About Us > Library Services
Library Services
Assistive Technology
Assistive or adaptive technology equipment is available on a first-come
first-served basis at Catonsville,
North Point,
Pikesville,
Randallstown and
Towson branches. Ask at the Information
Desk to use the equipment which includes
- Optelec, a text/image enlargement system
- JAWS (Job Access With Speech) that speaks and reads word processed
documents, websites, databases, email messages, etc.
- ZoomText to enlarge text
- OPENBook scans a printed documents or graphic based text into an electronic
text format using accurate optical character recognition and quality speech.
The
meeting rooms at the
Catonsville,
North Point,
Randallstown,
Towson and
White Marsh Branches are equipped with Phonic Ear VocaLight, an infrared
transmitter-receiver sound field amplification system.
Each library has a magnifying glass at the Information Desk for customer use.
You can speak directly to a librarian at any of our libraries or with the
Administrative Offices using your TTY or computer modem. Our TTY number is 410-821-5705 or contact us through
Maryland Relay. The librarians use a computer
telephone service called TICAL, which stands for TTY Information and
Communication Access for Libraries.
InfoEyes is a question and answer service for people with a visual impairment or
other print limitation. Librarians from the
Maryland State Library for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped and Maryland AskUsNow and across the country provide
the service. You can use it from the library or from home, school or work. You
can schedule an appointment to talk live with a librarian on the Internet or you
can email a question to a librarian. Service is available during normal business
hours, Monday through Saturday, except holidays.
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Book Ahead (Placing Holds on Items That Are On Order)
Is the book, talking book, or other material you want still "on order" and not
yet received at your library? Do you want to be among the first to receive new
materials? Then our Book Ahead service is the answer. You may place a hold on
“On Order” titles that appear in the BCPL catalog for $1.00 each. You will be
notified by email or automated phone call when they arrive at your branch. The
items will be held for you for seven days. There is an additional fee of $1.00
on each item if you do not pick up the items within the seven day period
following notification.
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. A few items cannot be
Booked Ahead, including magazines and comic books.
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Community Information Directory
An online
Community Information Database listing thousands of non-profit
organizations and agencies that serve Baltimore County residents. The
organizations cover a broad range of topics such as business associations,
community improvement groups, cultural, educational, governmental, health care,
recreational, and tourism organizations. Individuals providing a unique service
for example tutors, notaries public, interpreters and translators are included.
The directory is searchable by name, subject, zip code or keyword.
Call the Information Services Department, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5
pm, at 410-887-6124 if you are interested in having your organization listed in
the Directory.
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Direct Loan or Interlibrary Loan
If Baltimore County Public Library does not own what you are looking for,
Direct
Loan is a way for you to have material sent from a participating Central
Maryland public library system to the Baltimore County Public Library branch of
your choice. Interlibrary Loan expands your possibilities by having materials
sent from beyond Central Maryland library systems.
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Fax / Photocopying / Printing
The library will fax up to four pages of library information to a home or
business free of charge. If you need a longer document, please visit the
library. 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.
• The fee for sending a fax to a local or toll-free number is $1.00 per page.
• The fee for sending a long distance fax is $4.00 for the first page and $1.00
for each additional page.
• 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.
Photocopiers and printers are available for customer use. Copies made using the
library's photocopiers and printouts made from the library's public computers
are $0.15 per page. Color printers and/or photocopiers are not available
at any of BCPL's branches.
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Government Applications and Forms
Many of the following forms 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 to see about form
availability.
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Language Line Service
Baltimore County Public Library staff has access to over the phone interpreters
or translators in over 140 languages to help any customer who may not be fluent
in English. Please call or visit any of our branches.
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Licenses and Permits
This service is offered by Baltimore County Department of Permits and
Development Management and Baltimore County Public Library. You can apply for
several Baltimore County permits and licenses at all library branches. The
licenses and permits available are the annual animal license or renewal,
electrical post card permit issued to licensed electricians and residents which
allow work and generate inspections, and plumbing post card permit used by
licensed plumbers to allow work and generate inspections. A convenience fee of
$2.00 is charged for each license and permit.
Annual cat and dog license
applications are available online and at Baltimore County Public Library
branches except Loch Raven. Fill out the application form, show the animal's
current rabies inoculation certificate, and pay the appropriate charge for the
license plus the $2.00 convenience fee per license.
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Meeting Room Reservations
Hold a meeting for your organization in one of our meeting rooms. 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, 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.
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Mobile Library Services
Baltimore
County Public Library's Mobile
Library Services operates four vehicles to serve the citizens of Baltimore County. All four
vehicles are accessible to people with disabilities and have a wheelchair
lift.
- Library on the Go Senior makes neighborhood stops
for convenient use of library services, and has computers with internet
access.
- Library on the Go Junior visits senior centers and
retirement homes.
- Read Rover and Read Rover Plus
offer library services to licensed day care centers and home providers,
and community sites geared to people with disabilities in Baltimore
County. Children enjoy a story time with both stories and an activity;
teachers or providers may select material to keep in their centers until
the next visit.
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Notification
Several methods are available for customers to get notification about
requested holds (also known as
reserves), overdue
items, lost materials,
and fines owed.
Depending upon the circumstances and what customers choose, notification methods may include email,
automated phone service, and US mail.
Email Notification
Customers can
sign up online to receive
email notification. They can also sign up for email notification 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.
To ensure that you get your BCPL emails, add these addresses to your email
Address Book:
monitor@bcpl.net
notifyme@bcpl.net
notice@bcpl.net
Customers can also 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.
The status of your library account, including items you have
placed on hold, is available by calling the
SHELF HELP
Line at 410-494-9063. You can also check the
status
of your holds and library account online.
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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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Study Rooms
BCPL
libraries are busy public spaces and people use libraries for many
different reasons. We value all our customers and attempt to make the
library a comfortable and welcoming place but the hushed library of the
past is no longer the norm or even possible in our busy facilities. Our
rules of conduct state that customers should be considerate of the
rights of others as they use our libraries and we expect customers to:
speak in conversational tones when using
the library, to use cell phones in designated areas, and to set cell
phones to vibrate.
Within the limitations of each branch's physical space, quieter study
environments have been created or designated.
-
Private study
rooms are available at the Perry Hall, Rosedale, and Woodlawn
Libraries. Advanced reservations for these rooms are not
accepted and they are available on a first-come, first-served
basis. Time limits may vary depending on demand. Customers are
encouraged to call the branches before going to the library to ask
about room use.
-
Quiet study areas (which frequently also include the magazine
collections) have been designed and enclosed at the Catonsville,
Cockeysville, Perry Hall, Reisterstown, Rosedale, White Marsh, and
Woodlawn libraries.The North Point, Randallstown, and Towson
libraries have designated quiet zones that are not enclosed.
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Tax Forms
Baltimore County Public Library participates in both the Federal and State tax
form programs. A limited assortment of basic forms is available for pick-up
during the tax season. Branches provide reproducible sets of both Maryland and
Federal forms. Visit our web page for online access to tax forms and
information.
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Baltimore County Public Library, Towson Maryland USA
Last Revised: 06 November 2009
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