Circulation Policies

Purpose

The purpose of the Fine and Fee Policy is to define what the Library will charge for lost or damaged materials and for library privileges for residents of towns that do not support the Library with tax dollars.

General Guidelines

The Library reserves the right to charge fees, for lost or damaged materials based on Vermont Statute Title 22: Libraries, History and Information Technology. Chapter: 003 Public Libraries, Subchapter 002: Incorporation of Libraries §111. Protection of library property; penalties. (a) A library may recover in a civil action damages for detained or damaged library property, together with costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

Nonresident Membership Fee

(A) Individual Nonresident

The fee for the first card purchased in a household shall not exceed the per capital rate for Brattleboro residents. Each additional card purchased will be $5.00 and will have the same expiration date as the first card purchased. Partial-year and multiple-year fees may be established by the Board.

The per capita rate is the library budget as approved at Town Meeting plus employee benefits, divided by the population of the Town of Brattleboro according to the latest census estimate.

(B) Towns Contracting with BML for Library Services

Towns may contract with BML to provide library services to their residents based on the following guidelines:

• Contracting towns will be charged a membership fee for library services at Brooks.
• BML will supply library cards at no charge to residents of any contracting town for the fiscal year in which the contracting town pays such a membership fee.
• The fee will not exceed the per capita assessment for library services as specified in the Brattleboro Town budget. The per capita assessment is determined by dividing the total Library budget by the population of Brattleboro.
• The formula for determining the fee to be paid by a contracting town for a given year is as follows:
• Current Budget [defined as Total Brooks Library Budget ] x Percentage of BML Cardholders from Contracting Town^*= Contracting Town’s Current Fee.
• Fee will be reviewed and set annually by the Board of Trustees
• A lower annual fee may be negotiated between a contracting town and the Brooks Library Board.
• A contracting town shall provide Brooks Library each year with a list of its residents. Any questions as to who is or is not a resident of a contracting town shall be resolved by that town.

*The first year such a fee is paid the town’s percentage of cardholders for use in this formula shall be its percentage from the last year in which the Library issued cards free of charge to residents of towns other than Brattleboro. For the second and subsequent years a town pays this fee its percentage of cardholders for use in the formula shall be its percentage of the Library’s cardholders for the previous

Overdue Fees and Notices

• Fines will accrue according to Catamount Library Network Circulation Policy. Fines for most materials (books, DVDs, CDs, etc.) will be dismissed upon return of the item. Specialty items (snowshoes, projectors, museum passes, etc.) are charged an overdue fine of $5.00/day.
• Printed overdue notices will be mailed 10 days and 20 days after due date. A final notice, which includes a bill will be sent at 43 days.
• Emailed overdue notices will be sent by default at 10 and 20 days after due date. Courtesy email reminders will be sent at least 3 days before the due date. The frequency may be customized by patrons.

The overdue fee schedule shall be reviewed annually by the Trustees.

Other Use Fees

Fees for lost materials

 Replacement cost shall be the full retail price of the lost item.

Photocopies– self service

• Black & White single-sided .15/page/side
• Color .25/page/side

Printing – self service

• Black & White single-sided .15/page
• Black & White double-sided .30 sheet (calculated as .15/side) available on all public access computers
• Color, single or double-sided .25/side
• Costs are the same if patrons use their own paper. Patrons must ask for permission and assistance to load their own paper.

Scanning—self-service

Scan and save as PDF or .jpg and e-mail or save to flash drive: no charge.

Fax– self-service sending

There is no charge to send a fax. The Library does not receive faxes for the public.

Forms and Brochures

Circulation policies will be explained in materials available online and at the circulation desks. The Board of Trustees will review these forms and brochures as needed.

Lost Materials Policy

 Purpose

The purpose of the Lost Materials Policy is to clarify the guidelines the Library will follow when patrons have not returned materials taken out of the Library.

Recovery of Long Overdue Materials

• The Library recognizes that circulating materials should be returned on a timely basis so as to provide the best possible service to all the patrons of the Library.
• Additional notices may be sent for the recovery of long overdue materials as needed to recover materials:
• Borrowers will be blocked from borrowing materials if one of the following conditions applies:
  • The total amount of money owed is $10.00 or more.
  • Any items are more than 43 days overdue.
• Any failure to return materials will incur fees as set forth in this policy.
  • Long overdue items are assumed to be lost. Borrowers will be responsible for the cost of the item(s) if not returned. If the replacement fee for the lost item is paid, the fines will be waived.
  • After 43 days patron accounts with materials still overdue may be referred to the Town Attorney. Those patrons will be sent letters by the Town Attorney stating that failure to return materials will result in possible action in small claims court, and that any fees associated with this action will be added to the patron’s account. Fees may include: attorney’s fees; cost of small claims court filing & associated costs and fees; library cost recovery fees beyond the fines due once the materials are returned to the library.
• A waiver of any fees may be requested by completing a “Request for Dismissal” form.

Loan Periods, Renewals, and Loaned Item Limits

Purpose

The purpose of the policy is to establish the circulation loan periods, renewal limits and the maximum number of items on loan to a borrower for all library materials and borrower classes.

The Catamount Library Network Circulation Policies

• The item limits, loan periods, fine amounts, grace period, overdue fines cap, renewals allowed, and the consortium loan policy may be found in the Catamount Library Network Circulation Policy Table.
• The Catamount Library Network Borrower Type Policy may be found in the table.