All Vermonters (including second home owners) may sign up for a library card free of charge. As of 31 March 2017 all applicants are required to show a current driver's license or state photo identifcation card. Out of state residents who are visiting the area for short or extended stays may sign up for a card for a $10 annual fee (no charge for children under fourteen). The fee is based on the annual per capita local tax support, prorated for a two-month stay, the average for summer residents. Its purpose is to keep new books on the shelves during the summer, the busiest time of the year. The library is committed to providing as much free access to services as possible, but it is independent and funded by the town; it is not part of a larger system and does not receive any direct funding from country, state or federal sources. We appreciate your understanding and invite your comments.

Overdues

There are no fines for overdue materials, but there is a Late Box for voluntary contributions. We bill for damaged or lost materials, and there may be a processing fee.

Overdue Notices

An Overdue notice will be sent to patrons when their materials are overdue. If the library receives no responsible reply to this notice, it will be assumed that the loan materials are lost. A bill will be sent to the patron and library privileges will be suspended for the patron. Privileges will be reinstated upon settlement of the bill.

If there is something you want to read and we don't have it, and it is more than six months old, we can probably get it for you on interlibrary loan. We can also use interlibrary loan to find general information on a specific topic (after consulting our in-house materials). Most interlibrary loan requests can be filled in about one week, although some items may take longer. There is no charge for basic services, but out of state libraries consulted for hard-to-find items may charge fees. We do not request items out of state or incur any fees without the patron' s permission. Please remember that we cannot request new books on interlibrary loan; it violates state and national codes.

To obtain interlibrary loans, you may search the Vermont Automated Library System (VALS) yourself, or we will be happy to do the search for you. In either case, you will be asked to fill out an interlibrary loan form for each item requested. If we are doing the search for you, we need as much of the following information as possible: author, title, date of publication, and where the item was cited (by a friend; in another book; on TV , etc). You can fill out a form at the library, or use this online form, which will be handled by a Dover Library staff member.

In the case of an information request, we need detailed notes about what sources you have already consulted. A staff person will help you fill out the information request form.

Interlibrary loan service depends on cooperation among libraries. Patrons must pick up interlibrary loan items promptly and return them on time. Extensions are subject to the rules of the lending library and must be arranged one week prior to due date. Ideally, the items will be used within the given period.

DOVER FREE LIBRARY POLICIES – revised June 2013

1. Mission

The Board of Trustees adopted the following mission statement as part of its long-range plan for 2011-2014:

The Dover Free Library is a place where people of all ages and backgrounds meet to read, learn, think, and discuss in a comfortable and friendly environment.

The purpose of our library is to provide public access to books and other resources for education and pleasure; to serve the community as a center for reliable information: to provide opportunity and encouragement for all persons to educate themselves continuously; to try to identify community needs that can be met with library resources, or in cooperation with other community organizations; and to supplement resources already available to students.