Rules and regulations

Your card entitles you to free book loans and free internet access in all Havering Libraries and all of the Libraries within The Libraries Consortium:- London Boroughs of Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Bromley, Ealing, Enfield, Hackney, Harrow, Kingston-upon-Thames, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.

Information may be shared with our partners in the London Library Consortium for library related matters.

The following information is to help you make the most of your library membership and for you to understand your responsibilities as a library member.

Our commitment to you

How to Join the Library 

Adults

Your personal details are required to sign up. 

Please provide one current proof of your name and address from the list below.

• Current council tax bill
• Utility bill dated within the last 3 months
• Driving Licence
• Medical card
• Credit Card or bank statement within the last 3 months
• Current Library Card (if you are joining a child in your family)
• Council Employee Pass

You will be asked to sign a membership card confirming that you agree to abide by library rules and regulations (listed in this document).  

Children

A child's membership application must be completed by a parent, carer or guardian of the child. They will sign to say they will be responsible for any items borrowed. 
They will also have to confirm whether or not the child can access the internet.

Children under 10 years old must be accompanied, in the library, by an adult of 16+ or a parent. If a child, who is under 10 years old, is left unaccompanied then the Library Service will inform the Police.

London Libraries Consortium

Havering Libraries are part of the London Libraries Consortium (LLC), for current partners see above.

If you are a member of any of these libraries you will not need a Havering Library Card as membership is shared.

In order to help customers keep control of their loans, and not incur fines from several libraries, we aim to provide only one card to customers whose local authority is part of the LLC.

If customers already have several cards we will suspend all but the first card on the system to avoid any confusion.

This has been agreed across the LLC.

Types of membership

• Under 5s (0-4yrs), Children (5-16yrs) and Adults (16yrs and over)
• Foster Carers
• Home Educated
• Housebound
• Visually Impaired (proof of visual impairment will be required)

PIN 

• A PIN will be issued with your membership card at the time you join the library. This number will be required to use any of our PCs or online services
• PINs can be changed online
• If you forget your PIN take proof of ID to your nearest branch library and a new one will be allocated to you
• It is your responsibility to ensure that your PIN is not shared with anyone else, written on your library card or anywhere that would compromise the safety of your PIN

How we contact you 

• Email - free
• Telephone - charged
• Text Message - charged
• Post - charged

We will use this information to inform you of the following:

• Reservations
• Overdue items
• Events and activities

Items available for loan

Up to 25 items can be borrowed; this includes books and audio books. A small fee is charged to borrow audio books - see current fees and charges. Registered Visually impaired are exempt from this fee.

EBooks and Audio Books - eBooks and audio books are available; download for free, from our web site http://library.havering.gov.uk . You will need your PIN to use this service.

Loan periods

Books and audio books are loaned for three weeks 

EBooks and Audio Books are loaned for 7 or 14 days

Pre Overdue Notices 

For those customers who choose to be notified by e mail we will send you a pre overdue notice via e mail 3 working days before your books are due for return.  This service will start on the 4th August, 2014.

Returning items 

Items returned past their due date will be charged at a minimum cost per day.

Registered visually impaired people are exempt from this charge. 

Renewing items

Renewing items is free; however the usual loan fees apply to fee paying items.

Items may be renewed up to 4 times to avoid incurring overdue fees; items may be renewed with your library card and PIN: 

• in person
• using one of our Self Issue machines in the library 
• online
• using the 24 hour information & renewal line 0115 929 3388
• by phoning the branch library – you will be given a code to add to the new due date as proof of your renewal

If you are using the 24hr renewal line and your item will not renew: this is usually because there is a reserve on the item for another customer. To avoid incurring overdue fees on your account please call the branch to renew the item (a renewal will be made for an extra few days only).  

Reservations

For a small fee, requests can be made for items not currently available.

An additional charge will be made for requested items that come from outside the London Libraries Consortium.

Fees must be paid when a request is made or, if reserved online, at your next visit to the library.

Fees are non refundable if the item can not be located after further investigation.

We will notify you, by your preferred method of notification, when the requested item has arrived at your chosen branch.

