Library Cards and Borrowing Privileges:
Adult residents of New Hanover County may obtain a free library card by showing two forms of identification. At least one must show the applicant's CURRENT New Hanover County address. Non-Residents must show ID and pay $30.00 a year for a library card. Non-resident property owners can receive a free card by showing proof of paying New Hanover County property tax. Minors under age 18 registering for a library card must be accompanied by an adult with valid ID who is willing to serve as "responsible party" for all items borrowed on the minor's library card.

Your Library Responsibilities:

• When you apply for a card, you accept responsibility for all materials borrowed on that card. You agree to return them on or before their due date and to return them in the same condition in which you borrowed them. If materials are lost, stolen, or damaged you have agreed to pay full replacement cost for a new copy of the item plus a processing fee to cover the library's expenses in acquiring a new copy and making it ready for circulation.
• Adults serving as "responsible party" for a minor's card agree to take the above responsibilities for all materials charged to that card. They also give permission for the minor to use the library's resources, including the Internet, and take responsibility for monitoring library use by the minor. Children age 8 and younger must be accompanied by an adult when using library Internet terminals.
• It is your responsibility to carry your card with you on all visits to the library, and to notify the library immediately if that card is lost or stolen.  

Loan Periods: 

25 Items Maximum Per Library Card, One Renewal Per Item except AV equipment
Format	Loan Period
Most Books:	21 days
NEW Fiction under 500 pp	7 days
NEW Nonfiction	21 days (unless there's a waiting list)
RENTAL Books @ $3/week	7 days, unlimited renewals
Children's Holiday books	7 days
Magazines–non-current issues, only at branches	7 days
"Fiction" videos	3 days, 5 videos maximum
Nonfiction Videos	7 days, 5 videos maximum
Audio cassettes	21 days, 10 audiobooks maximum
Audio Visual Equipment	24 hours, no renewals
Compact disks	7 days, 5 CDs maximum
ALOHA loaned items	1 month

Fees:

Overdue Fines:	per day	maximum per item
Books–new, old, and paperback	$.20	$4.00
RENTAL Books	$1.00	$5.00
Videos and DVDs	$2.00	$10.00
Magazines (branches only)	$.20	$4.00
Audio Visual equipment	$30.00	$300.00

 

Damaged materials	fee
book binding	$6
cassette box	$2.50
equipment	repair cost
audiovisual materials	list price plus processing fee

Lost items	fee
piece of a multimedia set	$10
book	list price plus $5 processing fee
mass market paperback or magazine	list price plus $3 processing fee
audiovisual materials	list price plus $5 processing fee
library card	$1

 

Copies	fee
photocopies or network printing -- black & white	15 cents per copy
photocopies or network printing -- color	$1 per copy
microfilm	25 cents per page
faxing research information between library branches and to County residents	25 cents per page
faxing research information to nonresidents faxing personal documents for the public	$1 per page
photographic reproduction	consult Local History room for fee schedule

Miscellaneous fees
Interlibrary loans	$2 plus additional charges from lending library, if any
Nonresident fee for library card	$30
Out of town research	postage plus copy costs

Reserves: 
Holds may be put on any item that is checked out. These may be picked up at the library location of your choice. When your turn comes you will be called. A message will be left on a machine or with another family member unless you have specifically asked us not to do so. You have three days from the date of the call to pick up your item. (EXCEPTION: video tapes are in such high demand and have such short circulation times that you have only 24 hours to pick them up.)

Returns: 
You may return books to any New Hanover County Public Library location. All locations have book drops that you may use when we are not open. Books returned in a book return before 9 AM will be counted as returned the previous day.

Renewals: 
You may renew any item, other than AV equipment, that does not have others waiting for it, ONE TIME. You may request renewals by phone. Please have the items and your library card handy when you call. If the items cannot be renewed you are responsible for returning them by their original due date.

Rental Book Program: 
In addition to the large number of copies of each popular bestseller the library buys, the FRIENDS OF THE NEW HANOVER COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY purchase additional copies of selected bestsellers to rent to readers who do not want to wait in line on the reserve list. Rentals are $3.00 per week, with as many renewals as you want. No reserves on RENTAL copies and no phone renewals, since payment is due at the beginning of each new rental period.

Intra-System Loans: 
If an item is available at one of our other locations, we can request that it be sent to the location where you would like to pick it up. This service generally takes 1 to 3 days. Our courier service runs Monday - Friday. Traditional Inter-Library Loan service (borrowing items we don't own from other library systems) is available for a fee of $2.00 per item.

Public Access to the Internet:
All locations now provide a limited number of terminals for patron access to the Internet. You must first register at the Reference desk before using any of the Internet terminals.  Please read the posted Rules of Use before signing in. It is a parent's responsibility to supervise their child's use of the library's public access Internet terminals. Children under 18 will be asked to show their library card when they sign up to use an Internet terminal.