Lending Policy: Adopted October 2024
Access to Materials
The Dover Free Library serves all residents of Dover and the surrounding towns at no cost. Service will not be denied or abridged for reasons of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social, economic, political status, or age. Any person is welcome to use the library’s collections and resources within the building. A library card is required to take library materials out of the building.
The loan period for books, audiobooks, and DVDs is three weeks. Some special materials, such as museum passes, have a loan period of five days. Please check with the circulation desk for the loan period of specific items.
Materials may be renewed as long as they have not been reserved. In that instance, the patron is responsible for returning the material by the end of the loan period.
Library Cards
When applying for a library card, the borrower agrees to comply with the library’s rules. This includes returning the items to the library by their return due date and in the same condition as they were in when borrowed.
A child of any age may receive a library card with the permission of their parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must sign for the child and assumes responsibility for library materials until the child is 12 years of age, at which time the responsibility transfer to the child. Children are allowed to borrow materials from any area of the library, in keeping with the principles of the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association. Responsibility for material selection rests with the child and caregiver, not library staff. Library staff are happy to be consulted for readers advisory services, however, the child, parent/guardian, or patron retain the ultimate culpability for checking out materials.
Residents of the towns of Dover, Halifax, Marlboro, Newfane, Searsburg, Stratton, Wardsboro, Whitingham, and Wilmington are eligible to receive a free library card. Any person owning property in Dover will also be eligible for free membership. Residents of all other towns will be granted a Visitor’s Card with a $20 deposit refundable in the first year. The deposit will be forfeited by the user after one year of the card’s creation date. Within the first year, the deposit shall be returned to the library user upon closure of the account, as long as the user’s account has no outstanding charges or loans. After one year, the patron may continue to use their card, with no further deposit. Should this fee be a barrier to library service for an individual, the library director may use their discretion in waiving the fee.
Fines and Fees
There are no late fees for library materials returned after its due date. Any patrons wishing to make a donation for returning materials late may do so.
Patrons with unreturned materials will lose their borrowing privileges until the situation is rectified. When a material remains unreturned for 90 days after its due date, it is automatically marked “lost” in the library catalog. At that time, the library will issue a bill for the cost of the unreturned materials.
Once a patron has returned the missing materials and/or paid their fees, their borrowing privileges will be reinstated. Patrons with chronic delinquencies in returning materials may have their accounts reinstated with specific conditions, such as borrowing limits or trial periods.
Interlibrary Loan
Should a patron request an item the library does not own, Dover Free Library is able to obtain most materials through interlibrary loan. Some newer or rare materials may not be available for loan. There is no charge to the patron for this service. Patrons may place a request through the circulation desk and will be updated on the status of their request as needed. It generally takes one to two weeks for Dover Free Library to receive materials from other libraries. Loan periods differ given the lending library’s policies, which Dover Free Library will uphold. Any interlibrary loan book lost or returned damaged must be replaced or paid for by the patron. Children may use interlibrary loan with the consent of their parent or guardian.
2. Holidays
The library will be closed on the following legal holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Indigenous People Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Day after Thanksgiving
- Half day Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
The library will be closed at times when weather and / or other emergency conditions prevent personnel from opening and operating the library at the discretion of the Director.
4. Materials Selection
The Director will select materials, develop the collection, and weed the collection with suggestions from the board and the general public, using the following criteria for selection:
- Expressed need or interest in the community
- Accuracy and literary quality
- Relevance to the library’s role(s) in the community
- Historical or current topical interest
- Quality of technical production
- Usefulness for providing a well-rounded collection, including multiple points of view on current or past controversial issues, when possible.
- Reviews in professional journals
- Inclusions in recommended professional lists
- Local interest. Materials about Dover and the area will be sought and kept.
- Budgetary considerations
- Availability elsewhere. For items outside the scope of the collection, interlibrary loan will be encouraged.
- The library will make every effort to work with the school library to insure the availability of a broad range of materials to townspeople, and to avoid duplication.
Collection development and provision for access to library materials will be carried out in accordance with the “Library Bill of Rights” and the “Freedom to Read” statements appended to this policy statement. When questions regarding intellectual freedom arise, the Board and Director will refer to interpretations of those statements published in the Intellectual Freedom Manual of the American Library Association.
Patrons should be aware that inclusion of an item in the library collection does not imply endorsement of its content by the library board, staff, or community. Some items may be offensive to some individuals. The library will not restrict its purchases, remove items from its shelves, or limit access to items solely because of objections from community members. Conversely, the library will not add an item solely because of endorsement by community members if, in the opinion of the Director, it does not comply with enough of the criteria for selection.
Gifts books and other materials will be accepted on the condition that the library has the authority to make whatever disposition it deems advisable. All gifts will be reviewed in accordance with the criteria listed above.
The library Board or staff members will not act in the place of the parent to restrict children’s access to materials. whatever their content, format, or reading level. Parents must assume responsibility for determining the use of library resources by their children. Controversial items will not receive special treatment, such as special shelving or labeling, which would restrict access.
If a patron wishes to protest an item available at the library, the patron must submit a written request on the form specified in the appendix of this policy statement. If desired, the patron may then present his or her case in person to the Board of Trustees and Director. The Board will respond to all requests with a written statement.
5. Confidentiality of Library Records
The Dover Free Library Board of Trustees affirm that patron and circulation records that could be used to identify which library materials were borrowed or requested by an individual person shall be confidential: unless subpoenaed by the government under Vermont State law or the Federal Patriot Act. More information concerning Vermont State Statutes on Library record confidentiality can be found at the Vermont State website. However, parents will be contacted, if necessary, regarding overdue, lost or damaged materials borrowed by their children.
6. Displays and Exhibits
Announcements of community interest may be displayed in the library building by permission of the Board or Director. Hobby, craft and art exhibits of community significance are encouraged but are displayed at the owner’s acknowledged risk.
No organization or individual shall be permitted to place in the library any receptacle which solicits donations for any cause or organization (other than the library itself, or municipal services); nor shall any display be permitted that advocates or solicits consideration of any product or item sold by any commercial enterprise. Space will be provided for commercial and other notices on the bulletin board outside the library.
7. Use of the Library Rooms
The library facility may be made available for public gatherings of a civic, cultural, or educational nature on an equal basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of the sponsors. Groups using the library must complete a room use form and by approved by the Director, who is responsible for the calendar of events. Such groups may not charge a fee for attendance. The facility must be left as it was found.
8. Review / Revision of Policy
The Board will review this policy statement on an annual basis and make revisions if necessary.