Pierce County Library System
Information & Imagination

Books/Materials

Checking Out Materials

You may check out books and other materials if you have a current valid Pierce County Library card and have a balance due of less that $10 on your account.

If your account has unpaid fines and fees totaling more than $10, checkout privileges will be suspended until payment is made reducing the total to under $10.

More information more on borrowing privileges and  library card eligibility.

3 weeks is the basic loan period for most library materials:

• Regular books.
• Books borrowed on InterLibrary Loan from other library systems.
• Magazines.
• Music CDs.
• Audiobooks on CD
• Downloadable audiobooks and e-books. 1-21 days
• Theme and baby packets.
• Educational video materials (nonfiction DVDs with a Dewey Decimal call number).
• Some entertainment DVDs in sets.

1 Week for entertainment video materials:

• DVDs - entertainment, feature films.

1 Day for special overnight loan

• Selected reference materials when permitted.

1 month special loan period:

• Book Discussion Group Kits - see staff member to make arrangements.

Checked out items must be returned by the due date for each item to avoid fines. Items returned to a book drop after closing will be considered returned the same day. Due dates for each item checked out to you can be viewed from the Items Out screen of your account within the library catalog.

Our  basic late fine rate is 15¢ per day for each overdue item, with a  maximum accrual of $6.  There are a few special exceptions to this rule.

Special cases:

• Magazines and paperbacks have a maximum accrual of $3.
• Fine for reference material (when overnight loan was permitted) is $1 per day.
• The license for downloadable audio books will automatically expire after 21 days, but there is no check-in or late fines for these, nor will the items show up in your library catalog account.

The fine amounts above apply to each overdue item per day (including library closed days). For example, two late books would incur a combined fine of 30¢ per day.

Fines are charged from the first day of overdue, the first day after the due date. By the time an overdue notice reaches you, you will already owe a fine. Items with several parts, such as an audiobook with multiple parts or a movie that has a part 1 and part 2, are considered returned when all parts are returned.

Get advance notice of upcoming due dates via e-mail. When e-mail is the chosen option for library notification, you will automatically receive a notice in advance of due dates for items on your record.

You will be charged to replace non-returned, lost or destroyed library items, or to repair damaged library items.

The library is not responsible for repair of equipment used to play library materials.

You may pay any fine or fee on your Pierce County Library account online with any of the following credit cards:

• American Express
• Discover
• MasterCard
• Visa

Login to your account, click on the Fines & Fees tab, and follow the credit card payment instructions.