Membership, Circulation and Collection Use

Effective Date: March 27, 2023

Purpose

The purpose of the Toronto Public Library (the Library) Membership, Circulation and Collection Use Policy is to:

• promote universal access to a broad range of human knowledge, experience, information and ideas;
• protect intellectual freedom and respect individuals' rights to privacy and choice;
• ensure stewardship of materials, which are public assets;
• make materials widely available to the community;
• maximize use of collections and services;
• facilitate requests for materials; and
• retrieve overdue materials.

Scope

The policy applies to all users of Toronto Public Library. It covers activities relating to the registration of library users and the borrowing and use of library collections and services. It sets:

• conditions and use of library membership;
• borrowing privileges, responsibilities and restrictions; and
• a schedule of fees and fines.

Underlying Principles

The Membership, Circulation and Collection Use Policy reflects the Library's mission and values. The Public Libraries Act (R.S.O. 1990, c. P.44, Section 23) permits the Library to impose fees and make rules.

Fines, fees, loan periods and borrowing limits are all reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are reasonable, effective and in line with nearby public library systems and with other large urban Canadian public library systems.

The Membership, Circulation and Collection Use Policy is driven by principles defined in the Library’s Values, Vision and Mission and in TPL's Equity Statement and Intellectual Freedom Statement.

Policy Statement

The Library's Membership, Circulation and Collection Use Policy will:

• provide a mechanism for ensuring the equitable access and fair use of collections and services;
• determine rules and regulations that protect library collections and services in a manner that is consistent with the principles of financial accountability and the Library's responsibility to its stakeholders; and
• be administered in a manner that considers the individual accessibility needs of persons with disabilities and respects the principles of dignity, independence, equal opportunity, and integration.

Specific Directives

1.1 Eligibility

Any person who lives, works, attends school or owns property in the City of Toronto, or who has an immediate family member living at the same address who owns property in the City of Toronto, or any person who lives on a First Nations reserve in Ontario, is eligible for membership with borrowing privileges without charge, upon presentation of acceptable identification, and is entitled to use the Library's services.

A Non-Resident is an individual who does not live, work, attend school or own property in Toronto, or does not live on a First Nations reserve in Ontario, and may access services and borrow materials, with some exceptions from the Toronto Public Library by paying a non-refundable fee. Payment of this fee entitles each member of the non-resident household to library membership. Non-resident privileges can be purchased or renewed for a three-month or 12-month period at a time in person.

1.2 Customer Age Categories

A Child is an individual from birth up to and including age twelve (12).

A Teen is an individual from thirteen (13) years up to and including age seventeen (17).

An Adult is an individual who is eighteen (18) years old and older.

1.3 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy

To obtain library membership, customers must present name and address identification and disclose date of birth and contact information. Certain additional information may be supplied in whole or in part and is not a requirement for registration or re-registration. Address information is not a requirement for visitor and access membership types. Information presented during the registration process is entered into the Library's customer and circulation database, and is retained subject to the purging schedule (Section 1.13 & 1.14).

• A parent or guardian of a person up to sixteen years of age may exercise the right of access to the child's personal information in the customer or circulation databases.
• Supplementary library membership privileges are available to individual customers who have requested and signed the accompanying consent forms allowing another individual member right of access to the personal information in their customer and circulation database records.
• When requests for personal information in the customer and circulation databases are received from offsite, the number of the library membership, or the customer database identification number, and name and address will constitute acceptable identification. A Personal Identification Number (PIN) must be entered by individuals in order to access their own personal circulation records through the public access catalogue where available.
• In accordance with Section 32(g) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the staff member in charge of the branch at the time has the authority to release personal information to a law enforcement agency in Canada to aid an investigation undertaken with a view to a law enforcement proceeding or from which a law enforcement proceeding is likely to result. The information requested must be documented on the Disclosure of Personal Information form.
• In accordance with Section 32(I) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the staff member in charge of the branch at the time has the authority to release personal information in compassionate circumstances to facilitate contact with the next of kin or a friend of an individual who is injured, ill or deceased.
• The circulation records of Home Library Service customers are retained with their permission.
• Items returned remain on a customer's record until the end of that working day. Information messages on a customer's record related to holds are deleted after seven months. A customer's borrowing history is only retained if requested by the customer.
• Borrowing activity information is retained in the customer database as long as the circulation record indicates that an item remains on loan or fees remain unpaid, subject to the purging schedule (Section 1.13 & 1.14).
• Backup files of customers' borrowing activity are temporarily retained for the purpose of restoring data in cases of system failure and file corruption. These files are subsequently destroyed on a scheduled basis.

