Borrowing Information
Checkout Services
Welcome! With your Garner Public Library card you have access to a world of resources to educate, entertain, and inform you. The library has everything from bedtime stories to the latest thriller. Want to learn to grow a garden, speak Italian, fix your car, or build a deck? Study the Civil War, mythology, Shakespeare, or the Beatles? Check out a movie, listen to Bach, or read the local newspaper? The library is your place!
Get a library card
Any resident of Garner or the surrounding area may obtain a library card at no charge. Simply stop in and fill out a registration card. A parent or guardian must sign the registration card for children under 14. When you accept a library card, you agree to be responsible for fines for late returns and charges for lost or damaged items. You need to bring your card if you wish to check out materials.
Loan Periods
Movies circulate for 3 days; latest issues of magazines circulate overnight; older magazines circulate for 7 days (1 week); all other circulating material has a 14-day (2 week) loan period. Some reference and local history materials may only be used in the library.
Keeping Track of Due Dates
Each time you check out materials, your materials are stamped with the date they are due. You can also check your account online at our catalog with your library card number and your PIN.
Renewals
Everything except new fiction, magazines, and interlibrary loan materials can be renewed one time, as long as someone else hasn’t requested it. You may renew on the library catalog on the Internet, or by calling the library @ 641-923-2850.
Requests
If an item you want is already checked out, you may ask to have it held for you when it is returned. This is called a “placing a hold.” You can place a hold yourself online, or a staff member can help you place a hold by phone or in person. When more than one person requests a particular item, requests are filled in the order in which they were received.
Getting and Using Your PIN
A PIN (personal identification number) is issued with your library card. Please contact the library for more information.
Accessing Your Account Online
You can look at what you have checked out, renew materials and request items by clicking on “My Account” at our online catalog. You will need both your library card number and your PIN to log in.
Overdue Charges
Daily overdue fines are $1.00 per day for overdue movies. There are no fines for other materials. As always, movies returned by the date they are due will incur no overdue fines.
Notices
The library will inform borrowers by phone or email that items they have requested are available, that items are overdue, and that overdue charges have been incurred. Always contact the library if you receive a notice for an item that you think you have returned.
Lost Items
Materials that have not been returned at 60 days past the due date (30 days for magazines and movies) are considered lost, and a bill is sent for a replacement fee. If the item is returned in usable condition, the replacement fee is waived. If the item is returned after a payment has been made, no refund will be given. The item becomes the property of the patron. Library borrowing privileges will be suspended until such fines are paid or the materials returned.
Confidentiality
What you check out on your library card is confidential. Patron registration and circulation records will only be released upon receipt of a valid court order or subpoena authorized under federal, state, or local law.
Using Your Library Card
Bring your library card each time you come to the library to check out materials or access an Internet or word processing computer. You can also use it from home to view your account, renew materials, reserve materials, and gain access to premium online resources on the library’s website.
Keeping Your Account Current
Let us know if your address or other personal information changes. Protect your account by keeping your card safe and reporting a lost or stolen library card immediately. Card owners are responsible for materials borrowed on their cards until they are reported lost or stolen.