Circulation Policy

Title Circulation Policy

Effective Date: June 14, 2010
Authorized by: Oconto falls Community Library Board
  1. ​Library Cards will be issued to new applicants when they register, there will be no waiting period. However, identification accepted must be a Wisconsin state issued I.D. or Wisconsin state issued driver’s license with current address. If not current address, a piece of mail must be submitted with current address. The envelope must have come through the mail; post marked and is mailed from a utility, bank or is a bill. If the person does not have any mail, a community card will be issued limiting the number of items they can check out to 3 and the card will be mailed to them. If patron just wants to use the computer, a computer pass can be issued as long as patron does not have an account from another library with fines over $5.00.
  2. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to obtain a library card. No application cards will be given to children to be filled out at home.
  3. Children under the age of 7 will not be issued their own library card, but may borrow books using the card of another family member. Library materials cannot be checked out without a valid library card or picture I.D. If a card is lost or misplaced, it must be reported to a Staff person, Patron can continue to look for library card and use a picture I.D. until it is deemed lost and new card issued. There will be a $3.00 charge for the replacement card.
  4. Library cards are renewed every year. Cards will not be renewed for a patron if they have library materials overdue or owe a fine, until the matter is resolved.
  5. The loan period for Library materials will be determined by the Librarian, with direction from the Library Staff and will be in accordance with borrowing procedures of OWLSNET.
  6. Interlibrary loan material is due on the date indicated by the lending library. In special cases, an attempt may be made to extend the loan period.
  7. Some reference books, automotive books, plat books, yearbooks and local history material are be restricted to in-house use only. Magazines have no check-out restrictions.
  8. Most library materials, with some exceptions, may be renewed, unless it is high demand or set to Library Use Only. Materials may be renewed by person, telephone or if the patron uses InfoSoup.
  9. The library limits the number of items to be checked out to 50 maximum. A limit of 10 DVDs, videos and games are included in the 50 that a patron may borrow at the time. The librarian reserves the right to limit the number of items that a person can check out if the library has had difficulty in retrieving overdue or billed items.
  10. Reserves may be placed on material, either by telephone or in person, and patrons will be notified by mail, email or phone when material is available. There is no charge for reserving library material.
  11. There will be a fine for any library material which is not returned on due date. The amount of the fine is determined by the Library Board. Patrons are encouraged to sign up for email or text notifications to receive notices of overdue material. The patron will be mailed the second overdue notice, called on first bill and week later a bill will be sent. Bills will be generated by the owning library, not the library that the patron has checked the material out from. If there is no response, and the amount totals more than $50.00, the library will take legal action to recover materials. The Owlsnet Consortium, of which Oconto Falls is a member, has partnered with a collection agency to retrieve material and fines. After 120 days, if the collection agency has not succeeded, a court order will be issued and the patron account turned over to the police. If patron has a history of overdue materials or the need of intervention by collection agency or police to retrieve materials, the Director has the authority to reduce the number of items the person can check out.
  12. The Library must be compensated for any materials that are damaged so badly as to be judged unsuitable, in the opinion of the Librarian, for the collection. These materials must be paid for at the replacement cost, plus a fee for processing.
  13. All materials in the library relating to registration and the subsequent circulation of materials are considered to be confidential in nature. A valid court order must be presented to the librarian and/ or board in order to examine any records. This is to prevent an unreasonable invasion of privacy to Library Patrons.
  14. DVDs will not be checked out to anyone 16 or younger.
  15. Family Members will be allowed to pick up other family members hold items. Anyone under the age of 16 will be allow to pickup DVDs that are on hold shelf only for other family members.

​Policy updated Feb 13, 2012
Revised June 2, 2014