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About Your Library
> Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Animal License?
Annual cat and dog license application forms
are available online and at the Circulation or Borrower Services Desk of
all
Baltimore County Public Library branches, except the Loch Raven Library.
To get a license at the library you will need to fill out an application
form, bring evidence of an up-to-date rabies vaccination certificate, and
pay the appropriate fee for the license plus a $2.00 library service fee per
license.
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Book Ahead
Introducing a hold service for new items before the library receives them,
and be the first to check out the item when it arrives! For just $1.00 for
each "On Order" title reserved, you may place a hold as soon as the title appears
as "on order" in the BCPL catalog. You will be
notified by email or automated telephone call when the item arrives at your branch. The items will be held for you
for seven days.
There is an additional fee of $1.00 if you do not pick up your item within
7 days of notification that it is available for pick up. You may place a Book Ahead hold yourself through our online catalog or
by calling or visiting your local branch and asking for assistance. You
will need to have your library card number to use the online system.
Please note: some items cannot be Booked Ahead and these include feature
length entertainment DVDs, magazines, and video games Back
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Collection Agency Customers
owing $50.00 or more in fines may be referred to a collection
agency after 22 days. Customers owing $50.00 or more in fees and fines
combined may be referred to a collection agency after 50 days.
A $15.00 service charge will be applied.
Staff at the Circulation or Borrower Services Desk
at your
Baltimore County Public Library branch can assist with making
partial payment arrangements.
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Customer Notification
Email Notification:
Customers can sign
up online to receive email notification about overdue items, requested
holds (also known as reserves), lost materials and fines owed.
Customers can sign up for this service when they
get a library
card for the first time, or by adding their
e-mail address to their library account at the
Circulation or Borrower Services Desk or the Information Desk
at any
Baltimore County Public Library branch.
Customers will not receive any unsolicited notices without giving permission
on their registration form.
Please notify the Circulation or
Borrower Services Desk at any Baltimore County Public Library branch if your
email or phone number changes. This is the only way the customer will benefit
from this fast and reliable notification system.
How you are notified of holds ready for pick up, overdue or lost items and
fines owed
-
You will be notified when items you
placed on hold are available for pick up. This includes items reserved
through the Book Ahead service. If e-mail is
unsuccessful or unavailable, you will be notified by our automated phone
service. If phone notification is unsuccessful, a paper notice will be
mailed. Items will be held for picked up for 7 days. If you do not pick up your holds within seven days
of notification,
a fee of $1.00 per item will be charged to your library card. There is an
additional $1.00 fee for
each item placed on hold through the Book Ahead service or through the
Interlibrary
Loan service.
-
Items are considered overdue if not returned before or by
branch closing time on the item's
due date. You will receive notification of
overdue items
by email 14 days from the item's due date.
If email is unsuccessful or unavailable, you will be notified by our
automated phone service. If phone notification is
unsuccessful,
a paper notice will be mailed. Late
fines are attached to the customer's library account.
-
If an item is 28 days overdue, it is automatically set
lost. Customers are notified
by email
that an item is
considered lost 28 days from the item's due date. If email is
unsuccessful or unavailable, a paper notice is mailed.
Phone notification is not available.
- Fines
are charged to the customer's library account if an item was not returned
before or by
branch closing time on the item's
due date.
Not Picked Up Fees are charged to the customer's library account if
customers do not pick up their holds within seven days of notification that
item is available.
Customers who
have returned overdue items but have unpaid fines
of any amount will receive email notification of fines owned 14 days from
the return date of the item. If email is unavailable or unsuccessful, a
paper notice is mailed. Fine notification is not available through our automated telephone service.
Fine notification is currently only available by email or US Postal mail.
However, there are several ways for you to
check the
status of your library account.
Customers who have returned
overdue items but have unpaid fines of $10.00 or more, will
receive paper notification after two weeks.
Fine notification cannot be made by
our automated telephone service.
Customers may have other lost or
overdue items that may not appear on these fine notices. Notification of
these lost or overdue items will be made, as appropriate, according to
established Baltimore County Public Library policies and procedures. It is
possible to
check
the status of your library account.
