Borrowing Materials   <<  Services   <<  Your Library

• Loan Periods & Returns.
• Renewals.
• Holds on Materials.
• Interlibrary Loan.
• Overdue Notices and Bills.

Loan Periods & Returns

Loan Periods:

• You may check out books, audiobooks, and CDs for three weeks.
• You may check out videos and DVDs for one week.

Checkout Limits:

Due to high demand, there is a limit of ten (10) DVDs that may be checked out on one library card at a time. There is no limit on the number of books and other library materials that you can borrow.

Returning items:

You can return any DeKalb County Public Library item to any DeKalb County library branch.

• Inside the library at the Circulation Desk
• Outside the library in the book drop

Renewals

All materials can be renewed twice as long as there are no holds on the item.

Ways to renew

• Select My Account in the Catalog (You will need your library card number and PIN)
• Call TeleCirc (You will need your library card number and PIN)
• Call or visit your branch library

Holds on Materials

• There is no charge for placing a Hold.
• You may place a Hold for any circulating library material currently checked out or owned by other branches.
• Holds may not be placed on reference and genealogical materials, uncataloged paperbacks or magazines.
• You may have up to 15 Holds at one time. When placing Holds for audiovisual materials, remember the checkout limit of ten DVDs.

Ways to Place a Hold

• Place a hold from the Catalog
  1. Find the item you want in the Catalog.
  2. Click "Place a Hold".
  3. Enter your library card and PIN.
  4. Choose from the drop down list the library where you want to pick up your item.
• Ask library staff to place the hold for you, either in person or by phone. Staff must place the Hold if it is for a specific volume or part of a multi-piece work. Phone requests are limited to three items.

Note: Please allow 2-4 days for an item that's available at another branch to be shipped to your branch. If you are in a hurry for an item and want to go to the owning branch to pick it up, please call that branch or ask staff to call ahead for you. They will make sure the item is available and have it put aside.

Notification

• By TeleCirc - our automated telephone notification system
• By e-mail - ask staff if you want this service

You can use TeleCirc or My Account to list holds waiting for pickup.

You will have six days to pick up the item on Hold once it becomes available.

Interlibrary Loan

Through Interlibrary Loan (ILL), you can borrow items from other libraries that DeKalb County Public Library does not own.

You may use ILL to request:

• Books, periodicals or reference articles
• Books owned by DeKalb County branches that are listed as lost or missing
• Information on a subject which cannot be located by the Decatur Reference staff
• Genealogical materials

Generally items will not be eligible if they are:

• Owned by DeKalb County Public Library
• Audiovisual materials
• Books published within the last year or in high demand
• Reference books

How to Make an ILL request

• Fill out the appropriate form at any library branch.
• Show a valid, unblocked library card and agree to pay all applicable charges.
• Bring the full citation for a specific magazine article title.

Up to three items may be on order at one time.

Usually you can borrow ILL materials for a three-week period, unless the lending library specifies otherwise.

You may renew ILL materials once for a two-week period if the lending library agrees and if the renewal request is made five or more days before the due date.

You will be charged $1.00 per day for overdue ILL items, plus any additional charges imposed by the lending library.

Borrowing Fees

• $3.00 per item plus any additional charges imposed by the lending library, due upon pickup of the item. The ILL fee helps cover costs incurred in searching, ordering, and returning ILL materials.
• Charges for photocopies are also due at pickup.

Bills for ILL items are generated by the ILL office at the Decatur Library. As a result, you may receive an ILL bill in the mail prior to being notified by your branch that the item is available for pickup.

Special ILL Services:

Census Microfilm Rental Program

Census material from individual states is available for a fee. You can avoid this fee by viewing this material for free at the National Archives and Records Administration in East Point. The Decatur Library has all available Georgia Census microfilm.

HeritageQuest

Census records, military records, U.S. ship passenger lists, county histories, and other genealogical materials are available for ILL on microfilm for a fee.

Public Archives of Canada

Microfilm is available for ILL for a fee.

Lending to other Libraries.

DeKalb County Public Library honors ILL requests for books which are not in high demand. Requests for copies of up to 10 pages will be faxed. Requests for copies of more than 10 pages will be mailed. The Library does not lend audiovisual materials, reference books, microfilm or books in high demand.

The Library supports the National Interlibrary Loan Code of the American Library Association and participates in the Georgia OnLine Database (GOLD) and Online Computer Library Center (OCLC).

The Library's policy on Interlibrary Loan is available.

Overdue Notices & Bills

The Library charges overdue fines to encourage the prompt return of borrowed materials.

Overdue notices and phone calls are sent on the following schedule as a reminder to return materials:

Notice	Type	Books/Cassettes/CDs	Video/DVD/ILL
Date Due Reminder	e-mail	2 days before due date	2 days before due date
1st Overdue	e-mail or call	9 days after due date	3 days after due date
2nd Overdue	printed	7 days after 1st notice	4 days after 1st notice
Bill for Lost Item	printed	7 weeks after due date	7 weeks after due date
Collection Referral	letters and calls	begins 4 weeks after bill	begins 4 weeks after bill

If you have been billed for an item and you return it, you will only owe the overdue fine.

If you pay for a lost item and later find it and return it, you may receive a refund of the replacement cost under the following conditions:

• The item is in good condition
• You have the original receipt
• The item has not been withdrawn from the library collection