Circulation Desk

The hub of the library, the Circulation Desk Floor 2 is where you are issued your library card and check out and return your selections. Following is information on how to get a library card and how to borrow books, audio-visual items, and equipment from the Lockport Public Library or other libraries in the NIOGA Library System.

• Getting a Library Card
• Other Residents of New York State
  
• Checking Items Out of the Library
• Overdue Fines

Getting a Library Card

You must present identification, including your name and current address. Parents must sign a form authorizing the issuance of a library card to a child under the age of 13.

Your first library card is free of charge. Replacement cards are $1.00. There is no charge for updating information in the database or for renewing expired cards. If you forget your library card, you may check items out with another valid form of identification such as a driver's license.  

Other Residents of New York State  (Effective June 1, 2005)

Other residents of New York State who do not live, work, own property, or attend school in the three-county NIOGA service area are eligible for borrowing privileges at a charge. Individual library cards are issued for a $40 fee, have a fifteen item limit, and are valid for one year.

You need one of the following:

• New York State driver's license with current street address. [Note: A license with a Post Office Box or a commercially available personal mailbox (for example a PMB available through Mail Boxes Etc.) is not acceptable, as it does not prove residence. Applicants are required to provide another form of ID verifying address.]
• Valid picture identification card with name, current address and signature
• Dwelling lease
• Voter's registration card with current address

Checking Items Out of the Library

• You must present a valid computer-readable library card to check out materials. This card may be from any library in the NIOGA Library System. If you have a paper card from a NIOGA library, then you should keep that card, but you will also be issued a computer-readable card following the above described procedures.

• Borrowers will not be allowed to check out items if there is a lost item on their record, or if unpaid fines total more than $3.00.

• Materials are loaned for 21 days unless otherwise marked. CDs, videos, and DVDs are loaned for one week. Following is a list of limitations on the number of items that may be checked out at one time:

Books: Unless otherwise stated, up to 40 items may be checked out per borrower.
   Non-fiction may be limited; at the discretion of the librarian.

Videos & DVDs: Limit of eight titles per borrower (for example, 4 videos + 4 DVDs, or 2 DVDs + 6 videos).

Music CDs: Limit of eight titles per borrower.

Magazines: May be borrowed for up to 14 days.

Art loans: Limit of one per borrower, for a period of up to 21 days.

Renewals:  Items may be renewed twice if they are not on reserve for another borrower. Items are renewed from the date of renewal for the same period of time for which they were originally checked out. Items may be renewed by telephone. You must have your borrower card number to renew by telephone.  Renewals can also be done online--click here to find out how.

Overdue Fines

Borrowers may not check out additional items if they have current fines totaling more than $3.00. The maximum fines per item are as follows:
 

Books	$5.00 @ $0.10/day
Videocassettes	$10.00 @ $1.00/day
DVDs	$10.00 @ $1.00/day
Compact discs	$5.00 @ $0.10/day
Audiocassettes	$5.00 @ $0.10/day
Art loan	$10.00 @ $0.25/day