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Damage
Fees For a mutilated
or missing
barcode label on a borrowed item and radio-frequency identification (RFID)
tags, the fee is $1.00. For all other damage to
materials, the fee will vary based on the extent of the damage. The
staff at the Circulation or Borrower Services Desk at any of
our
library branches will determine the amount of damage to the item.
Replacement of a damaged library card costs $2.00.
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Damage
to Personal Equipment The
library is not responsible for damage to personal equipment from use of
library
non-print materials. Baltimore County
Public Library assumes no responsibility for damage, theft, or loss of a
customer’s equipment, software, data or other personal property brought into
or used within Baltimore County Public Library facilities.
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Donations
Many Baltimore County Public Library branches accept donations of
materials. The libraries accept gifts of materials, but reserves the right to
evaluate and to dispose of them using the criteria applied to our purchased
material.
Contact
a Baltimore County Public Library branch for further information on both monetary donations
and whether donations of materials are being accepted.
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Fax The library will
fax up to four pages of library information to a home or business for free.
If you need a longer document, please visit the library.
There is no charge for information faxed to our libraries
from another library, including libraries outside of Baltimore County Public
Library,
for a
customer.
At the librarian's discretion, some libraries will accept and send personal
faxes for customers. Contact a
Baltimore
County Public Library branch to check if this service is available at their location. Always
check with the library branch before having a personal fax sent to the library.
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The fee for sending a fax to a local or toll-free number is $1.00 per page.
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The fee for sending a long distance fax is $4.00 for the first page and $1.00 for
each additional page.
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We will not fax to international numbers.
-
There is a charge of $0.25 a page for personal faxes received at a branch
for customers.
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Fees and Fines, Late Fines , Overdue ItemsThrough your
timely return and care of borrowed materials, you make it possible for
others to enjoy the same services you do. Fines are only applied to
materials that are not returned on time, lost or damaged. Other services,
such as checking out two-day videos and DVDs and video games,
Book Ahead,
Interlibrary
Loan or printing pages from the Internet, have a
fee applied. Monies
collected from fees and fines go directly back to the library budget. In fact,
about 15 percent of the total budget comes from fees and fines and is put
directly back into buying materials, such as children's books, books on CD and "how-to" DVDs, and the many other Baltimore County Public
Library products and
services you enjoy. Late
Fines and Overdue Items
Most library
materials, except for
two-day entertainment or feature DVDs and children's entertainment or
feature videos
and video games, are loaned to you for 21 days. Video games are loaned for 7 days. Most materials can be renewed
one time. Items can be returned to any Baltimore County
Public library branch.
The daily fee for most materials
(books, music CD's, etc.) returned past their due date is $0.20 per item, per day. Videos, DVDs and videogames have a daily past due fine of $2.50
per item,
per day.
- Materials must be returned by branch closing time on the due date.
- Late fines are charged for Sundays, whether the branch you use is open
on Sunday or not.
- All our libraries have Book Drops except the Loch Raven
Library.
- We do not charge late fines on
Baltimore County Public Library's
official closing dates.
- No late fines are collected when the library system is closed for any
part of our normal service schedule.
- When individual branches are closed, but the library system is still
open, fines are collected.
- The library is not tied with the openings
and closings of the public schools or the County government.
- If
libraries are open, all applicable fines and fees are charged.
M aximum late fines never exceeds the cost of
the item. The maximum late fines are:
- $6.00 for a book, compact disc,
an audiotape, or an engraver
- $12.50 for all videos, DVDs and
videogames
- $4.00 for a magazine or comic
book
Notification of Overdue Items
Items are considered overdue if not returned
before or by
branch closing time on the item's
due date. Late fines are attached to the customer's library account. Customers receive
notification of
overdue items 14 days from the item's due date. Items are automatically considered
lost after being 28 days overdue. There are a
variety of ways for you to
check the
status of your library account.
Notification of Unpaid Fines
Late fines are attached to the
customer's library account if the item was not returned
before or by
branch closing time on the item's
due date. Customers who
have returned overdue items but have built up unpaid fines of any
amount are notified 14 days from the item's
return date of fines owed.
There are several ways for you to
check
the status of your library account.
Customers who
have returned overdue items but have unpaid fines of $10.00 or more,
will receive paper notification after two weeks.
Fine notification cannot be made by our automated telephone service.
