Loan Period

• 3 weeks for books, paperbacks, periodicals, music CDs, Books on CD
• 2 weeks for materials on hold, including new materials with a waitlist
• 1 week for DVDs
• 1 week for Hot Spots (See Mobile Hot Spot Policy for further information)
• 1 week for materials needed by students in a class assignment

Renewals

• One renewal permitted apart from reserve materials and 1-week assignment materials.
• Special arrangements can be made for vacation periods.
• The staff reserves the right to limit or extend the time period for any circulating materials and to limit the number of items which may be taken out at one time.

Returns

• Items can be returned inside the Library during normal business hours or in the drops behind the building when we are closed.  Books are returned in the book return that is in the wall of the building. All media is returned in the free-standing media return.
• All items returned before the time of Library opening will be checked in for the previous business day.
• Materials borrowed from within Multi-District Lehigh Valley Pocono Resource Sharing can be returned at any Library within Multi-District Lehigh Valley Pocono Resource Sharing.
• Materials borrowed directly from any other Library must be returned to the Library from which they were borrowed.

Overdue Materials

• First notice:  by telephone within 3 days. A letter will be sent if unavailable by telephone within 5 days.
• Second notice by letter when items are two weeks overdue.
• Third notice by certified letter accompanied by Section 6708 of the Pennsylvania Library Code when materials are more than 4 weeks overdue.
• Magistrate action if deemed appropriate.
• Long overdue items are charged to the patron’s account, so that the item can be removed from our system.
• Please be aware that some Libraries within Multi-District Lehigh Valley Pocono Resource Sharing still charge overdue fines. Should you borrow materials from one of these libraries, you will still be charged the required fines at Northampton, so we may send the fines to the appropriate library.

Fees

• The same notice actions may be taken with fees exceeding $5.00. If a user’s fees reach $5.00, their account will be blocked. When an account is blocked, the user will have a suspension in borrower services including checking out items and use of the computer.
• Fees are as follows:
  • $1.00 per day per overdue mobile Hot Spot
  • Lost Items: Items that are not returned within 60 days of the due date will be marked lost, and the account will be charged the cost of the item.
  • Maximum fees will not exceed the replacement cost of the materials borrowed.

Lost or Damaged Materials

• Lost or damaged materials must be paid for at the amount the Library paid for the item. When an item is paid for no processing charge will be levied on lost or damaged materials. Some Libraries within Multi-District Lehigh Valley Pocono Resource Sharing charge processing costs for their items, which we will gather from the users of those lost or damaged items.
• A 60-day search period may be instituted in the case of “claimed returned.” At the end of this period, if the materials are not found, they must be paid for as mentioned above.
• Refunds for lost materials that have been paid for and then subsequently found are limited to a 60-day period from the time the fee was paid. For materials returned during that time, only replacement costs paid will be refunded.
• Failure to pay for lost or damaged materials will result in suspension of user’s privileges.

  Placing Requests for Materials

• Materials that are in circulation may be requested and placed on hold. Patrons are notified by telephone, e-mail, and/or text message when the material is available. Materials are held at the desk for 3 business days, after which time they are returned to the shelf or passed to the next person on the hold list.
• Materials that are not owned by NAPL may be found by searching Multi-District Lehigh Valley Pocono Resource Sharing in the Library's catalog or requested through Inter-Library Loan, where the item will be requested from another library. Materials may be considered for purchase if they fall within our collection development policy.

Interlibrary Loan

• Interlibrary loan is available to Northampton Area Public Library cardholders that reside in the Northampton Area School District.
• Interlibrary loans are items that are borrowed from another library outside of Multi-District Lehigh Valley Pocono Resource Sharing to be picked up at our location.
• Items to borrow are print materials, audiobooks, DVDs and CDs. Textbooks, reference materials, and books published within the last twelve months are not available via interlibrary loan.
• The average request takes 2-4 weeks to fulfill. There is no guarantee that we will be able to acquire an item.
• The lending library determines the length of the loan and if items may be renewed. There are often no renewals for DVDs.
• Users are responsible for the materials and are subject to overdue charges of $0.25 per day. Damaged or lost items must be paid for at the cost charged by the lending library.
• Users are limited to four requests per month.
• We notify the user that items are ready for pickup via their preferred notice method.  We are not responsible in the case of missed notices due to spam filters, malfunctioning or non-existent voice mail applications, or otherwise missed messages.
• If an item is not picked up, the patron will be charged $1.00.

Approved by the Library Board of Trustees on 12/14/2023