The Mendocino County Library is a free, public library. With a library card, anyone may borrow materials, request books, use the public access computers, or use the databases for magazines and newspapers.

Library Card Holder Privileges and Responsibilities

The Library is committed to providing excellent customer service as well as free, convenient, and reasonable access to the Library’s collections and services. The Library must balance this commitment with its responsibility as a steward of resources paid for with public funds. To protect each individual's access to information and services, the Library has established rules governing the circulation of Library materials. These rules protect the borrowing privileges of Library patrons and preserve and protect the Library's materials.

Cardholder Rights and Privileges

1. General Library Cards are issued free of charge to any resident of California or anyone who owns property in the state. Applications must be turned in at the branch up to 15 minutes before closing.
2. Mendocino, Sonoma, and Lake County Library General Library Cards may be used at any of the three county Library branches and Bookmobile. 
3. A person may choose one General Library Card in the three county consortium.
4. A General Library Card entitles the cardholder to full access of their selected system's collections, electronic information, and services of the Library without charge.  
   • "Collections" includes the use of all formats, including books, discs (CD/DVD), and other tangible materials.
   • "Electronic information" includes information available via a computer, including but not limited to the public catalog, online reference sources, and downloadable content.
   • "Services" includes, but is not limited to special collections, internet access, interlibrary loan services, and placing requests.
5. Limited Use Cards are issued under the following circumstances:
   • Out of state residents who are visiting the area
   • California residents with no address verification
   • People under 18 without an address verification or parent/legal guardian's signature
6. Limited Use Cards are good for access to most library services except for programs such as Interlibrary Loans, the Zip program, circulating technology (such as iPads, Kindles, laptops), and some online services. Limited Use Cards are limited to 4 checkouts at one time.
7. E-Cards are available for internet access within the library and/or access to some of the electronic resources.
8. Online Cards can be made through our Find Catalog and can be used for most online resources.
   • Online Cards need to be converted to General Cards before physical items can be checked out and before some resources are accessible.
   • Online cards expire after 120 days, if not converted to regular cards.
9. The Library reserves the right to issue special cards such as the Educator Card, the Agency Card, or the Library by Mail Card for which non-standard borrowing privileges apply.

 Rights of Adults & Children

1. Adults are responsible, physically and financially, for all materials checked out on their own card.
2. Parents or guardians are responsible, physically and financially, for all materials checked out on their child’s card, ages 17 and younger.
3. If a parent or guardian wishes to cancel a child’s library card account, the adult should contact a local branch library in writing or in person.
4. The Library does not provide group library card accounts.  Each person must have his or her own library card account.
5. Parents are responsible for their own children in the library. We encourage parents to guide their children in library use. Library staff are not responsible for monitoring items checked out by patrons of any age.

Cardholder Responsibilities

1. Patrons are financially responsible for all items checked out on their cards until those items are returned. The responsibility for returning materials on time rests with the patron and is not dependent upon receipt of a notice from the Library.
2. The Library requires that each applicant for a library card provide information to enable the Library to contact the cardholder about their account.
   • Adults (people 18 years and older) must provide an acceptable form of identification and proof of address.
   • Youth (people 17 years old and younger) must provide an acceptable form of personal identification or a parent/guardian with an acceptable form of identification, proof of address, and an application signed by a parent or guardian acknowledging their financial responsibility. The application informs parents and guardians of their responsibility for resources checked out on their child’s card.
   • The list of acceptable forms of identification is available online and at all public service desks.
3. Cardholders are responsible for charges for lost, destroyed, or damaged materials.
4. Notifications about library services or materials are sent using the contact information supplied by the cardholder.
5. It is the library card holder’s responsibility to inform the library about any updates to the contact information in their library account.
6. Lost or stolen library cards should be reported to the Library immediately to avoid any fees being incurred by an unauthorized user.
7. Anyone requesting a replacement card must show an acceptable form of identification.
8. A library card holder’s right to use that card to checkout materials is denied if:
   • The fees charged to the account are above the threshold listed below.
   • The cardholder has the maximum number of items checked out to the account.
   • The library card has been reported lost.
   • The patron has been excluded from using the library under the Library’s Standards of Behavior policy.

Purging Patron Accounts

• check out an item online or in person
• use your card with a library database or to use a public internet computer
• update your library card information with a staff member

If your account is purged, please reapply for a library card. There is no charge to replace your library card.

Circulation Parameters

Unpaid Fees

A patron with more than $20 in fees on their library card account is blocked from checking out materials until the amount owed is lower than $20.

Waiving Fees

Fees may be waived under the following circumstances:

• An inadvertent error in library routines
• Unexpected library closure
• A natural disaster (fire, flood, earthquake, etc.)

Loan Periods for Circulating Material

Mendocino County Library may pilot new formats and collections using loan periods not listed in this Appendix.

Loan Limits

A general cardholder may have 50 items checked out at one time. Of those 50 items, no more than two may be video or board games, and no more than 20 items may be DVDs.

Special items such as tablets, laptops, and games may only be checked out to Mendocino General cardholders and need to be returned directly to the lending branch.

Limited Use cards

Limited Use cardholders may have 4 items checked out at one time and are limited to 4 requests. Limited Use cards need to be renewed annually.

Renewals

Items may renew up to three times if there are no requests on the item. If there are requests on the item, it cannot be renewed. If an item is in a special collection such as a “Lucky Day” item, renewals are not permitted.

Requests

A cardholder may have a total of 30 requests at one time.

A requested item is held for a patron for 7 calendar days before being returned to the shelf or sent to the next patron in the request queue.

Any item on request for a patron will remain active until filled or for 270 calendar days, or until the item is no longer available, whichever comes first.

Lost or Damaged Item Fees

Library items may be returned to any library branch in Mendocino, Lake or Sonoma counties. There is a book drop available for use when the branches are closed. Patrons will be charged for lost or damaged items.

Schedule of Charges

Fees are determined by the Board of Supervisors.