Customers may have other lost or
overdue items that may not appear on these fine notices. Notification of these
lost or overdue items will be made, as appropriate, according to established Baltimore
County Public Library policies and procedures.
There are several ways for you to
check
the status of your library account.
Payment by cash,
personal check with valid identification, or credit card is accepted at any of the library branches. Only personal
checks with valid identification and money orders are accepted as payment on
the Baltimore County Public Library bookmobiles.
Arrangements for partial payments
for fines and fees
can be made at the Circulation or Borrower Services Desk at
any
Baltimore County Public Library branch.
Customers owing $50.00 or more in
fines only may be referred to a collection agency
after 22 days. Customers owing $50.00 or more of fines
and fees combined may be referred to a collection agency after 50 days. A $15.00
service charge will be applied.
Returning Borrowed Items
Borrowed items may be returned to
any Baltimore County Public Library
branch.
All Baltimore County Public Libraries have Book Drops except the Loch Raven
Library.
Late fines are attached to the
customer's library account if the item was not returned
before or by
branch
closing time on the item's
due date.
All
Maryland public library systems will accept Baltimore County Public
Library items for return, subject to their library system's current fines and
fees, policies and procedures.
It is recommended that you ask for a receipt showing what you returned and
what fines were paid, if any. Since the item must be sent from the other
library system back to Baltimore County Public Library before it can actually
be checked in as returned, your library account may reflect that delivery
delay.
Items belonging to other Maryland public library systems may be returned to any Baltimore
County Public Library branch as well. They are subject to Baltimore County Public
Library's current fines and fees, policies and procedures. It is recommended
that you ask for a receipt showing what you returned and what fines were paid,
if any. Since the item must be sent to the other library system before it can
actually be checked in as returned, your library account may reflect that
delivery delay.
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G overnment applications and forms
available at your library
These should be
available at every branch of the Baltimore County Public Library as well as
online at the following links. Ask at the Information Desk for these forms.
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Holds or ReservesMost material may be
"placed on hold" or "reserved", at
any
Baltimore County Public library branch in person, by phone or
online using
the BCPL catalog.
The
following items cannot be reserved: two day adult and
children's entertainment or feature DVDs
and children's entertainment or feature videos, video games
and magazines. There is no fee for placing materials on reserve, except for
the Book Ahead or
Interlibrary
Loan service. You will be notified when your holds are available for
pick up
and items will be held for 7
days after they arrive at your branch. There is also a fee of $1.00 if you do
not pick up your items placed on hold.
You can check whether any of
your holds are ready to be picked up or the status of your holds by
calling
SHELF HELP Line at
410-494-9063, Press 6. You can also check the
status
of your holds online.
Special Note: Placing holds on
downloadable audio books,
eBooks and videos with a
temporary
e-card number is not recommended. The temporary card may expire before the
items become available
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Lost Material Replacement Cost
Any item that is 28 or more days overdue is automatically set as lost in the
customer's library account. The customer will be
notified when an
item is set lost. Phone notification is not available. Customers can
check their
library accounts online for a list of lost items. A
processing fee of $4.00 will be charged for each lost item in addition to
the replacement cost. All materials, with the following exceptions, vary in
replacement cost according to its purchase price. Exceptions include:
- $5.00 for a magazine or comic
book
- $2.00 for an audio bag, binder
or case, video, DVD case or magazine cover
- $4.00 for printed material
accompanying a DVD or CD
- $10.00 for an engraver
Replacement fees for material borrowed from another library system
may vary. If
the replacement cost, service fees and fines are not paid, the library
account may be referred to our collection agency. An exact
replacement of lost material, or in special cases a substitution, can be
arranged in place of payment at the discretion of the librarian in charge. The
replacement copy needs to be in new or like-new condition. Judgment about the
item's condition is at the discretion of the librarian in charge. The processing fee is still owed.
For a refund of the lost material fee for a found item, the item
and the Lost-and-Paid receipt must be presented within 6 months of payment.
The refund will exclude the processing fee and late return fines up to the maximum
charge. There is no refund on lost-and-paid items from academic or
out-of-state libraries. Back to top
Meeting Room Reservations Meeting
rooms at
branch libraries
can be reserved by non-profits, community interest groups, for-profit
businesses or organizations. Please
see our Meeting Room Policy (PDF) for fees and details. Meeting rooms are
not available at Hereford or Parkville branches. All fees must be paid in
advance before the meeting room reservation is confirmed.