1.4 Library Membership - Conditions and Use

To obtain a library membership, applicants must present acceptable identification to library staff in a branch or demonstrate their eligibility through the online registration process.

Adult and Teen customers who are eligible (Section 1.1) and who do not have a Toronto Public Library membership can register for a Digital Access Card on the Toronto Public Library's website. Digital Access Cards provide access to all of the Library's digital services, except those limited to in-branch use. Customers who have registered online can obtain access to all Library services, including the physical collection, upon presentation of acceptable identification at any branch of the Toronto Public Library.

A library membership must be renewed annually with confirmation of relevant information. All outstanding fines, fees and charges must be cleared at time of renewal. Renewals can be done at a branch or, Adults and Teens with full-service or Digital Access Cards may use the online renewal process on the Toronto Public Library’s website.

Customers age thirteen and over must sign the physical card upon registration unless unable to do so due to a disability.

The parent/guardian of a child (from birth up to and including age 12) must present identification to register the child for a library membership and sign the child's card. If the parent/guardian is not present, the child will be given a registration form for the parent/guardian to complete and authorize.

In signing the card, or, in the case of children, the registration form, the signer accepts responsibility for the choice, use and return of all materials borrowed and for charges on items that are lost or damaged.

A customer must present their library card or confirm customer status to borrow materials and access some collections, services and programs of the Toronto Public Library.

A customer must check material out properly, treat it with care, and return it on time so that material will be available to other customers.

A library membership is not transferable (i.e. library privileges apply to individuals only and may not be transferred from one individual to another).

Upon signing a consent form, a customer may authorize one other customer to access their customer record, including borrowing privileges.

Customers are entitled to one library card only. A second library card may be issued for children of divorced/separated parents, a separate card for use with each parent/guardian.

The library card is the property of the Toronto Public Library Board.

Loss or theft of a library card must be reported immediately. Members are responsible for any materials borrowed on their cards until loss or theft is reported.

Change of name, address, phone number or email address must be reported immediately.

All Library members have access to the Print and Copy Account Service and are bound by the Print and Copy Account Terms and Conditions.

1.5 Limits

The number of items which a customer may borrow may be limited on the basis of local demand and material supply.

Remote access to electronic products may be restricted based on licensing agreements.

Toronto Public Library establishes and reviews annually, the maximum number of items and allowable holds that may be checked out to a customer at any one time.

1.6 Loan Period

A standard loan period of three weeks exists for materials borrowed except for those materials for which special loan periods have been established.

An extended loan period is available on request unless there is high demand on materials or limited availability.

1.7 Renewals

Most library materials may be renewed if there are copies available to fill existing holds and if the number of renewals permitted has not been exceeded.

1.8 Holds

Most library materials may be reserved unless they are non-holdable or for reference.

A charge is imposed when a hold is filled for an Adult customer but not picked up. The following registered customers are exempt from holds not picked up charges:

• Children;
• Teens;
• Home Library Service customers;
• Persons with Disabilities Status;
• Talking Book customers.

1.9 Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary loan is made available to registered customers of the Toronto Public Library and to external libraries upon request.

The Toronto Public Library does not charge customers for interlibrary loan services unless charged by the lending institution, in which case the charge will be passed on to the customer. The customer will be informed of any charges before requesting material and must consent to pay the interlibrary loan charges.

A charge is imposed when an interlibrary loan request is filled for an Adult customer only but not picked up.

Materials from other library systems are subject to loan conditions specified by the lending library.

1.10 Returns

Materials borrowed from the Toronto Public Library may be returned to any branch of the library system.

Exceptions may exist for some unique collections.

1.11 Lost/Damaged Items

All customers are responsible for library materials borrowed from any branch of the Toronto Public Library.

The Library will charge a replacement cost for material which is long overdue, and for material which is lost or damaged.

The replacement cost will be the invoiced price or the order price, whichever is greater, or default cost.

Replacement in kind, or substitution, for lost or damaged materials is not accepted.

In the event that items are damaged, the Toronto Public Library reserves the right to determine the amount of repair or replacement charges.

