Policy 200: Circulation Of Library Materials

Section 1: Free And Equal Access To Library Materials And Services
As part of this policy, the Library Board of Trustees of The Brookfield Library adopts the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights (1980), its Freedom to Read Statement (1972), and its related intellectual freedom documents. These documents endorse free and equal access to library materials and services for all people, regardless of race, creed, national origin, age, place of residence, or other personal criteria.

It is the policy of The Brookfield Library not to forbid or impede the circulation of items from the library collection to any of its cardholders in good standing, whether resident or non-resident, based upon that cardholder’s race, creed, national origin, age, place of residence, or other personal criteria.

It is the policy of The Brookfield Library that parents or guardians, not the library staff or trustees, are responsible for monitoring and approving the selection of materials made by children. It is the parents or guardians – and only these – who may restrict their children – and only their children – from access to library materials and services. Parents or guardians who wish their children not have access to certain materials or services should so advise their children, as the responsibility of the library staff and trustees is to provide free and equal access to library materials and services to all library users.


Section 2: Categories Of Library Materials
Subject to budgetary constraints, the collection of The Brookfield Library will be developed to include the following materials:
1. Adult books (those best suited for use by library users ages 14 and up)
2. Young adult books (those best suited for use by youth ages 11 to 18)
3. Children’s books (those best suited for use by children under the age of 11)
4. Magazines
5. Newspapers
6. Microforms (including both microfiche and microfilm)
7. Subscriptions to electronic databases available on computers in the library, and (in some cases) remotely from a patron’s home computer
8. Audiobooks
9. Compact discs
10. Videorecordings on DVD and videocassette
11. Read-alongs (children’s books with accompanying audiorecordings)
12. Passes (entry passes for free or discounted admission to museums, planetariums, and other educational facilities)

Other formats may be added to this list from time to time, as developed and subject to budgetary constraints.


Section 3: Loan Periods For Library Materials
Library materials will be loaned to cardholders for the following loan periods:

Adult books:
New fiction and nonfiction (those books circulated by the library for 6 months or less):
14 calendar days

All other fiction and nonfiction:
21 calendar days

Reference:
See below

Young Adult books:
21 calendar days

Children’s books:
Fiction and nonfiction:
21 calendar days

Reference
See below

Books listed on the Brookfield school system’s reading lists of required or suggested reading:
May be restricted to 14 calendar days during periods of heavy demand, as determined by the library staff

Magazines (Adult and Children’s):
Most recent issue:
Not available for loan

All other issues:
14 calendar days

Newspapers:
Not available for loan

Microforms:
Not available for loan

Computer software:
Not available for loan unless created for use with another, circulating item. Then, circulates for the same loan period as the companion item.

Audiobooks:
14 calendar days

Compact discs:
14 calendar days

Videorecordings and DVDs:
Adult fiction (feature films) less than six (6) months old:
2 calendar days
Adult fiction (feature films) greater than six (6) months old:
7 calendar days
Adult nonfiction and instructional:
14 calendar days
Children’s fiction and nonfiction less than six (6) months old:
2 calendar days
Children’s fiction and nonfiction greater than six (6) months old:
7 calendar days

Read-alongs
14 calendar days

Museum Passes
2 calendar days
NOTE: Only Brookfield residents and members of The Friends of The Brookfield Library may borrow passes.

Interlibrary loan items borrowed from other libraries for local cardholders:
21 calendar days

Interlibrary loan items loaned to other libraries for the borrowing libraries’ cardholders:
28 calendar days.
NOTE: items circulated by Brookfield for 6 months or less, and items with patron reserves outstanding, are not available for interlibrary loan.

Reference books:
Usually not available for loan.
They may, however, be loaned overnight with the permission of the Library Director, the Adult Services Librarian, or the Children’s Services Librarian. Reference books loaned overnight will be due the following business day, 15 minutes after the library opens.

Upon occasion, to satisfy the special needs of cardholders, items in the library collection may be loaned for “special loan periods” which differ from the periods specified above. Special loan periods may be granted by the Circulation Supervisor or, in his or her absence, by the staff member supervising the Circulation Desk at the time. A maximum of twelve (12) items per cardholder may be borrowed from the library collection on a special loan period at any one time.

Normally, special loan periods are not to exceed one (1) month from date of loan. However, at the discretion of the Circulation Supervisor or, in his or her absence, of the staff member supervising the Circulation Desk at the time, longer special loan periods may be granted, not to exceed three (3) months from date of loan.

