Circulation Application for Printing

Part I.       Registration Guidelines

Part II.     Eligibility for Library Cards
                   A. Albert Wisner Public Library Cards
                   B. Ramapo Catskill Library System Cards: ANSER Cards
                   C. Out-of-District Fee Cards
                   D. Temporary Cards
                   E. Replacement Cards
                   F. Confidentiality of Customer Records
                   G. Withdrawal of Parental Consent

Part III.     Standard Loan Rules
                   A. Reference Materials
                   B. Books
                   C. Audiovisual Materials
                   D. Videos
                   E. Periodicals

Part IV.      Reserves and Interlibrary Loan Requests

Part V.       Photocopy Service

Part VI.      Fines and Bills

Part VII.     Suspension of Privileges

Part VIII.    Lost and Damaged Items

Appendix I.   Confidentiality Law

Appendix II.  Library Bill of Rights

Appendix III. Free Access to Libraries for Minors

Part I. REGISTRATION GUIDELINES

An application must be completed for every person wishing to borrow materials from the Albert Wisner Public Library. Customers from other library districts are encouraged to use the Albert Wisner Public Library and may do so by using the ANSER Library Card provided by their home library. Library cards are valid for a period of one (1) year; they will be automatically renewed after address and telephone number has been verified for currency.

Identification is required for all adult customers age sixteen and older before a card can be issued.

A form of identification which contains a photograph of the applicant is required i.e. a current drivers license showing the correct street address or a school identification card.

A customer without a photo ID showing the correct address must provide two (2) forms of written address verification. As a last resort, the applicant can request that the Library mail him a postcard. Upon receipt of the postcard, it can be brought to the Library and will serve as address verification. Library materials can only be borrowed after the applicant has received the library card.

Children who will are eligible to enter Kindergarten (must be 5 by 12/1) are eligible to receive a library card. A card is issued to a child until he reaches 16 years of age with the signature of a parent or guardian acknowledging responsibility for library materials checked out by the child. Examples of guardians include: aunt, uncle, grandparent, divorced parent or foster parent. A guardian need not be related to the child, but must accept responsibility for the child's library materials.

Library cards may be issued to agencies that serve groups of people; examples of this may be: day care centers and nursing homes, etc. Materials checked out on these cards are for use of the staff of these agencies in their capacity as employee of the agency not for his individual use.

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Part II. ELIGIBILITY FOR LIBRARY CARDS

   A. Albert Wisner Public Library Cards:

An individual residing in the Warwick Valley School District is eligible for an Albert Wisner Public Library card. (Individuals residing in Orange County areas unserved by a public library and which have a contract for library services with the Ramapo Catskill Library System are eligible for an AWPL card.) Individuals who live out of the school district but who own a business or property in the district are also eligible for a Wisner Library card. These individuals should use the business address as their home address and must provide current identification that names them as the business owner. If the owner does not reside at the business address, their legal address will be used for mailing purposes and a note will be placed in the library’s database to that effect.

In general, residents in these communities are eligible to receive a Wisner Library card:

Bellvale, New Milford, Pine Island, Sugarloaf (parts of),

Town of Warwick (parts of) and the Village of Warwick

As of January 1, 2003, residents of the Minnisink Valley School District are not eligible to receive library cards in the RCLS system. Residents of these towns who are concerned about this restriction should be referred to their town supervisors, who are responsible for deciding not to collect taxes in support of library service for their residents.

     B. ANSER Cards: Ramapo Catskill Library System Cards

The Ramapo Catskill Library System is the Library System to which libraries in Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster Counties belong. RCLS is the home of the automated circulation system that serves these libraries. The libraries which belong to the RCLS use a common library card: the ANSER card which is issued locally in an individual's home library. A home library is identified as the library in the community to which one pays library taxes. The ANSER card and its barcode can be used at any of the RCLS libraries. If an individual has an ANSER card but no barcode, he must obtain the barcode by visiting his home library.

     C. Out-of-School District Fee Cards

Individuals who live outside of the Warwick Valley School District are eligible to use the Albert Wisner Public Library. An out-of-school district library card can be obtained upon payment of a yearly fee of $75.00 per family. This fee serves in lieu of taxes a resident would normally pay in support of the library. The fee in lieu of taxes is a per household fee. Upon receipt of the fee from the head of the household, the library will issue individual cards for each member of the household residing at that address. Residents from areas that do not pay any library tax for local library service are not eligible to purchase a library card.

  D. Temporary Cards

Temporary library cards may be issued to individuals who are residing in the Warwick Valley School District for a period of less than six (6) months. These individuals must supply address verification and pay a refundable fee of $40.00 to the Library. At the end of the temporary residence and upon verification of a clear library account, the individual will be refunded the fee.

    E. Replacement Cards

If an individual's library card is lost or damaged, a replacement card can be obtained by filling out another application form and paying a fee of $5.00 per replacement card. An individual can have only one library card at a time. A card which has been replaced is no longer valid and should be destroyed if later found. The Library encourages customers to make every attempt to locate lost cards before replacing them, as the replacement fee is not refundable even if the card is later found.