The Toronto Public Library reserves the right to retain library materials even in cases where full replacement cost has been paid. If an item that was reported lost and paid for is subsequently found, the replacement cost will be refunded upon presentation of material, within 90 days of original payment. Proof of payment may be required in some circumstances.

Toronto Public Library is not responsible for damage to any equipment, hardware or software incurred during the playback of any material, e.g. CDs, DVDs, digital content.

The parent/guardian of a child up to and including age 12 is responsible for lost or damaged charges incurred by the child.

1.12 Suspension of Borrowing Privileges

Borrowing privileges are suspended in the following cases:

• prescribed limits to the amount of fines or fees, or charges a borrower may owe the Library have been exceeded
• prescribed limits to the number of allowable overdue items have been exceeded

If these limits are exceeded by a library customer, the stop-service provision in the circulation system will be implemented until the borrower restores their circulation record to within the acceptable range.

Borrowing privileges are also suspended when a customer account is referred to a collection agency. In this situation, the stop-service provision in the circulation system will be implemented until the customer resolves their account.

Library privileges are revoked from customers who receive system-wide exclusions of six or 12 months, during that time period.

1.13 Purging of Customer Accounts

Customer accounts are purged from the database on an annual basis:

• when the last use of the library membership is more than two years and the total balance owing is less than or equal to $100.00
• when the last use of the library membership is more than five years and the total balance is equal to or greater than $100.00

1.14 Purging of Customer Account Credits

Any existing customer account with credits will be offset against balances owing prior to purging of a customer's account. Customer account credits are purged from the database when the last use of the library membership is more than two years.

1.15 Use of a Collection Agency

A collection agency will be used to collect long overdue unpaid charges and recover materials from borrowers age 18 years and older when the amount exceeds the set limit (see schedule 5.1). An additional non-refundable administrative fee will be charged to those customers whose accounts are turned over to a collection agency. The following registered customers are exempt from being turned over to a collection agency:

• Home Library Service customers;
• Persons with Disabilities Status;
• Talking Book customers.

Schedule

1 - Memberships

1.1 Full-Service

• for adults, children and teens who live, work, go to school or own property in Toronto or who live on a First Nations Reserve in Ontario
• requires name and address identification and other documentation as appropriate, e.g. proof of work location and disclosure of other personal information
• provides access to all library services, including digital and physical collections with the exception of restricted and adult accompaniment videos to children under 14

1.2 Access

• for customers who are experiencing homelessness or who are precariously housed and unable to provide permanent address identification
• requires name identification and disclosure of other personal information
• provides full access to library services, including those available through digital channels
• borrowing limit of five physical items at a time

1.3 Corporate

• for corporations located in Toronto including businesses, day cares and group homes
• teachers and other school employees are not eligible
• requires name and address identification from authorized individual
• provides access to the physical collection only

1.4 Visitor

• for customers who do not meet the eligibility requirements for a library membership and who do not wish to pay the non-resident fee
• requires name identification and disclosure of other personal information
• provides access to in-library services, such as computers, printing, photocopiers, programs and some digital resources

1.5 Temporary

• for Toronto residents who have a permanent address but can only provide name identification
• requires name identification and membership will expire at 11:59 pm on the same day it was created
• full borrowing privileges granted upon presentation of full identification requirements
• may borrow one item on the initial visit with the exception of some items, such as musical instruments and digital equipment

1.6 Non-resident

• for non-residents who are not eligible for a free Toronto Public Library membership
• requires name and address identification and other documentation as appropriate plus a fee of $50 quarterly or $150 annually
• some services and digital resources may be restricted

1.7 Digital Access Card

• for adults and teens who live in Toronto
• requires name and address information that is fully validated by the online system
• provides full access to digital resources and services, except those limited to in-branch use

2 - Borrowing Privileges and Restrictions

2.1 Books, Magazines, CDs, Audiobooks

• available to Adult, Teen, and Child borrowers

2.2 All Video (VHS, and DVD and eVideo)

• available to persons 18 and over
• adult accompaniment: available to persons 14 and over
• all other: available to all customers

2.3 Talking Books

• available to customers with perceptual disabilities and who are registered as Talking Book customers

2.4 Museum and Arts Pass

• available to Adult borrowers only
• available to one pass per borrower per week
• restricted to one pass for each venue every three months (depending on availability)

2.5 Digital Equipment

• available to Adult, Teen, and Child borrowers
• Child and Teen borrowers must obtain authorization from parent/guardian
• digital equipment must be returned to owning branch

