Circulation of Library Materials

Date Issued: 07/21/2004
Date Revised: 10/16/2013, 06/17/2020, 05/19/2021, 08/09/2022, 04/17/2024
Attachments: 1-Fee Schedule

It is the policy of the library to check out and check in library materials as quickly as possible while ensuring accurate transaction records and inventory control of library materials.

1. Material Circulation Parameters

The following chart dictates the general checkout parameters for library materials.

Material	Checkout Period	Limit	Renewable	Reservable
Books	21 Days	50	Yes	Yes
Books on CD	21 Days	10	Yes	Yes
Back issues of Magazines	21 Days	10	Yes	Yes
DVDs	7 days	10	Yes	Yes
DVDS - Series	14 days	3	Yes	Yes
eBooks and eAudiobooks	21 Days	10	Yes	Yes
Lucky Day	7 Days	3	No	No
Book Club Kits	60 days	3	No	Yes
Library Provided Book Club Books	60 days	N/A	No	Yes

2. Special Circulation Policies

• Cardholders over 62 years of age are considered seniors and receive an extra week for physical books, audiobooks, and back issues of magazines.
• The loan period for an interlibrary loan is set by the lending institution.
• Adult or youth reference materials are loaned for a period of up to three days. These materials are non-renewable and are billed if not returned within seven days.
• Some downloadable content may have special circulation periods or may have no expiration period
• Other items may be assigned special loan periods as needed including 3-D materials and the annual Consumer Checkbook Guide to Federal Health Plans.

3. Non-Circulating Materials

The following library materials may not circulate outside of the library:

• Newspapers
• Most recent issue of magazines
• Reference books (except as outlined above)
• Falls Church History Room materials

4. Blocked Cardholder Records

Cardholders’ borrowing privileges and access to select online resources are suspended when any one of the following conditions is met:

• Total amount owed on a cardholder’s account exceeds $30.
• The account has five or more overdue materials.
• A library account has expired.

An account is unblocked upon the payment of the amount owed, return of the overdue items, or renewal of the library account.

5. Renewals

Most circulating items may be renewed two times, for a period of time equal to the original loan period, unless the item is reserved by another cardholder or the account attempting renewal is blocked.  Renewal loan periods are calculated from the date of the renewal.

Some items may be non-renewable by policy or by definition (such as Lucky Day materials and Book Club to Go kits).

MRSPL automatically renews all eligible materials the day they are due. Items that are not eligible to be auto-renewed include materials that have already been renewed twice, materials on reserve for another cardholder, materials on a blocked account, and electronic materials. Automated renewal notifications will be sent to cardholders via their preferred notification method providing them with information about the renewed items, as well as information about items that could not be renewed.

6. Interlibrary Loans (ILL)

A. Borrowing Material from Another Library for a MRSPL Cardholder

For cardholders who are residents or employees of the City of Falls Church, MRSPL will, on the Cardholder’s behalf, borrow items not held in the library’s collection from other libraries (Interlibrary Loan, “ILL”).  Such eligible cardholders may have up to five active ILL requests at one time.

Any fees charged to MRSPL by the library loaning the item must be paid by the requesting cardholder. These fees may include processing, photocopying, and/or postage charges (see attached fee schedule). Every effort is made to borrow items free of charge. If additional charges prove unavoidable, the requesting cardholder is notified before any loan is formally initiated.

ILL requests may be submitted online on the ILL Request page (https://www.mrspl.org/books-more/ill-request) or in person at the service desk. Items already in the library’s collection may not be requested through interlibrary loan, even if the item is non-circulating or currently checked out.

Most libraries typically do not make available for ILL those items that were published within the last year, reference materials, and items on DVD, CD, or audiocassette. Therefore, these items may be difficult to obtain.

Circulation periods for ILL items are dictated by the lending library and may only be renewed with its approval. Fines are charged to patrons for each day an ILL item is overdue. Cardholders may be held responsible for the entire replacement cost of a book if it is lost or, in the opinion of the lending library, damaged beyond repair. See the attached Fee Schedule for details.

MRSPL reserves the right to suspend or completely revoke ILL borrowing privileges of cardholders who repeatedly return ILL items more than one week late, or who lose or damage these items.