The following items will not be eligible for special loan periods:
- items circulated by the library for six (6) months or less
- items on which patron reserves are outstanding
- reference materials
- any item owned by another agency and on loan to The Brookfield Library for a limited amount of time
- books listed on the Brookfield school system’s reading lists of required or suggested reading (during periods of heavy demand, as determined by the library staff)

Library materials are not to be made due on a day on which the library is not open for business. Whenever materials are loaned for a period that would make them due on a day on which the library is closed, the loan period will be extended so as to make the items due on the immediate next library business day.


Section 4: Renewals Of Library Materials
Circulating items in the library collection may be borrowed for the loan periods specified in Section III above and, when due, may be renewed a maximum of two (2) times, for a similar loan period each time.

The following items will not be eligible for renewal:
- items on which patron reserves are outstanding
- reference books loaned overnight
- interlibrary loan items borrowed from other libraries for local cardholders
- books listed on the Brookfield school system’s reading lists of required or suggested reading (during periods of heavy demand, as determined by the library staff)

Renewals of materials may be made either in person or by telephone or online.

Overdue items may be renewed, since a record of the fine owed is retained in the borrower’s computer record for subsequent payment.


Section 5: Reserving Library Materials
Circulating items in the library collection may be reserved by library cardholders.

Only items out in circulation or otherwise not immediately available at the time requested may be reserved. No item immediately available to the requesting cardholder may be placed on reserve.

Items are not reserved for specific dates. Reserves will be satisfied at the time the requested item becomes available.

As soon as a reserved item becomes available, the library will notify the requesting cardholder. Reserved items of all formats, with the exception of videorecordings and DVDs, will be held in reserve for the requesting cardholder for no less than three (3) and no more than seven (7) business days following the day of notification (the exact time period to be determined by the library staff, based on patron demand, and to be relayed to the patron). Videorecordings will be held in reserve for forty-eight (48) hours following notification of availability. Any reserved item not called for within the hold period relayed to the patron will be given to the next requesting cardholder or, lacking further reserves, will be returned to the circulating stacks.

Books listed on the Brookfield school system’s reading lists of recommended or suggested reading may not be eligible for reserves during periods of heavy demand, as determined by the library staff.


Section 6: Limitations On The Number Of Items That May Be Borrowed
The library will not restrict the number of items that may be borrowed by a cardholder at a single time, with the following exceptions:

- A cardholder may not have more than the allowable limit of any material type checked out at any time.
- Videotapes: No limit
- DVDs: New DVDs (owned by the library for less than six months) - limited to three per family. DVDs older than six months - 10 per borrower's card.
- Compact discs: No limit
- Passes: One per family at a time
- Nonfiction books: No more than three (3) children’s nonfiction books on the same topic per household, due to heavy demand. A limit of no more than three (3) adult or young adult nonfiction books on the same topic per household may be imposed from time to time, at the discretion of the Adult Services Librarian, whenever such items are widely required in connection with school assignments.
- Children’s holiday books: No more than three (3) per household during the appropriate season, as determined by the Children’s Services Librarian, due to heavy demand. (The Children’s Services Librarian may remove this limitation, at his or her discretion, whenever sufficient inventory so permits.)
- Special loan periods: A maximum of twelve (12) items per cardholder. See Section 3 above.
- Classroom collections for schoolteachers: A maximum of six (6) nonfiction items per teacher. See Section 13 below.
- When the Library’s automated system is not available for circulation control: a) patrons must present a library card to be able to borrow materials, and b) patrons will be limited to 25 items per card, subject to the above limits.


Section 7: Overdue Materials
It is the policy of The Brookfield Library to notify cardholders regarding the overdue status of library materials in their care, as well as regarding overdue fines and/or replacements charges pending as a result of their library usage.

The number of overdue notices, their mailing schedules, and other particulars pertaining to the library’s overdue notifications system will be decided upon by the Library Director in consultation with the Circulation Supervisor.


Section 8: Fine Charges For Overdue Materials
The following fines will be charged for overdue library materials:

- Ten cents ($0.10) per library business day per item on all materials available for loan, with the exception of reference books, videorecordings and DVDs, and passes.
- Ten dollars ($10.00) per library business day per item for reference books.
- Two dollars ($2.00) per library business day per item for videorecordings, DVDs, and passes.