All meeting rooms, except the
Loch Raven Library and Perry Hall Library, are accessible to people with
disabilities.
The meeting rooms at the
Catonsville,
North Point,
Randallstown,
Towson and
White Marsh Libraries
are equipped with Phonic Ear VocaLight, an infrared transmitter receiver sound
field amplification system. Call
the Interlibrary Loan Department at
410-887-6109, Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. to request the use
of a library meeting room. Please read our
Meeting Room Policy
[PDF]. A signed copy must be on file with the Interlibrary Loan Department
prior to using the meeting room.
Registered Baltimore
County home school organizations or individuals may book a meeting room for
one three-hour period once a month at no charge . Meeting
room reservations must be arranged through the Interlibrary
Loan Department. Baltimore County Public School verification is needed.
The
branches' Library
Managers or the librarian in charge may approve the no charge use of their
meeting room on a drop-in basis, for one on one tutoring. Tutors must be from a recognized
non-profit organization that serves the state or metropolitan area. The
tutoring session must be one on one, one tutor and one student, not a group of
students. Approval is for immediate use not future dates.Back
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Partial
Payments If a
borrower has any fees and fines less than $5.00, the full amount must be paid at
one time to continue the use of a library card.
If total fees and fines are $5.00 or more, 10 percent of the balance must be paid. The customer may check out or renew a maximum of two
items per day, including DVDs
and video games, while making partial payments.
A ll fees
and fines
must be paid within 6 months of the initial payment.
Arrangements for partial payments
for fines and fees
can be made at the Circulation or Borrower Services Desk at
any
Baltimore County Public Library branch.
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Payment Methods
Cash, personal checks with valid
identification, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted
for payment at the Circulation or Borrower Services Desk at any of
our library branches. Only personal checks with valid
identification and money orders are accepted as payment on the Baltimore
County Public Library bookmobiles. There is a $25.00 fee for any returned
check. Arrangements for partial payments
can be made.
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Permits and Licenses for Baltimore County
The Circulation or Borrower Services Desk at
Baltimore
County Public Libraries, except the Loch Raven Library, accepts
applications for annual cat and dog licenses, Electrical Post Card Permits, and Plumbing Post Card Permits for
Baltimore County. A convenience fee of $2.00 is attached to the cost of each
permit or license issued. Back
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Photocopy and Computer Printout Fees Copies made using the library's photocopiers, and printouts made from the library's public computers
are $0.15 per page. Back
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Programs and Story Times Baltimore County
Public Library does not require tickets or registration for most
programs. Instead, just come to the
library program of your
choice and take a seat.
The seating is first-come,
first served up to legal capacity of the room. Because of space
limitations in meeting rooms, to be sure of seating, it is important to plan
an early arrival time. Doors open 10 minutes before the start of the program.
For some programs where a small group is desirable, such as Baby
Boosters Story Time for children ages 0 to 23 months and hands-on
technology programs,
registration is necessary.
These programs are noted in the
Calendar of Events listing
as "registration required". To register visit or phone
the
library branch having the program
during the week preceding the
program.
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Renew Material
Eligible materials may be renewed one time. Renewing
material allows you to extend the loan period for items
already checked out to you.
For most items the new due date for a renewed item is
21 days from
the original due date.
If the item is already late, appropriate late fines will be applied to your
library account.
All eligible material may be renewed at
any Baltimore County Public Library
branch. You may
renew all or individual titles by using the
SHELF HELP Line at
410-494-9063, Press 5, or
renew items online
through the Baltimore County Public Home page. You will need your library card
identification number.
The item is not eligible for renewal if:
- You already renewed that item once.
- The item is
a two-day children's entertainment or feature
length videos, a two-day entertainment or
feature DVDs geared to adults and children
or a video game.
- You have fines and fees over $5.00
on your
library account.
- Another customer has placed a hold or reserve on the title.
- The item belongs to another library system, including
those made available through the
Interlibrary
Loan service or through the Direct Loan service.
- The item was checked out through a Teacher Loan Card.
- The item is Reference and can not be borrowed.
