Library FAQ's

1. What are the guidelines to obtain a  library card?
2. Is there a charge for a library card?
3. What may I check out when I apply for a library card?
4. How many items may I check out?
5. What are the loan periods?
6. What is the policy on renewing library items?
7. What is the overdue charge?
8. How are damaged items or lost library materials handled?
9. How are interlibrary loan materials handled, and what types of materials may be obtained?
10. Where is the night depository located, and what items may be returned using it?
11. Do items check out continuously during hours of operation?
12. Are computers provided in the library for using the Internet and/or software?
13. What is the address of the library's web page, and is the card catalog online?
14. How is the online catalog helpful?
15. What is the library's email address?
16. How may I honor someone with a memorial contribution?

1. & 2. All customers wanting a library card must provide the name & telephone number of a local contact person. The contact person must be an adult living in Polk County, Texas who knows the customer and who would be able to pass on a message or who would know how to contact the customer. The contact person must have a local telephone number.

All customers wanting a library card must provide proof of current address. Such proof may be a current drivers' license, I.D. card, voter's registration card, check, a recent letter or bill , etc. This proof must be in the customer's correct name, or in the name of the customer's legal guardian or parent when the customer is under the age of 18. Minor customers between the ages of 4 years and 18 years may obtain a library card. However, the parent or legal guardian must recognize that they are responsible for any fines, fees, lost or damaged books, etc. Customers under the age of 18 years must have the signature of their parent or legal guardian in order to obtain a library card.

Customers who are residents of the city of Livingston providing proof that they reside inside the city limits of Livingston are eligible to get a membership card without a fee. Customers residing in Polk County outside the city limits pay an annual fee of $5.00 per customer per year. Customers residing in Texas, but not in Polk County may get a non-resident library card for an annual fee of $40.00 per customer.

Temporary residents of Livingston may get a temporary card when staying in our area at least 3 months by providing proof of a current Livingston address and the name & telephone of a local contact person. The current Livingston address must be a proper address, not a hotel room, etc. They are required to provide their permanent address. A library card is then issued that expires at the end of their stay. Cards will not be issued for a period of less than 3 months.

Temporary residents of Polk county may get a temporary card under the same conditions as above, but they will be assessed a $5.00 fee.

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3. & 4. Each new customer may check out 2 hardback or paperback books per card on the day they register. Example: 1 adult + 2 children each getting a new card would be 3 x 2, making a total of 6 hardback or paperback books - 2 on each card. Other limits will apply after receiving your library card through the mail.

Customers may check out a total of thirty items. If customers check items out and come back to check out additional items, the previously checked out items are included in the total of thirty.

 Additionally some collections have limits on the numbers each customer may check out. 5 per collection of each of the following collections - New Fiction Books,  Texas Collection Books, & Bilingual Books may be checked out as part of the total of 30 items once the library card has been received. Additional limitations include  10 Spanish Language Books, 2 books from the Cummings Collection, 2 Magazines, 3 Audio Books, and 3 Movies. These items are also included in the total of 30 items that may be checked on each customer library card. When these or part of these items are returned, others may be checked out limiting each customer to not have over 30 items checked out at any time.
 

When anyone living in a customer's household has late items or owes charges of $1.00 or more, no one in the household may check out additional items until overdue charges are paid, (or customer records for damaged items are cleared). Renewals are not permitted if $1.00 as above are owed. Additionally, we do restrict customers from checking out all books on a subject, or all the books of an author.


3 movies may now be checked out on a child's library card as a part of the 30 circulating items that can be checked out. Parents must notify the library if they wish to restrict their children's choices.

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5. & 6. Loan periods are 14 days for books and audio books. Loan periods are 7 days for Magazines, Videos (VHS & DVD's) & Cummings Collection. Loan periods for 7 days. Most circulating materials may be renewed one time unless they are reserved or on hold. Customers having anyone living in the household who owe fines of $1.00 or more may not renew library items. Library materials may be renewed only 1 time. Items that are on reserve for another library customer may not be renewed. Renewal of books or audio books is for an additional 14 days provided items has not previously reserved. Magazines & Videos may be renewed for an additional 7 days if not on reserve. Renewals may be done by telephone or in person.