B. Loaning Material Owned by MRSPL to Another Library

MRPSL does not charge other libraries wishing to borrow items from its collection. The following items, however, are not loaned if requested:

• DVDs, CDs, audiodiscs, and audiocassettes
• Reference materials
• Microfilm and microfiche
• Original issues of periodicals (including newspapers)
• Falls Church History Room materials
• Books published within the last year

Up to 30 photocopied pages from periodicals or other non-loanable materials are provided free of charge upon request. A fee per page is charged for each photocopied page after the first 30 pages (see attached Fee Schedule).

Materials are loaned for three weeks and may be renewed for an additional three weeks if not reserved by another cardholder.

ILL statistics are maintained by MRSPL as part of its annual report to the Library of Virginia.

7. Return of Materials

With the exception of ILL items, borrowed items may be returned to the service desks or interior book drop during operating hours, or to one of the exterior book drops at any time. Items may be returned by mail, although the returned date is the date that the item is received and checked in, and the cardholder is responsible for any items lost or damaged in transit.

ILL materials must be returned in-person to the MRSPL and handed to a staff person at the service desk; ILL items may not be returned by mail or by any book drop.

The cardholder is responsible for any charges related to damage determined to have been done to the item while checked out to the cardholder and for any replacement costs associated with items that are not returned to the library. 

8. Definitions of Lost/Missing/Damaged Materials

Long Overdue/Lost Items: An item is considered long overdue or lost when it is 30 days overdue.

Missing Items: An item is considered missing when it has an available status in the catalog (i.e.,it is not checked out) but it cannot be found within the building.

Damaged Items: An item is considered damaged if it is returned with more than normal wear and tear (e.g. coffee or tea stains, water damage, torn out or missing pages, covers chewed up by a pet).

Claims Returned: If a cardholder recalls returning an item that can no longer be found in the library, that item may be given a Claims Returned status, meaning that the item is neither available for circulation nor attached to any cardholder record.

9. Material Fees

MRSPL assesses charges in accordance with the attached Fees schedule.  As of July 1, 2020, MRSPL no longer assesses daily overdue fines except on ILL items. Lost/Damaged items are charged their replacement fees. Items are considered long overdue when they are 30 days overdue, at which point the replacement fee will be automatically billed to the cardholder’s account. Billed charges for long overdue items will be removed from cardholder accounts when the items are returned to the library. (See below for additional information on billing.)

Fee rates are reviewed annually, or more frequently as the need arises.  Fees rates are available on the library website.   

The Circulation Supervisor, the Library Director, or library staff may waive or reduce charges. A cardholder may appeal a decision regarding reduction of charges either in person or in writing to the Library Board of Trustees if not satisfied with the decision.

Payment options for resolving charges include payment by cash, check, credit card, or debit card.  Credit card payments are accepted by phone, in person, and in our online catalog via PayPal.  Payment plans which allow a cardholder to continue to use the library despite a blocked account may be arranged with the Circulation Supervisor or the Library Director in cases where payment of charges may constitute a hardship for the cardholder.

The fee for lost or damaged items is listed in the library database. MRSPL does not accept replacement-in-kind for lost or damaged items.  A cardholder may receive a refund for lost items which are then found and returned to the library in good condition.  Refunds are processed on a monthly basis and are not given more than six months after the date of original payment nor given without receipt of the original payment.

Accounts with severely overdue items or with excessive charges are subject to legal action by the library. 

10. Reserves

Cardholders may place reserves on items so that those items are trapped and held for them. If multiple cardholders place reserves on the same item, the first cardholder to place a reserve has first priority. Reserves on physical items are retrieved from shelves by library staff as time permits. Reserves placed on items that are not currently checked out remain available to borrow by other patrons in the library until the reserved item is officially pulled from the shelf by staff and assigned to the patron who placed the reserve.

A cardholder may place 20 reserves at a time on physical items and 10 reserves at a time on eBooks and eAudiobooks.

Cardholders may place reserves on physical items that are on order once the title appears in the catalog. Electronic materials are not able to be placed on reserve before purchasing.

Items are held for a cardholder for seven days, after which, if they are not checked out by the cardholder, they are pulled and assigned to the next person on the reserve list. If there is no additional reserve on the item it is returned to circulation.  EBooks and eAudiobooks, however, are available for only 72 hours from the date that the cardholder is notified of their availability.

Cardholders may cancel a pulled and assigned reserve on physical items by contacting library staff.