Patronage
Residents of the City of Blair will be issued, without charge, a library card valid for a period of three years. Citizens residing outside the city limits of Blair pay a non-refundable $25.00 annual household fee for borrowing privileges. (For library purposes, a household contains all individuals who reside at the same address.) Non-resident cards expires yearly from the date of payment of the fee. Cards issued to local organizations located in the city limits of Blair (such as preschools, daycare centers, and rest homes) exist with the permission of the organization’s director and the library director. Teachers from the Blair Community Schools will be issued a card upon request and using their school address.
To receive a library card, all city and county residents must complete a registration form. A parent or guardian’s signature is required on the registration form for children under 18 years of age. Address verification is required before a library card is issued. Borrower cards are not transferable.
All individual registration and circulation records of this library are confidential and shall not be disclosed to or be examined by the public. Patron check-out history is not available.
Materials
The following materials may circulate:
| Circulating Material | Loan Period | Exceptions | Restrictions |
| Books, Music CDs | 3 weeks | Reference Books are not loaned without permission. | |
| Magazines | 3 weeks | ||
| Audio Books | 3 weeks | ||
| Educational Toys | 7 working days | Limit 4 per adult patron | |
| Cake Pans | 1 week | Limit 4 per adult patron | |
| DVDs | 7 working days | Limit 4 DVDs per adult patron |
The following items do not circulate:
| Material | Exceptions | Restrictions | Charges |
| Reference Material | With Permission | None | |
| Newspapers | None | None | |
| Microfilm | May be inter-library loaned to other libraries | Four week loan period. Library use only. | Cost of postage or copies 30 cents per copy. |
Equipment loaned by library:
| Material | Exceptions | Restrictions | Charges |
| Electronic Watts Detector | Three weeks | ||
| Personal CD Players | Limit one per person. Three week check out. | ||
| Portable Projection Screen | One day checkout |
For Equipment rentals, call the library in advance or check at the circulation desk. Patrons must have a current library card in good standing to check out equipment.
Patrons may check out up to 20 items.
The library staff will not deny checkout privileges on circulating materials to any borrower in good standing. This means that juvenile cardholders will not be denied the right to borrow adult materials, except DVDs/videos, Educational Toys and Electronic Games.
Reserved Materials
The library will reserve circulating materials on a first-come first-served basis. Either the catalog system or staff will notify them of the availability of their reserves. Reserved material returns to circulation after five days on the hold shelf.\
Lost, Damaged, and Overdue Materials
Library materials are overdue if not returned to the circulation desk or book drop by closing time on the date the item is due. Unless special arrangements have been made with the library director, the library suspends borrowing privileges for any patron who has materials overdue. Appropriate fines or fees remain when delinquent materials are returned. If a patron continues to act irresponsibly with library materials, the director, with the consent of the library board, may impose borrowing limits or ban the patron from the library borrowing policy.
Patrons are notified of overdue issues. A ten-day notice transmits electronically if the patron has provided a valid email address. After a patron has been sent two standard overdue notices (30 and 60 days respectively) by U.S. Postal Service, the third and final notice is mailed (90 day notice). If the patron has taken no action, the library will declare the item lost and withdraw the item from the collection. The patron is then charged for the replacement cost of the item and a $5.00 administrative fee for each item not returned.
Delinquent accounts transfer to the City of Blair for collection efforts. If an item is returned to the library after the item has been declared lost and withdrawn from the collection, its re-accession is at the discretion of the library director. Re-accessioned materials are charged a $5.00 Administrative Fee. Charges for items that are not re-accessioned into the catalog will remain due and owing by the patron. Checkout privileges are suspended until full restitution is received.
Fines for Overdue Materials
Fines for delinquent materials are shown in the table below.
| Material | Fines |
| DVDs/Videos, Educational Toys, Electronic Games, Cake Pans | $1.00 per day (not to exceed the replacement cost of the DVD/video). |
| Books, Magazines, Audio Books, Music CDs, | 5 cents per day (not to exceed the replacement cost of the item). |
Fines do not accrue on days the library is closed. A grace period of 4 days exists for all materials except DVDs. If the patron returns overdue items within the grace period, no fine accrues. Fines accumulate during the grace period and materials returned after the grace period will be assessed fines from the due date. Payment of fines $1.00 or over is expected before a borrower may check out additional library materials. Senior citizens (65 and over) are not assessed overdue fines, but are responsible for the cost of lost or damaged items. Cards issued to local organizations and to local teachers (pre-approved) using books in the classroom or at the organization’s facility are not assessed late fees, but are responsible for lost or damaged items
Fines for Damaged Materials
| Material | Damage | Fine |
| Printed material | Tear, water damage, marks, torn out pocket still; material still useable | 25 cents per page |
| Printed material | Missing pages | Replacement cost |
| Magazine | Missing or significant damage | Replacement cost |
| Book | Paper cover lost | $2.00 |
| Magazine | Paper cover lost or damaged | $1.00 |
| Library Card | Lost | $1.00 |
| Book | Chewed cover | $2.00 or Replacement of item |
| Any | Bar code removed; Spine label removed | $1.00 |
| Book | Water damage or warped book still can be used | $3.00 |
| Educational Toy | Lost materials or damage | Replacement of Item. |
| Electronic Game | Lost or Damage to diskette | Replacement Cost |
| DVD/CD/Audio book | Lost or Damaged | Replacement Cost |
| DVD case/Game case | Lost | $2.00 |
Patrons have one week to return missing covers, cases, or game pieces. The library staff will put a note on the patron’s account as to when the item was returned to the library. If the patron does not return the missing item within the prescribed time, a fine is assessed to the patron’s record.
Circulation policies, doc revised 11/15/10.
Reviewed, revised and approved 9/17/2012.
Reviewed, revised and approved 8/2013.
Reviewed and approved 4/2016
Reviewed and revised 4/2017; not approved by council at this time
Reviewed 8/2018
Reviewed 8/2019
Reviewed and revised 7/2020; in approval process