     F. Confidentiality of Customer Records

New York State law protects the confidentiality of Library User's Records (CPLR 4509, New York Statutes, 1993). Customers may ask to access their own record; however, other individuals may not inspect another customer's record except with the customer's authorization and his PIN number or by order of a court of law.

      G. Withdrawal of Parental Consent

The signature of a parent or guardian acknowledges responsibility for library materials checked out to a child. It is the policy of the Library not to act in loco parentis in keeping with the principles of equal access to information and materials for all customers. Therefore the Library will not restrict any customer, including children, from access to any type or class of materials nor from any information in the Library.

If a parent or guardian does not wish their child to have access to particular materials, they will need to discuss these restrictions with the child in the context of their parent-child relationship.

If the parent wishes to withdraw the acknowledgment of responsibility from their child's card, the library staff will change the status of that card to "stop," so that no materials may be checked out to that card. The child's record will be retained for reference purposes and may be reinstated at any time, either by the parent or signatory responsibility.

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Part III. STANDARD LOAN RULES

Customers are responsible for materials checked out on their Library cards whether the card is used by the owner of the card or anyone else. For this reason, the Library restricts the use of a library card to only the person who applied for and signed for the card.

Customers are limited to fifty (50) library items checked out on his Library card at a time.Any materials borrowed from the Library are subject to a due date and the customer is expected to respect that date; a late fine will be imposed if materials are returned to the Library after the due date.

The customer must have his Library card with him at the time he checks out or renews materials either in the Library or by telephone. The Library card and its number is the means by which customers are identified in our records.

Most materials may be renewed and this can be done either in the Library, by the telephone or on the Library’s website at www.albertwisnerlibrary.org (home page on the Internet.)

A. Reference Materials
Reference Materials are materials that are in such high demand or of such high value that they may not be borrowed from the Library. Both the Adult and the Juvenile Departments of the Library have Reference Collections. If necessary, a customer may make duplicate copies of the pages of Reference materials at a cost of $.10 per page. One copy of each page may be made in accordance with copyright law. These copies may not be sold or used for monetary gain.

B. Books

1. Books: Adult and Juvenile
Books in the Adult, Young Adult and Juvenile collections are available to be checked out for a period of four (4) weeks. Reserves may be placed on books that are not currently on the library shelves. Renewals may be placed if there is no Reserve currently on the book.

2. New Books
New Books are available to be checked out for a period of two (2) weeks. A New Book is one that has been placed in the Library's collection within the past six (6) months. After the six-month period is over, the New Book is placed into the regular library collection. New Books can be renewed if there is no Reserve waiting for the book. New Books may be reserved.

3. Express Books
Express Books are available to be checked out for one (1) week. They are not renewable, nor can they be reserved.

4. Inter-Library Loan Books
Books borrowed through the Inter-Library Loan process check out for a period in accordance with the lending time established by the owning library. They can be renewed if the lending library makes that option available.

5. Audiovisual Materials
Audiovisual materials are Books on CD, Books on Tape, Book and Tape Kits, CD's, Play-aways or recordings owned by the Library. Audiovisual materials are available to be checked out for a period of two (2) weeks for CD’s and all other new audio-visual items, four (4) weeks for other items. These materials may be reserved.

6. Videos/DVD’s
All DVD’s check out for seven (7) days. Entertainment DVD’s can be reserved, but not loaned to other libraries. Instructional or “nonfiction” DVD’s can be reserved and loaned to other libraries.
Videos that are classified as either “Feature” or “Children’s” can be checked out for a period of seven (7) days. Videos that are classified as “Nonfiction” can be checked out for a period of four (4) weeks. Videos can be reserved.

7. Periodicals
Current issues of Periodicals are considered Reference Materials and may not be checked out. Once a magazine is no longer current, it may be checked out for a period of three (3) weeks. The Library keeps most magazines for a period of six months.

8. Computer or Microfiche/Film Print-Outs
There is a $.10 per page fee for any print outs made by Library computers and/or the Microfiche/film machine. This includes magazine articles, copies from the INTERNET, or any other software that is in use by Library computers including the Public Access Catalogs.

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Part IV. RESERVES AND INTERLIBRARY LOAN REQUESTS

Any material which the Ramapo Catskill Library System owns in its collection and is not considered reference material or is not limited to local borrowers may be reserved by a customer if it is not currently available in the library. A reservation may be placed by a librarian, on the Horizon PAC terminal or through the library’s website. When the material becomes available at the library, the customer is notified by phone or email. When the customer picks up the material, it must be checked out with the same library card that was used to place the hold and a $.25 fee is charged to cover the cost of processing.

Materials which are not available from RCLS but are obtainable through the SEAL system of the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council are subject to the same regulations and fees.

The library provides interlibrary loan service for materials that are unobtainable from RCLS or SEAL libraries. It should be noted that not all materials may be available through this service. Customers may have up to ten active interlibrary requests at one time. This service is available for $.25 per item. In some instances, the lending institution may impose a fee of up to $20 per item. In such cases, the customer must pay this fee before the item can be checked out.