2.6 Musical Instruments

• available to Adult, Teen, and Child borrowers
• Child and Teen borrowers must obtain authorization from parent/guardian
• customers may borrow one instrument at a time
• instruments must be returned to owning branch

2.7 Wi-Fi Hotspots

• available to Adult, Teen, and Child borrowers
• Child and Teen borrowers must obtain authorization from parent/guardian
• customers may borrow one unit at a time
• units must be returned to owning branch

2.8 Arduino Kits

• available to Adult and Teen borrowers
• arduinos must be returned to same Digital Innovation Hub where borrowed

2.9 Playaways

• available to Adult, Teen, and Child borrowers

2.10 Raspberry Pi Kits

• available to Adult and Teen borrowers
• Raspberry Pi Kits must be returned to the same Digital Innovation Hub where borrowed

2.11 Audio Recording Kits

• available to Adult borrowers only
• Audio Recording Kits must be returned to the same Digital Innovation Hub where borrowed

3 - Limits

3.1 Maximum number of physical items checked out (including books, magazines, CDs, DVDs) at one time is 50.

3.2 Maximum number of holds on physical items at one time is 100.

3.3 Holds

4 - Loan Periods

4.1 Loan Periods

4.2 Renewal

5. Collection Agency and Suspension

5.1 Use of a Collection Agency

Accounts owing $50.00 or more will be referred to a Collection Agency and will be subject to a $15.00 non-refundable administrative fee.

5.2 Suspension

When the customer:

• has more than 10 items overdue, or
• has more than $100.00 in charges,
• account has been referred to a collection agency, as per Section 5.1
• has received a system-wide exclusion of six or twelve months

6 - Charges

6.1 Non-Resident

$50.00 per household for three months

$150.00 per household for 12 months

6.2 Holds and Interlibrary Loans Not Picked Up

$1.00 per item not picked up charged to Adult customers only.

6.3 Lost item

It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that materials are returned so that they will be available to others. Lost materials including digital equipment are subject to a replacement fee. Replacement price is the invoiced price or order price, whichever is greater. When that information is not available, the default price to be based on the previous year's average retail price taken from the Integrated Library System (ILS).

6.4 Photocopies and printing

Quick Print Photocopy/Printing Card – $1.00 (This fee and value added to a Quick Print Photocopy/Printing Card are non-refundable).
Black and White - 8.5 x 11 - $0.15
Black and White – 11 x 17 - $0.20
Colour - $0.55
Colour Glossy - 8.5 x 14 - $3.00
Colour Glossy - 11 x 17 - $4.00
3D Prints - $0.15 per 1 gram of filament used

6.5 Interlibrary Loan

Charge as applied by the lending library.

6.6 Damaged Materials/Digital Equipment

It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that materials are returned in the condition in which they were borrowed so that they will be available to others. Damaged materials including digital equipment are subject to a replacement fee. Replacement price is the invoiced price or order price, whichever is greater. When that information is not available, the default price to be based on the previous year's average retail price taken from the Integrated Library System (ILS).

6.7 Damaged Cases (for DVDs and CDs)

$2.00

6.8 NSF cheque

$25.00

6.9 Portable Data Storage Devices

USB Drives - $12.50

6.10 Book Bags

$2.00 - $5.00, based on size and type

7 - Branch Book Sale Prices

8 - IntelliSearch

9 - Collection Reproduction

9.1. Digital reproduction - delivery by electronic means

9.2 Digitization on Demand

9.3 Paper reproduction on high quality paper - delivery by mail

10 - Asquith Press

11 - Fabrication Studio

Accountability

1. The City Librarian and the Directors are responsible for ensuring the Policy is implemented and enforced.
2. The Membership and Circulation Services Committee is responsible for recommending policy changes.

Related Legislation

• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, Chapter 11
• Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, Chapter 14, Schedule 1
• Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter M.56
• The Public Libraries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.44, Section 23
• Toronto Public Library. “Vision, Mission & Values.”

Related Standards, Procedures, and Guidelines

• Membership, Circulation and Collection Use Policy Service Guidelines
• Circulation Procedures Manual
• Print and Copy Account Terms and Conditions
• Equity Statement
• Intellectual Freedom Statement

Contact

• Director, Collections & Membership Services
• Manager, Membership & Circulation Services