In recognition of in-kind services rendered, the following individuals are exempt from paying overdue fines throughout the period of their active service to the library:
- members of the Library Board of Trustees
- members of the library staff (including substitutes)
- library volunteers
- members of the Board of Directors of The Friends of The Brookfield Library

As a professional courtesy, overdue fines will not be levied against libraries borrowing items from Brookfield’s collection via the interlibrary loan system.


Section 9: Maximum Fine Charges
The following maximum fine charges will apply for overdue library materials:

- Five dollars ($5.00) maximum overdue fine allowable on any individual collection item, with the exception of the items specified below.
- Ten dollars ($10.00) maximum overdue fine allowable on any individual videorecording or pass.
- Thirty dollars ($30.00) maximum overdue fine allowable on any individual reference book.

No maximum overdue fine is established for individual library cards.


Section 10: Replacement Costs For Lost Or Damaged Materials
Patrons who lose or damage library materials while in their care will be expected to pay the cost to replace those items.

The replacement cost for a lost or damaged library material of any format will be either the original purchase price of the item as recorded in its computer record, or else the minimum replacement charge for that type of item, whichever is higher.

The minimum replacement charges for lost or damaged library materials will be as follows:

Books:
Adult Fiction: $25.00
Adult Nonfiction: $30.00
Adult Cataloged Softcover (Fiction & Nonfiction): $18.00
Adult Reference: $75.00
Children’s Fiction: $20.00
Children’s Nonfiction $20.00
Children’s Cataloged Softcover (Fiction & Nonfiction): $ 9.00
Children’s Reference: $30.00

Magazines: $ 5.00

Videorecordings and DVDs:
Adult Fiction: $25.00
Adult Nonfiction: $35.00
Children’s: $20.00

Audiorecordings (Adult and Children’s, Per Tape or CD): $ 9.00

Music or Spoken Compact Discs: $20.00

Read-Alongs: $15.00

Museum Passes: $10.00

Equipment: Replacement Cost

The donation of a new copy of a lost or damaged item, or a reasonable replacement for an out-of-print item (as determined by the library staff), will be accepted in lieu of payment of replacement charges. The donated new copy must be in at least as sturdy a condition as the original item (i.e., hardcover for hardcover, etc.). Donations or replacements obtained by the patron must be received within four (4) weeks of agreement with the library to replace.

Overdue fine charges will not be added to the cost of replacement when a lost or damaged library material is paid for.

A cardholder who pays the replacement cost for a library material lost while in his or her care will be given ninety (90) calendar days in which to locate and return the item to the library in good, usable condition. Within this time period, the cardholder will receive a full refund of all replacement costs paid, less a three dollar ($3.00) service charge.


Section 11: Financially-Related Borrower Suspensions
A Brookfield library cardholder will have his or her library borrowing privileges suspended whenever he or she owes twenty dollars ($20.00) or more in overdue fines and/or replacement charges.


Section 12: Discretion In Financial Transactions
The trustees and staff of The Brookfield Library:

- wish to provide excellent public service
- acknowledge that the library can make mistakes when charging and discharging library materials
- recognize that, when dealing with large numbers of library materials and cardholders, unlikely circumstances and accidents can occur

Therefore, staff members are authorized to adjust, or even to cancel, overdue fines and replacement costs owed to the library by cardholders, if circumstances seem to warrant.

It is the policy of The Brookfield Library that staff members will never be reprimanded or disciplined for erring in favor of a patron or for giving a patron the benefit of the doubt.

The library does not charge overdue fines when such charges result from the death, hospitalization, or serious illness of a cardholder or a member of the cardholder’s close family.


Section 13: Classroom Collections
The public and parochial schools of Brookfield, as well as those in surrounding towns, receive funds through their governing boards to develop school library collections that respond to the curriculum needs of their students and teachers. Moreover, the items purchased for the collection of the public library are intended to be available for use and enjoyment by all the citizens of Brookfield. Therefore, it is the policy of The Brookfield Library not to lend large numbers of items from the library collection to schoolteachers for use in their classrooms. Schools may borrow supplemental materials from the Connecticut State Library’s Middletown and Willimantic Library Service Centers.

As a courtesy to Brookfield’s public, parochial, and nursery schools, the Children’s Services Librarian may, at his or her discretion, lend a maximum of six (6) nonfiction items from the Children’s Room collection to a teacher needing such materials for instructional purposes in the classroom. Such small loans will be subject to the same rules regarding loan periods, renewals, and overdue fines and replacement charges as those specified above.

Adopted by the Library Board of Trustees, June 8, 1998; revised 9/24/03, revised 2/27/2009