If you are receiving Supports for Independence, Assured Income for the Severely
Handicapped, Guaranteed Income Supplement, or if you have a Medical Services Card,
the yearly registration fee for a Library Card may be waived. Please talk to staff
at your branch.
Just visiting? You may purchase a temporary library card valid for 3
months at a cost of $20. Just bring in 2 pieces of name, address or photo identification,
and be able to recite your temporary Calgary address. After registering, you may borrow 3 items at any one time
from our circulating collections and have daily Internet access.
Lost or Stolen Cards
Report a lost or stolen library card immediately by calling 260-2608. You are responsible for any items borrowed with your
library card until it is reported missing. The fee to replace a lost or stolen card is $5.
Please bring identification with you when you come to replace it.
Lost Items
If you have lost an item you can contact us by phone or drop in at any of our
locations to inquire as to the cost of the item, processing fee and any overdue
charges.
Changing Your Name, Address or Telephone Number?
Tell us about any changes in address, or telephone number by phoning
any library branch, visiting in person or
sending a message by email.
Borrowing
Use your card at any branch of the Calgary Public Library to borrow books, DVDs, music CDs,
videos, book CDs, and back issues of magazines.
Enjoy the convenience of using self checkout machines at Country Hills, Crowfoot, Fish Creek, Nose Hill, Shawnessy, Viillage Square and Central Libraries.
The self checkout units are easy to use and you need to have a valid library card. A print-out of the items you have
borrowed showing the date the items are due back at the Library is supplied to you.
If your library card membership has expired you will be unable to use the
Internet Catalogue to renew or place holds on items. You must visit a
library in person to renew your membership; please bring current address
identification. Membership renewals cannot be done over the phone.
If your fines exceed the $10.00 fine limit you will be unable to use the
Internet Catalogue. You may pay fines in person at any library branch or
use Mastercard / VISA to pay fines over the telephone.
Newspapers, reference books, and current issues of magazines must be used
in the Library.
Loan Period
| Here's how long you can keep your items: |
 Most books & CDs |
3 weeks |
| DVDs |
1 week |
| New & Notable collection |
3 weeks |
| Videos |
3 weeks |
Renewing
If no one else is waiting for the item you have borrowed, you can renew up
to two times. You can renew with your Library Card by:
|
visiting the Catalogue on the Internet |
|
phoning 262-2928 |
|
using computers at any branch library |
|
asking staff |
| * New & Notable materials cannot be renewed. |
Returning
You can return materials to any branch - no matter which branch you borrowed them from.
Return chutes are open 24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week, for your convenience. Return
CDs in their padded envelope to prevent damage. Books should be placed in return
chutes with the spine first.
HOLDS
The maximum number of holds allowed on your card at any time is 30.
Avoiding the $2 hold fee
The Calgary Public Library’s hold and delivery service is rapidly growing beyond the Library’s
ability to afford it. Processing holds, having library staff find them, and then shipping them
to your local branch is an expensive and time consuming process. Yet every year nearly 100,000
holds are not picked up or canceled by the people who placed them. This makes waiting lists longer,
and wastes a substantial amount of the Library’s already tight budget and limited staff time.
To help address the problem, and continue to offer the holds service, the Library has introduced
a $2 fee for people who fail to pick up their holds.
You can avoid this fee by:
1.Canceling items you no longer want before the item arrives for you.
2.Picking up items from your branch as soon as they are available.
3.Making your holds “suspended” when you go on vacation.
4.Keeping your account and contact information up-to-date.
How to place a hold
You can place an item on hold for pickup at your favourite branch, or add your name to
a waiting list for popular items by:
1.Connect to
https://catalogue.calgarypubliclibrary.com
2.Find the item you want.
3.Mouseclick on the “Request A Hold” button
4.Enter your library card barcode number and personal identify number, and mouseclick
on the “Sign In” button.
5.Be sure to select the branch where you would like to have the item delivered.
Use the drop-down menu provided to select your pick-up location.
Holds can also be placed on the computers at your local branch. Ask staff if you need help.
How to find out when your hold is available
You will be notified when your hold is available by phone, email or postal mail.
If you would like to receive hold notices by email please contact library
staff. Once available, you
have seven days to pick up or cancel your hold. If you do not, a $2 fee will be charged.
It is your responsibility to track your holds.
The Calgary Public Library has designed a holds notification
system that works for the majority of Calgarians, but the
Library cannot be responsible for the postal mail, email service, your telephone
equipment, or your availability. If the Library’s system does not
work for you, you must monitor your own holds through
the website, or by stopping by your branch weekly.
You can find out if holds are available by following these steps:
1.At least once each week, connect to http://calgarypubliclibrary.com
2.Mouseclick on "Check Your Card"
3.Enter your library card barcode number and your personal identity number and
click on "Sign In".
4.Click on "Holds" at top of the screen. This will show holds
ready for pick-up and holds not ready for pick-up.
You can also list available holds for pick-up by calling 262-2928.
How to suspend a hold
Suspending a hold keeps your place in line, but stops the item from actually being
delivered to your branch. If you’re going on vacation, or are just too busy, you can
suspend a hold by following these steps.
1.Connect to
http://calgarypubliclibrary.com
2.Click on "Check Your Card".
