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I am looking for information on:

Library Cards

Loan Periods

Renewals

Fines and Fees

Reserves and Interlibrary Loans

Library Cards

Incorporated Village of Northbrook
If you live within the incorporated area of the Village of Northbrook, you are entitled to a free library card. Please bring current identification that includes your full name and reflects your address within the village. Types of identification may include driver's license, printed checks, a current utility bill sent through the mail, a real estate tax bill, or student identification.

Lost or damaged cards may be replaced for a $1 fee. For your protection, we again need identification that verifies your name and Northbrook address.

Your card will be honored at many libraries across the state.

Unincorporated Areas
People who live in unincorporated Northbrook may purchase nonresident cards by bringing a current real estate tax bill. Renters should contact the library for instructions.

A purchased nonresident card has full rights at the Northbrook Public Library and it will be honored by many other libraries. Nonresident card fees are determined using the Tax Bill Method as defined by Section 3050 of the Illinois Local Library Act. Nonresident fees are equivalent to those paid by residents.

• In August 2009, it was brought to the Library’s attention that the exemptions were not accounted for when the Library fee was calculated. Library Staff conducted research, including the Illinois State Library Code and discussions with Patricia Damisch, Northfield Township Assessor and Lauren Tucker, Chief Deputy Director of the Illinois State Library. Based on this research it was determined that to be more equitable the exemptions should be accounted for in the calculation and as of August 15, 2009, the calculation accounts for the exemptions.
• Refunds will be issued to non residents who have purchased Library services if the proper paperwork is submitted for review.  Proper paperwork will include cancelled check/receipt and original second installment property tax bill. At the November 12, 2009 meeting of the Library Board of Trustees it was decided that these rebates will be issued up to the end of December 31, 2009. Documentation for rebates must either be postmarked before that date or otherwise delivered to the library before that date.

Contact our Circulation Department for more information.
 
Loan Periods

Books
Most books may be borrowed for 3 weeks. New Adult Fiction has a loan period of 2 weeks. You may take out 30 books at a time.

Rental Books
Many new bestsellers are also available for rental at $1 for 2 weeks. Each additional day is 15 cents.

DVDs and Blu-rays
New DVDs and Blu-rays may be borrowed for 2 days. All others may be borrowed for one week. There is a fee of $1 for each movie. You may take out 10 movies at a time. DVDs and Blu-rays cannot be reserved.

Children's and Family DVDs and Blu-rays
All Children's and Family DVDs and Blu-rays may be borrowed for one week. There is a fee of $1 for each movie. You may take out 10 movies at a time. Children's and Family movies cannot be reserved.

Videos
Videos may be borrowed for one week. There is a fee of $1 per video. You may take out 10 movies at a time. Videos cannot be reserved.

CDs
Music on CD may be borrowed for one week. You may take out 15 CDs at a time.

Audiobooks & Playaways
Books on CD, cassette, or Playaway may be borrowed for 3 weeks.You may take out 5 audiobooks at a time.

Videogames
Videogames may be borrowed for one week. You may take out 5 videogames at a time.  Videogames may not be reserved or renewed.

CD-ROMs, Music Audio Cassettes, and Records
Computer games and educational software on CD-ROM and music audio cassettes and records may be borrowed for one week. You may take out 5 of each of these items at a time.

 Magazines
Up to 12 magazines and journals may be borrowed for one week. The most current copy of a magazine may not be borrowed.

Other Items
Slides may be borrowed for one week. Music scores and libretti, puzzles, pamphlets, and juvenile magazines may be borrowed for three weeks. The VTEK machine for the visually impaired may be borrowed for three weeks.

Noncirculating Items
Items that may not be borrowed from the library include reference books, the most current copy of a magazine, and newspapers.

Renewals

Items may be renewed up to three times if there are no reserves. To renew items over the phone, call 847-272-6224 during library hours. Please have your library card and the item(s) you want to renew handy. Movies and rental books may not be renewed over the phone.

You may also renew items online. Go to the catalog and click on My Account, then choose Renew My Materials. You will be prompted to enter your full library card barcode (no spaces) and your password. The default password is "patron" (all lowercase), but you can change your password under My Account if you wish. You will see a list of all items you currently have checked out. Check the box to the left of each item you want to renew, or choose Renew All, and then click Renew Selected Items.

Fines & Fees

If an item is returned after the date it is due, a fine of 10 cents per day per item is charged for most materials. The fine for late movies and videogames is $1 per day per item. The fine for rental books is 15 cents per day.

Fees are charged for the replacement of a lost or damaged library card, damaged or lost materials, borrowing movies, rental books, the procurement of a magazine article from another library, nonresident library cards for residents of unincorporated Northbrook, computer use-only cards, and returned checks.

Reserves & Interlibrary Loan

Reserves
Northbrook cardholders may be put on a waiting list for materials that are currently unavailable (checked out or on order). There is no service charge. You may reserve items over the phone; please have your library card handy. You may also reserve items online via our  catalog. Movies may not be reserved.

Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan allows Northbrook Public Library card holders access to materials which are not available in the library's collection. The Interlibrary Loan staff searches the catalogs of other libraries and can often locate unusual or out-of-print titles.

The Interlibrary Loan process takes from approximately seven days to eight weeks depending on the location of the book and the lending library's response time.

Interlibrary Loan requests can be made at any of the service desks on the second and third floors.

Please provide as much information about the item as possible such as title, author, publisher and year of publication. The more information you can give us about the item, the faster we can find it.

Materials that are difficult to borrow through Interlibrary Loan are sound recordings and genealogical publications. Items that we don't request are compact discs, CD-ROMs, and movies.

The loan period for each book is determined by the lending library.

There may be a service charge.

Often Interlibrary Loan materials are not renewable and occasionally are sent for in-library use only. We will make every attempt to renew an item when possible.

For more information on Interlibrary Loan call (847) 272-6224, ext. 243.