BERKSHIRE ATHENAEUM


BORROWING POLICY & PROCEDURES


The Berkshire Athenaeum is the public library for the City of Pittsfield. Under standards one ("Be open to all residents of the Commonwealth" and six ("Lend books...and extend privileges to the holders of cards issued by other public libraries in the Commonwealth on a reciprocal basis.") of the REGULATIONS FOR MINIMUM PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE, residents of Massachusetts communities with public libraries certified by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners are eligible for a free borrower's card from the Berkshire Athenaeum. Library trustees reserve the right, on a case by case basis, to deny borrowing privileges to residents of decertified communities. Persons not residing in Massachusetts may for a fee be eligible for library privileges at the Athenaeum.

A. NEW REGISTRATIONS:

A.1. Identification Required: To be issued a new library card, the borrower must provide at least one piece of identification bearing the borrower's name and current address.

A.2 Acceptable Identification: A driver's license is the preferred identification, but a current check book, bank book, voter registration card, grocery check-cashing card, utility bill, postmarked mail they have received, or other similar means of documenting a bona fide mailing address may be acceptable.

A.3. Identification of Minors: Children or young adults with no identification may use their parents identification.

A.4. Addresses: Where a street address and mailing address are different, both should be entered on the borrower's record, with the mailing address listed as the primary entry.

A.5. Accommodations: In the interest of good public relations, if the patrons indicates the identification process presents a hardship, the library employee should attempt to make an reasonable accommodation (see REGISTRATION ACCOMMODATIONS: A SUPPLEMENT TO BORROWING POLICY & PROCEDURES appended).

B. C/W MARS RECIPROCAL BORROWER REGISTRATION: When new patrons are registered it must be determined whether the patron has a library card at any other C/W MARS library before a card is issued by the Athenaeum. To do this, the library employee should take the following steps:

B.1. Ask the patron if they have a card from any other library.

B.2. Check the “List of C/W MARS Libraries” to determine if any of the libraries reported by the patron are no this list.

B.3. If the libraries reported are on the list, ask the patron to produce the card.

B.4. In CHARGE, scan the card number.

B.5. The system should indicate that the patron is registered at the reported library(s) and provide a brief summary of their standing at that library.

B.6. Press “Y” to register.

B.7. The BORROWER EDIT screen appears with the patron’s borrower information from the reported library.

B.8. If the registration needs to be updated, do so then write the record.

B.9. Put a small, dark blue dot on the card.

B.10. The patron is now registered at the Athenaeum.

B.11. If the patron has overdue or lost books or fines at the reported C/W MARS library, staff should exercise judgement as to whether an Athenaeum registration should be provided. Current library policy states that patrons with over $5.00 in overdue fines or over five books set to LOST cannot check anything out until the record is cleared. Staff may refuse to regist-er the patron at the Athenaeum until they pay their fines or return their books to the other C/W MARS library.

C. NON-RESIDENTS OF MASSACHUSETTS:

C.1. Non-Resident Fee: Borrowers not residing in Massachusetts who cannot provide the documentation noted in section C.1. below to exempt them from non-resident fees are considered OUT-OF-STATE BORROWERS and must pay the fee of $15.00 per year (any twelve month period) for the privilege of checking materials out of the Athenaeum.

C.2. Family Use of Cards: An out-of-state borrower's card may be used by other members of the same family. Each card issued will cost $15.00.



D. EXEMPTED NON-RESIDENTS OF MASSACHUSETTS:

D.1. Exemptions Defined: Borrowers not residing in Massachusetts must pay a non-resident fee to borrow materials from the Berkshire Athenaeum unless they can provide documentation demonstrating they:


D.2. Verification of Exemption: Documentation for C.1. above may include all those listed in A.2. as well as lease or rental agreements, land deeds, school identification cards, official notice from their school, camp director or employer on letterhead stationery, or other similar means of documenting a temporary residence.

D.3. Permanent Address: Applicants must show identification with their permanent out-of-state address along with the documentation of their current temporary status.

E. TEACHER REGISTRATIONS: Special cards and borrowing arrangements are available to classroom teachers for use in the Children’s Library. These cards extend the due date from the default two week loan to a four week loan period. The restriction of four items to a subject is enforced on teacher registrations as it is for all other borrowers. Teacher kits are special multi-media kits intended for (but not necessarily restricted to) teachers or youth group leaders.

F. REPLACEMENT CARDS: For a charge of $.25, a new registration will be issued to replace a card that has been lost or stolen.

G. BORROWER RESPONSIBILITY:

G.1. Borrowers are responsible for all items borrowed on their cards, including the fines charged for overdue materials and replacement costs for items lost or damaged.

G.2. Borrowers are responsible for keeping their registration current. Any borrower who has mail returned to the library as undeliverable may be blocked from the use of library services until the registration is updated. Identification may be required (as with "New Registrations" in Section A above) at the discretion of library staff.

G.3. Anyone, of any age, who is eligible for a library card may use any materials in the Berkshire Athenaeum and shall not have that privilege limited by any staff person. In accordance with the Athenaeum’s Collection Development / Maintenance Policy, parents who wish to deny their children access to certain materials must take the responsibility themselves.

H. CONFIDENTIALITY OF BORROWING RECORDS:

H.1. Borrower Confidentiality: The borrowing records of individual patrons concerning type of material and/or specific titles borrowed will be considered confidential by the Berkshire Athenaeum. Only the Director may authorize the dissemination of this information to a third party, and this will be done only when required by law.

H.2. Records of Minors: Information about materials borrowed by minors may be granted to the legal guardians once those items have achieved a status of overdue.

I. GENERAL LOAN PERIODS: Most adult fiction and non-fiction books are loaned for a period of four weeks. New fiction, new non-fiction, all children's circulating materials, compact discs, audio cassettes, and magazines are borrowed for two weeks. Video cassettes and CD ROMs are loaned for one week.

J. BORROWING RESTRICTIONS: There is no limit on the total number of items that a borrower may take from the Athenaeum at any given time, however the following limits per library card are enforced to assure that there is sufficient information or materials available in a given format. Limits refer to both adult and juvenile collections unless specified to the contrary:
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K. RENEWALS: Materials checked out from the Children's Library are the only items that may be renewed at the Athenaeum. Exceptions are made for certified disabled individuals (see REQUESTS FOR EXCEPTIONS TO RENEW LIBRARY MATERIALS: A SUPPLEMENT TO BORROWING POLICY & PROCEDURES appended).

L. BOOK RETURNS: Books may be returned at any time in the book drops outside the building, however audio-visual materials and kits are fragile and should always be returned to the library's circulation desks to prevent damage.

M. OBTAINING UNAVAILABLE MATERIALS:

M.1. Holds: Items in circulation may be reserved or placed on hold for a small fee. There is a limit of four reserves per library card.

M.2. Interlibrary Loan: Materials not owned by the Athenaeum may often be borrowed or photocopied from the collection of another library. This service is available through the library’s Reference Department (see INTERLIBRARY LOAN POLICY & PROCEDURES).

M.3. Request for Purchase: The Athenaeum welcomes suggestions for purchase of materials not in the collection with the understanding that such requests are subject to the same selection criteria as materials considered for purchase. Materials not purchased may be requested through interlibrary loan.






























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