Books/Materials
- Book Club Kits
- Book Selection Tools
- Checking Out Materials
- Check Out Washington
- Digital Media
- Discover New Titles
- Discuss a Book!
- Lucky Day
- Magazines
- Museum Pass
- Renewing Materials
- Request an Item from the Library Catalog
- TumbleBookLibrary
- WorldCat - Interlibrary Loan
- Books to Give as Gifts
Checking Out Materials
All you need to know about checking out items
Learn how to borrow items from your Library. Below you’ll find information on loan periods (or how long you can check things out for), fees for lost or damaged items, and how to make a credit card payment.
Learn more about borrowing privileges and library card eligibility.
Catalog improvements include:
- Goodreads ratings: A compilation of readers' ratings of books.
- Lexile reading levels: Indicates a book's readability.
- Similar titles available now: Helps guide you to other books or movies when the title you want has a holds list.
“You Saved” receipts: Using your library saves you and your family money! See the value of annual use on your checkout/renewal receipts when you visit a library location.
Loan periods
Three 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).
- Educational video materials (nonfiction DVDs with a Dewey Decimal call number).
- Some entertainment DVDs in sets.
One Week for entertainment video materials:
- DVDs - entertainment, feature films.
One Day for special overnight loan:
- Selected reference materials when permitted.
One month special loan period:
- Book Club Kits - see a staff member to make arrangements.
There is a 100 item borrowing limit per customer.
Learn more about Renewing Items.
Fines for overdue materials
The Library System is not currently assessing fines for overdue books and materials given the ongoing economic burden brought on by the pandemic as well as the overall disruption to library service.
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.
Fees for lost or damaged items
You will be charged to replace non-returned, lost or destroyed library items, or to repair damaged library items. Pierce County Library does not accept in-kind replacements for lost or damaged items.
The library is not responsible for repair of equipment used to play library materials.
Credit card payments online
You may pay any 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.