Interlibrary Loan Renewals

Interlibrary loan items that are renewable may NOT be renewed online -- call 327-4252 to renew these. Some interlibrary loan materials are not renewable, and these will be indicated on the lender strip placed on the book.

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7. Fines are charged over weekends and holidays. All items may be returned in the book drop on the back wall of the building. Fines are 25 cents per day for overdue books and magazines. Fines for overdue AV including Videos, DVD's, Music CD's &  Audio Books & CD's are $2.00 per day. Fines are charged up to the list or replacement cost of the item, or $20.00, whichever is greater. Fines for paperbacks are charged up to $5.00 per paperback (replacement costs per paperback books are $5.00 each).

A grace period of up to 7 days is allowed for Overdue Books, Audio Books, DVD's, Music  CD's & Magazines to be returned without incurring overdue charges.

Items NOT RETURNED DURING the grace period will accumulate overdue charges from the due date through the date returned and the grace period will NOT be in effect since these items have been returned after the grace period expires. We charge for weekends and holidays since customers are urged to use the night deposit for returns and is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Customers may also return Movies or Audio Books in the book drop (located on the back wall of the library at the end of the sidewalk). Remember to protect them from damage when returning in the book drop since you are responsible to see they are not damaged while checked out to you. We suggest wrapping them tightly in a plastic grocery bag, so that the cassette/movie cases will not pop open and expose the cassette/movie to damage.

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8. When library materials are damaged beyond repair, customers must pay a fee for replacement - cost of the item, or $10.00; whichever is greater plus a $15.00 processing fee. The minimum replacement cost is $20.00 or if the item is a paperback book the replacement cost will be $5.00. This includes tapes that break while in the possession of a customer. When damaged items can still be used a damage fee of at least $10.00 is charged depending on the extent of damage.

Customers who lose an item must pay the list or replacement cost of the item, or $10.00, whichever is greater plus a $15.00 processing fee. If a lost item is later found by the customer, it may be returned to the library and the replacement cost of the item will be returned minus any fines owed. The processing fee will not be returned.

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9. Registered customers with a current library card (provided there are not overdue items or charges exceeding $1.00 for either the customer or other members in the household) may request to borrow books, books on cassette, educational videos, and some microfilm. Ask at the library circulation desk, or print the online form. There is a $2.00 postage reimbursement fee for each interlibrary loan item received. The postage reimbursement fee is paid by customer as each item is checked out. When a customer has no telephone they provide a stamped self addressed envelope for notification. If a customer fails to pick up materials they have requested, they are charged full return postage for those items. A request for repairing autos must include vital things such as make & model of auto, # of cylinders of engine, type motor, # of carburetors. Write down information whether only a diagram is needed for electrical wiring, or if written instruction is also needed; giving vital information on the make etc. Sometimes photocopies are sent when the book is in the reference section. When interlibrary loan materials may be renewed customers must call the library to renew these since they are not part of the database for our ONLINE CATALOG of items owned locally.

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10. Our book drop is located directly behind the library. Follow the sidewalk up to the building and pull down the handle, placing materials inside. Most of our library's circulating items may be returned in the book drop. When needing to return books on cassette or movies in our night deposit, please fasten the bag they are in securely in order to protect them. Customers are responsible for returning borrowed items in good condition.

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11. Our library does not close during lunchtime. Circulation backup procedures are started 15 minutes prior to closing. All circulating library materials must be checked in or out prior to 15 minutes before closing since all computers must be shut down at that time. The library's public access computers will not be checked out during the last thirty minutes before closing.

Operating Hours:
Monday thru Friday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 2 p.m.