3.Enter your library card barcode number and your personal identity number and
click on "Sign In".
4.Click on "Holds" at top of the screen. This will show holds
ready for pick-up and holds not ready for pick-up.
5. Select the item you wish to make inactive with a click in the checkbox.
6. Click on the "Change Status" button and the hold will be suspended (made inactive).
Choose a date from the drop-down menus of when you want the hold request to
become active again.
7.When you are ready to receive items again simply repeat these steps and
click on "Change Status" to make the hold request active..
How to cancel a hold
7. If you wish to cancel the hold you placed carry out steps
1-3 above. Then select the item by a click in the checkbox and then click on the "Cancel Request " button.
This will only work for items which have not arrived for you yet.
Once a
hold has arrived for you it cannot be cancelled using the online catalogue.
Contact library staff in person or by phone
or call 262-2928 and use the keypad of your touch-tone phone to cancel the item.
You must cancel or pick up your item within seven days
of it being delivered to your branch or the $2 fee will apply.
DON'T BE LATE
We encourage you to return your items on time so they are available for others
to borrow. It is your responsibility to know when the items you borrow are
due. Please keep track of the due date and return each item on time to
avoid charges. Library materials can be returned to any branch
library. Book chutes are open 24 hours a day.
| Charges for overdue items (per item, per day): |
|
Adult materials |
$ 0.35 |
|
DVDs |
$ 0.50 |
|
Young Adult materials |
$ 0.20 |
|
Children's materials |
$ 0.15 |
|
Items from other library systems |
$ 1.00 |
|
Holds not picked up |
$ 2.00 |
Payment can be made at any library branch.
Anyone with $10. or more in overdue fees will have their borrowing privileges
suspended until the fees are paid. You will be charged replacement costs,
processing fees, and any overdue fees on lost or damaged items. There will
be a charge for NSF cheques.
You will be sent by phone, email or postal mail only one overdue notice. Details about author and
title information for paperbacks, magazines and pamphlets are not available.
LIBRARY SECRETS
- DVDs: There is a limit of 30 adult DVDs and
30 children's DVDs per card.
At all libraries you can borrow DVDs:
- For one week
- With up to two renewals (as long as no one else has requested this title)
- With placement of holds
- GRAPHIX: This is a collection of graphic novels and these items are lent out for a
3 week
period.
- Paperbacks: Popular mass-market paperback books do not appear in our catalogue
by title or author because
their shelf life is short. Instead, they are grouped by their subject such as mystery,
science fiction, or romance.
- New & Notable: Starting March 1, 2006, New & Notable
items can be borrowed for 3 weeks and there is a limit of 3 items.
- Newspapers & Magazines: Newspapers and magazines are available at all branches.
You can browse the full text of newspaper and magazine back issues on our website.
Visit the link on the top of this page called "E-Library".
- Videos: We carry educational, travel, biographical, and how-to videos. All come with
public performance rights, so you can show them to your school group, scout troop, or
club without violating copyright laws.
- Alberta Library Card: With your valid Calgary Public Library Card you can get a special
free card that gives you limited borrowing privileges at libraries throughout Alberta,
perfect for those who travel the province. Register at any branch. (Sorry,
non-resident and temporary cards do not qualify.)
Cardholder Agreement Terms and Conditions
1. The Cardholder named on the Card is the only person that may use the Card.
Loss or theft of the Card must be reported immediately to any Calgary Public Library
branch or the Stolen Card Line (260-2608). The Cardholder will be responsible for all
materials borrowed and all charges attributable to the Card before the loss or theft
of the Card is reported.
2. Materials borrowed by the Cardholder will be returned to the Library on their respective
due dates. Otherwise, the Cardholder will pay charges comprised of all fines, costs for
replacement of lost or damaged materials, interest and processing fees attributable to the Card
regardless of how the materials were borrowed or the charges were incurred. "Processing fees"
include all costs, expenses, notice fees, collection fees and legal fees on a solicitor and
his/her own-client basis incurred by the Library in recovering or attempting to recover the charges
due to the Library from the Cardholder.
The Library may charge interest at the rate of 18% per annum on the amount of all outstanding
charges, calculated daily, not in advance, as well as before demand, default and judgment, until
the Cardholder pays all outstanding charges in full.
3. The Library may at any time cancel the Card, and withdraw all rights and privileges in respect
of the Card. On cancellation of the Card, the Cardholder will immediately return to the Library the
Card and all materials borrowed and pay all outstanding charges attributable to the Card.
4. The Library may suspend the Cardholder's rights and privileges any time the Cardholder owes
the Library more than the amount established by regulation. Reinstatement of those rights and
privileges will be at the Library's sole discretion.
5. The Card is only valid up to the renewal date printed on the Card. The Cardholder may request
the Library to renew the Card on or after the renewal date upon payment of the renewal fee established
by regulation, payment of all outstanding charges attributable to the Card and proof of current street address.
6. The Library is not responsible for damage caused by CDs, videocassettes or other audio-visual
materials borrowed from its collections. Customers use all audio-visual materials at their own risk
and should use caution when playing such materials on their equipment.
7. This Cardholder Agreement shall govern the Cardholder's use of the Card and any subsequent library
cards issued to the Cardholder by the Library for whatever reason.
8. The Library has the right to change the terms of this agreement without notice.
