Circulation Policy

1. Library Cards
   1. Residents
      To be eligible for library privileges, a patron must be a resident of Atlantic County or from a community belonging to the Coalition of Independent Libraries of South Jersey; this includes Ocean City and Avalon. Applicants must provide a proof of address and/or a valid ID to obtain a library card.
   2. Non-Residents
      Residents of nearby communities (not in COIL) and visitors to Atlantic County may obtain a 90-day visitor’s card for a fee of $10.00 by providing a valid ID or proof of address.
   3. Children and Teens
      Juvenile residents ages 0-17 are eligible to receive a “Youth” library card with the name of a guarantor (parent or guardian) specified in their account. The guarantor must accept responsibility for the youth library card and authorize account creation via an in-person signature on the library card application form.
   4. Board of Trustees & Library Staff Members
      All Board of Trustees and Library Staff members are able to obtain a lifetime library card.
   5. Library Card Renewal
      Adult and youth residents’ library cards will automatically expire annually. Upon expiration, library card holders will be asked to re-verify their account information in order to renew their library card.
   6. Lost Cards
      In the case a patron loses their physical library card, a replacement card is not necessary, but may be provided for a fee of $5.00.
2. Loan Periods
   Adult and youth residents are allowed up to 10 checkouts with an additional two renewal requests, so long as the materials checked out are not on a hold list. Non-Resident patrons are allowed up to 2 checkouts with one additional renewal request, so long as the materials checked out are not on a hold list. The checkout period is 21 days. For Inter-Library Loan books, one checkout is allowed with a loan period of 14-21 days. No renewals are allowed for ILLs.
3. Overdue Materials
   Library card privileges may be revoked for patrons with materials that are over 3 months overdue or who have fines exceeding $10.00. Fines may be waived at the discretion of the Library Director, if a patron has returned the material(s) and has a valid explanation.
4. Lost or Damaged Materials
   Patrons are responsible for the replacement cost of lost or damaged materials, while in their possession.

Adopted: 11/14/02, Amended: 3/11/04, Amended & Adopted: 4/14/05, Amended: 10/8/13
Revised & Adopted: May 14, 2026