CMC Library Consortium

Consortium Policies

Home | About the Libraries | News & Announcements
My Account | Access Electronic Resources
Magazine & Newspaper Subscriptions

• New Patrons


• Non-Resident Cards


• Circulation Period


• Overdue Fines


• Delinquent Patrons


• Limited Items


• Deposits on Special Items

A person must be at least 5 years old to apply for a library card at all libraries, with the exception of Isothermal Community College, where the person must be at least 14 years old. A parent or guardian signature is required for those patrons under the age of 16.

New patrons must show identification with their current address when registering for a library card. This could include a driver’s license, a checkbook, a letter with a postmark on it, or, as a last resort, the phone book.

No library cards will be issued to institutions, companies, or groups. Cards will be issued to individuals only.

First time patrons of the County and Municipal libraries will be allowed to check out one adult book or two children’s books, with the exception of Mooneyham Library which only allows one book to be checked out on the first visit. The library card will be issued when these items are returned on time. If the items are returned late, the patron will again be limited until the book(s) are returned on time. Isothermal Community College does not have a limit on the first visit and issues a card immediately.

A common library card will be issued that can be used at all libraries in the county, including the Isothermal Community College library. There will be a replacement fee of $1.00 for a lost or damaged card and a fee of $.50 for a new barcode.

Non-Resident Cards (Back to Top)
Non-county residents can obtain checkout privileges by paying a fee of $20.00 per library per year. This fee must be paid at each library at which the patron checks out books and is nonrefundable. Patrons who are temporarily here from another area (ex. visiting family) and want to check out books may be issued a temporary library card. These patrons will be charged a deposit of $20.00. This deposit will be refunded when the patron returns his/her card. All non-county and temporary users will be limited to one adult book and/or two children’s books per visit.

Circulation Period (Back to Top)
All books and audiotapes at the County and Municipal libraries are checked out for two weeks. They may be renewed twice for two weeks each for a maximum checkout period of six weeks. At the Isothermal Community College library, books are checked out for four weeks and may then be renewed once for two more weeks. Books that are on a Hold list cannot be renewed.

The circulation period for videotapes varies by library:

• Isothermal Community College – 3 days
• Mountains Branch – 1 week
• Mooneyham Public Library – 2 weeks
• Norris Public Library – 2 weeks
• Spindale Public Library – 2 weeks

Overdue Fines (Back to Top)
The overdue fine on books and audio tapes is 10 cents per day, per item. The maximum fine for overdue items at the County and Municipal libraries is $5 per library for the first six months. After the items have been out for over six months, the fine will increase to $10. Isothermal Community College has a maximum fine of $50.

The Mountains Branch and Haynes Branch libraries charge 50 cents per day, per item for overdue videos. Isothermal Community College charges $1.00 per day, per item.

Delinquent Patrons (Back to Top)
Patrons who fail to return library materials will have their library privileges revoked. Privileges of family members will also be revoked. For example, if a child is on the delinquent list, his/her parents will not be able to check out until the child is cleared. This applies to anyone living at the same address as the delinquent patrons.

Patrons who are delinquent at one library cannot check out items at any other Consortium library.

Limited Items (Back to Top)
There is a limit of 50 total items per patron throughout the county. The limit per family (parents and children) is 75 total items. This means that a total of no more than 50 items may be on the patron's record at any given time from a single library or from any combination of Consortium libraries.

There is a limit of three books per subject in the non-fiction collection. This limit does not apply at Isothermal Community College for students, but does apply for the general public.

Books in the following subject areas are limited to one item:

At certain times, any library may limit books on a certain subject to only 1 or 2 per patron, such as when a school or class is doing reports on that subject. During the school year, science fair project books are limited to 2 books per family.

Reference books may not be checked out.

Isothermal Community College has some books that are on reserve. Only 2 of these books can be checked out at any one time. The checkout period varies by instructor and class, but is typically between 1 and 7 days. The overdue fine for these books is $1.00 per day, per item.

There is a limit of 10 audio cassette tapes per patron at all County and Municipal libraries. The limit at Isothermal Community College is 5 tapes.

Deposits on Special Items (Back to Top)
Deposits are required on all test study guides for the armed services, civil service, and scholastic examination. The amount required is labeled on the front cover of each book. The deposit will be refunded when the item is returned, however, the money will NOT be refunded to the patron once the item is 6 weeks overdue.