Lost or damaged items that have come from outside the Consortium will incur the full cost of replacement, plus any fee that is imposed from the loaning authority 

Internet access

Your membership entitles you to Free use of our internet facilities in any branch.

Printing is charged at current rates - see current fees and charges 

You are advised to check on "print preview" to ensure you are printing exactly what you want as all printing will be charged for.

Sessions are booked in one hour slots. Time allowed varies from library to library. 

The PCs are automatically turned off 10 minutes before the library closes. As this can not be overridden by staff  ensure any work is saved before this time.

For further policy and conditions see the Havering Library Computer Usage Policy which is on display in all Libraries.

WiFi and laptop

Free wifi access is available in all libraries. You are able to plug your lap top into an electricity socket in our libraries for a small fee. The library will not be responsible for any damage caused to your equipment by using our services

Recovery of fines or items outstanding

Havering Library Service make every effort to collect all outstanding debt and you need to be advised that there is a recovery fee that will be added to your account if your account is overdue for more than 28 days.

This process is managed by an external debt collection agency on behalf of Havering Library Service.

To ensure that you continue to have full access to all of the library services, all outstanding fees must be paid, and items returned.

Your commitment to us

When you join, please advise a member of staff how you wish us to contact you.

Always advise the library of any change to your contact details.

Items available for loan

You must have your library card with you to borrow items.

You will need your library card and PIN to enable you to access our eBooks and Audio Books service.

If you borrow children's items on an adult ticket you will incur adult fines if the items are returned late.

Returning items

It is your responsibility to ensure items are returned on time.

All overdue items and fines will be pursued and your library access, including use of PCs, will be suspended until all outstanding fines or fees are paid in full.

Renewing items

You will need your library card number and PIN to renew all items either on line http://library.havering.gov.uk or by the 24hr telephone renewal line 0333 370 4700.

Items will be renewed unless:

• reserved by another customer – you will be required to be returned these items as soon as possible to avoid charges being incurred
• if items are overdue – outstanding charges must be paid before renewal can take place. All outstanding fines and fees will be pursued and your library access, including use of PCs, will be suspended until the account is paid in full

Lost or damaged items

You are expected to take care of all items borrowed; loss or any damage will be charged for at replacement cost. 

If an item returned is damaged and you have paid for it in full you will be entitled to ask for any or part of the item to be returned to you, however, if you do not request this the item will be destroyed.

Once a lost or damaged item has been paid for, there will be no option for this money to be refunded.

PIN 

It is your responsibility to ensure that your PIN isn't shared with anyone else, written on your library card or anywhere that might compromise the safety of your PIN.

Lost membership cards

Loss of membership cards must be reported to prevent misuse, adults will be charged a replacement fee.

Proof of ID (as above) must be produced when applying for a replacement card.

Internet access

Children under 16 may only access the internet with their parent or carer's permission indicated on the application form.

To use the public PCs in the library you must have your library card with you and know your PIN.

If you forget your PIN you must provide proof of ID before it is reissued.

WiFi and laptop

Laptop use using library electricity points: 

• There is a small fee for this service.
• Please ensure that you don't leave cables trailing across walk ways where other users might trip or fall.  

Food and drink

With the exception of water no food or drink will be consumed on library premises.

Romford Library does have a small café area and Costa Express Machine where coffee, tea and other hot beverages can be purchased and consumed.

Water will not be allowed to be consumed when using our PCs.

Mobile phones

Customers will be expected to take mobile phone calls outside the main library areas so that other customers are not disturbed.

Our staff

Our staff are available during all usual opening hours, they are there to assist you with any information you require.  However, our staff have the right to work in a safe environment without fear or intimidation.  

You are responsible for your card – it should not be used by anyone else, if other people are found using your card your library membership may be suspended.

Personal details

Your personal details will be stored on a computer and are subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

The London Borough of Havering and/or its partner organisations may contact you from time to time by e-mail, text, telephone or letter to deliver existing services and to update you regarding new council services that we may offer.

We sometimes share information with other organisations, for example, Health Trusts and other local authorities who are working in partnership with us to provide services.

If you wish at any point to withdraw your consent or to check on the information held by us regarding yourself, please write to: The Library Services Manager, Romford Library, St Edwards Way, Romford RM1 3AR.