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Part V. PHOTOCOPY SERVICE

The Library has a photocopy machine available for public use. There is a charge of $.10 per page. Two-sided copies count as two copies.

Part VI. FINES AND BILLS

Materials are loaned by the Library with the understanding that the borrower will return them in the same condition and by the due date established by the Library. If materials are returned later than the due date, overdue fines will be charged to the customer. Fines and other outstanding charges will be brought to the customer's attention at the checkout desk. Customers will be notified of overdue items and outstanding bills telephone.

Overdue fines accrue daily. Fines charged are:

Books, audiovisual materials (excluding videos and DVD’s):
$.20 per day per item to a maximum of $5.00 per item.

Videos/DVD’s: $1.00 per day up to $5.00

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Part VII. SUSPENSION OF PRIVILEGES

The Library will find it necessary to suspend a customer's borrowing privileges after the customer has accrued a total of $3.00 worth of fines on his library record. A customer's record will be cleared and privileges reinstated upon payment of owed fines.

A customer's borrowing privileges will be suspended for the non-return of one item borrowed from the library. A customer's record will be cleared and his privileges reinstated upon return of the item and payment of overdue fees or upon payment of cost of the item. Customers are encouraged to return items rather than pay for them as refunds can not be given if an item is later located.

Part VIII. LOST AND DAMAGED ITEMS

Materials which are grossly overdue and for which the customer has received notification are considered lost by the Library and the customer will be responsible for paying for the cost of the item. Materials that have been damaged to the extent that they must be withdrawn from the collection will be charged to the customer’s record. The Library will consider exact replacement of the item rather than payment; this request must be made to the Library’s Director

(Updated December 2006)

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APPENDIX I

CONFIDENTIALITY LAW: New York State Law protects the confidentiality of Library users’ records.

#4509. Library Records

Library records which contain names or other personally identifying details regarding the users of public, free association, school, college or university libraries and library systems of this state, including but not limited to records related to the circulation of library materials, computer database searches, interlibrary loan transactions, reference queries, requests for photocopies of materials, title reserve requests, or the use of audiovisual materials, films, records, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except that such records many be disclosed to the extent necessary for the proper operation of such library and shall be disclosed upon request or consent of the user pursuant to subpoena, court order or where otherwise required by statute.

Reprinted from:

Vol. 41: Civil Practice Law and Rules. Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, 1993. New York Consolidated Laws          

      Service, Cumulative Supplement. Issued December, 1993.

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APPENDIX II

LIBRARY BILL OF RIGHTS

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background or views of those contributing to their creation.

2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

4. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

5. A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background or views.

6. Libraries that make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

Adopted June 18, 1948

Amended February 2, 1961, June 27, 1967 and January 23, 1980

By the ALA Council

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APPENDIX III

FREE ACCESS TO LIBRARIES FOR MINORS

Library policies and procedures which effectively deny minors equal access to all library resources available to other users violate the Library Bill of Rights. The American Library Association opposes all attempts to restrict access to library services, materials, and facilities based on the age of library users.

Article 5 of the Library Bill of Rights states, "A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background or views." The "right to use a library" includes free access to and unrestricted use of all services, materials and facilities the library has to offer. Every restriction on access to and use of library resources, based solely on the chronological age, education level or legal emancipation of users violates Article 5.

Libraries are charged with the mission of developing resources to meet the diverse information needs and interests of the communities they serve. Services, materials and facilities which fulfill the needs and interests of library users at different stages in their personal development are a necessary part of library resources. The needs and interests of each library user and resources appropriate meet those needs and interests must be determined on an individual

basis. Librarians cannot predict what resources will best fulfill the needs and interests of any individual based on a single criterion such as chronological age, level of education or legal emancipation.

The selection and development of library resources should not be diluted because of minors having the same access to library resources as adult users. Institutional self-censorship diminishes the credibility of the library in the community and restricts access for all library users.

Librarians and governing bodies should not resort to age restrictions on access to library resources in an effort to avoid actual or anticipated objections from parents or anyone else. The mission, goals and objectives of libraries do not authorize librarians or governing bodies to assume, abrogate or overrule the rights and responsibilities of parents or legal guardians. Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents -- and only parents -- have the right and responsibility to restrict the access of their children -- and only their children -- to library resources. Parents or legal guardians who do not want their children to have access to certain library services, materials or facilities should so advise their children. Librarians and governing bodies cannot assume the role of parents or the functions of parental authority in the private relationship between the parent and the child. Librarians and governing bodies have a public and professional obligation to provide equal access to all library resources for all library users.

Librarians have a professional commitment to ensure that all members of the community they serve have free and equal access to the entire range of library resources regardless of content, approach, format or amount of detail. This principle of library service applies equally to all users, minors as well as adults. Librarians and governing bodies must uphold this principle in order to provide adequate and effective service to minors.

Adopted by the ALA June 30, 1972

Amended July 1, 1981; July 3, 1991 by the ALA Council

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