Community Corner

Circulation Changes, Online Program Registration on Deck at the Library

Patrons will have a new way to register for programs.

Patrons at the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library will soon be able to register online for most programs, check out more movies at a time, and keep audio books for a longer period of time.

Online registration for free programs begins April 1 for valid library card holders; for programs that have a materials fee or other cost, folks will still have to register in person at the library, since there is no mechanism yet for online payment. Director Ted Gutmann said it was simply time to add that ability for patrons.

"We found they would be lining up outside the door" to register," he said. "Many of the other libraries in the county are already using online registration."

Find out what's happening in Three Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gutmann said the library paid $1,800 for a software system to allow online registration. Its total 2011 budget for new equipment and software is $35,000.

At its Wednesday meeting, the library board also unanimously approved three changes to the circulation policy. Whereas they could previously only have four movies checked out at a time, patrons will now be able to borrow up to six. Loan periods for those materials have not changed. And for adult audio books not categorized as "new" – meaning they have been part of the collection for at least six to nine months – the loan period has been increased from 14 to 28 days.

Find out what's happening in Three Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In addition, the library will also make its test books, such as police or civil service test prep books, available to the countywide interloan program for the first time.

"I don’t really know why they were so guarded at one point," Gutmann said. "If we don’t loan them, other libraries won’t loan them to us. … We felt that we’d actually have access to a wider range of materials if we participated in that program."

The changes to the circulation policy are the result of a wider review of library policies.

"We’re revisiting a lot of our current policies. We want to keep our circulation up," Gutmann said. "Some of these policies hadn't been looked at in a long time."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here