We are happy to borrow materials from other libraries for you, but we ask that you respect the date by which those materials must be returned to their home libraries. When the Newman Regional Library District is lax in returning materials borrowed through interlibrary loan, the library can lose the privilege of borrowing materials in that way for any of its patrons. It is crucial, therefore, that materials borrowed through interlibrary loan be returned in a timely manner. Habitual failure to do so may result in individual loss of the privilege in order to preserve the privilege for other library patrons.

Reciprocal Borrowing

As a resident cardholder, the borrower identified on the valid borrower’s card may physically take his or her library card to another library 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 best to understand local rules and procedures before making your selections.

Revised: May 2, 2022