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Returned
Check Fee Each returned check will result in an
additional $25.00 fee. Customers may be referred to a collection agency
with an additional $15.00
service charge applied. Partial payment arrangements are not available.
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Video, DVD,
Video Game
Fees and Policies
Borrowers under the age of 18 must have parental permission to check out
videos, DVDs and
videogames that are not rated
for children,
that is if they do not have a J call number. A parent
or guardian must authorize at the time of
library card
registration whether a child may use his or her library card to borrow all
DVDs, videos or video games or only Juvenile DVDs, videos and video games. Juvenile DVDs, videos
and video games have
a J before the call number. If the parent or guardian does not sign and
authorize this permission, only videos, DVDs, and video games having a J before the
call number may be borrowed.
Parental permission includes any signature that we currently accept for
obtaining a library card, for example grandparents, caregivers, etc.
A change in this parental permission may be made at the Circulation or Borrower
Services Desk at any Baltimore County Public Library branch.
The fine for late return is $2.50 per item per day with a
maximum fee of $12.50 per item for all videos, DVDs and video games. Late
fines are charged for Sundays, whether the branch you use is open on Sunday
or not. If any two-day entertainment / feature length video or
DVD is checked out on a Friday, the item is due back by 5 p.m. on Sunday. All
our libraries have Book Drops except the Loch Raven Library. Materials must be returned by
branch closing time on the due date to avoid being charged fines for late
return.
Videos and DVDs
Two-day (loan period) entertainment / feature length videos and DVDs
-
Check out fee for all children's and adult's entertainment or feature length DVDs
is $2.50 each, charged at check out.
-
May be borrowed for two days.
-
Check out limit is 10 videos, DVDs or combination of both
per customer.
- Can be held for pick up through the end of the business
day by calling the owning branch for an additional charge of $1.00 per
item.
- Cannot be placed on hold through the catalog.
- Can be renewed but only in person; customer must bring
material to the branch and pay $2.50 extended loan fee.
-
Cannot be Booked Ahead.
- Cannot be sent to other library systems through
Interlibrary Loan or
Direct
Loan.
- Late fines of $2.50 per item, per day, apply if these
items are not returned by closing time on their due date.
Twenty-one day (loan period) nonfiction / instructional videos or
DVDs
- No check out fee.
- May be borrowed for twenty one days.
- No limit on the number that can be checked.
- Can be held for pick up through the end of the
business day by calling the owning branch for an additional charge
of $1.00.
- Can be placed on hold through the catalog.
- Can be
renewed with no additional fee through our
SHELF HELP
Line at 410-494-9063, or
through Baltimore County Public Library website.
- Can be Booked Ahead (for new materials only) and there is a fee of $1.00
for each item.
-
Cannot be sent to other library systems through
Interlibrary Loan or
Direct Loan.
- Late fines of $2.50 per item, per day apply if these
items are not returned by closing time on the due date.
Video Games (seven day loan period)
- Collection includes
videogames for Nintendo Game Cube,
Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation II and Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360 game systems for both children and
adults.
- The ESRB (Entertainment
Software Rating Board) provides rating symbols. Baltimore County
Public Library purchases
video games that are rated EC (Early Childhood
-may be suitable for ages 3 and older) through T (Teen - may be suitable
for ages 13 and older).
- No check out fee for video games.
- Video games
may be borrowed for 7 days.
- Check out limit of 2
games per customer
- Can be held for pick up
through the end of the business day by calling the owning branch. There is
an additional charge of $1.00.
- Cannot be
placed on hold through the BCPL catalog.
- Can be
renewed but only in person, customer must bring material to the branch and
pay $2.50 extended loan fee.
- Cannot be
Booked
Ahead
- Cannot be sent to other library systems
through Interlibrary Loan
or
Direct Loan.
- The
fine for a late return
is $2.50 per item per day. Late fines apply if the video game is not returned by
closing time on its due date.`
Videos DVDs and Video Games may not
be duplicated or erased and cannot be borrowed on a Teacher Loan
Card.
Special
collections of American Sign Language videos and foreign language videos
and DVDs are located in several of our libraries. The above polices and fees apply.
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Baltimore
County Public Library, Towson Maryland USA
Last Revised:
31 March 2008
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