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12. The library has several computers available for public use. All of these include access to the Internet, and they have other software installed. However, customers using these computers need to be aware of the following policies: Resources provided by the library are subject to various legal restrictions. Customers may not use library resources to violate federal, state, or local laws. It is the responsibility of the individual user, not the library, to insure that his or her actions are not violating any applicable law. Customers may not use library resources to store data without the library's permission on a device that is the property of the library. Customers may not use library resources to access, transmit, download, or promote obscene materials (see policy for clarification). Murphy Memorial Library makes no warranties of any kind, neither expressed or implied for the electronic resources or access it is providing, and will in no wise, be responsible for any damage users suffer, including, but not limited to, loss of data resulting from delays, or interruptions of service. The library will not be responsible for the accuracy, nature, or quality of information stored on the library's diskettes, hard drives or gathered through library-provided electronic access. The library is not responsible for training the public to use of the library's resources including the Internet. A variety of print and audio-visual resources about computers and the Internet are available in the library. DO NOT interfere with the operation of any computer, or attempt to change any setting on the computers, or databases. Failure to comply with our policies may result in customer's use of electronic services being put on probation or barred from using them on a case by case basis.

Murphy Memorial Library provides access to various electronic resources, including the library catalog, CD-ROMs, and other software. Customers must follow acceptable uses of electronic resources which are detailed in our electronic resources and internet access policy. Unacceptable use include customer's violation of copyright restrictions, disruptive behavior. Customers may not use library resources to vandalize, damage or disable the property of another individual or institution, access another individual's materials, information, or files without that individual's authorization etc. Minor children under age 12 using electronic resources must have proper supervision by parent or legal guardian (all minor children under age 18 must have written permission of parent or legal guardian to use electronic resources), settings on computers are not to be changed, nor anything saved to desktop of any monitor. Library resources are not to be used to conduct business or activity for financial gain. Customers may not bring their own diskettes to be used in the library. A diskette may be purchased for 75 cents each that may be used for downloading if more memory than the diskette has is not needed. In order to protect the library's equipment from computer viruses, diskettes may not be taken home and brought back for later use in the library. Two hours per day maximum per customer is allowed. Parents or legal guardians are solely responsible for their child's, and only their child's, use of the library's electronic resources. Charges for printing using electronic resources are 25 cents per page for black & white copies, or $1.00 per page for color copies printed. Two computers are currently provided for customers needing to look up library holdings. All other guidelines in our electronic policy must be followed (our policy is available for reading if needed). Violation of policy may result in the possible loss of library privileges and/or expulsion from the library. (The library reserves the right to inspect and observe the use made of its equipment & resources for the purposes of enforcement of our policies). Deliberate or repeated violation of the restrictions may be grounds for revocation of access privileges.

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13. The library's card catalog is available online on the library's web page. The web address for our library's homepage follows:

http://www.murphymemlib.org/
Card Catalog Online address:
http://8.2.208.145/InfoCentre/Library.do

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14. Our library's holdings are available online. Using our online catalog is very similar to using our catalog in the library. Persons using the online catalog may search to see what books are available. When a record is found, the catalog indicates if it is on the shelf, or if it is checked out the due date. When a search is done using the online catalog both the library's holdings are searched and some web sites also pull up for sites that the library has catalogued.

A customer can access their own library record; see how many items they have checked out, and renew checked out materials. Books already on reserve may not be renewed. It is the customer's responsibility to double check the due date after the renewal is attempted to be sure it has been done, since items on reserve cannot be renewed. Failure to do so may result in an overdue charge.

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15. The email address for reference questions is: library@murphymemlib.org Library Director may also be contacted by email. Email to: Library Director

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16. Murphy Memorial Library accepts Memorial gifts of money, in accordance with the following guidelines: The person making the donation may not select the materials to be purchased with the donation, however, the person may request that the funds be used to purchase materials dealing with a certain subject. While the request of the donor will be considered, the final decision of materials to be purchased will be at the discretion of the Library Director whose decision will be based on the needs of the collections. An acknowledgement card will be sent both to the donor and the person the donor chooses to receive an acknowledgement card. A plaque listing both the honored person and the contributors of the memorial is placed in the front of the memorial book that is chosen by the librarian. A form for memorial contributions may be found on our web page, or at the library.