HOW TO APPLY FOR A CARD You may apply for your card at the Library's front desk. Borrower Cards are issued without cost to:

• Residents within the city limits of the City of Mount Vernon.
• Individuals showing evidence of paying property tax to the City of Mount Vernon.
• Individuals holding an Annual business License from the City of Mount Vernon.
• Reciprocal users in accordance with interlocal agreements with the Anacortes, Burlington, LaConner, Sedro Woolley, and Upper Skagit libraries.

Cards are issued to individuals - not to business or corporate entities. An individual not eligible for a free Borrower Card may purchase a non-resident card for use by his/her household. The non-resident fee is set annually by the Board of Trustees.

IDENTIFICATION
All applicants for Borrower Cards must provide proof of his/her current residence and photo identification.

• Proof of residence may include a utility bill, voter registration card, bank statement or other official paperwork that includes your name and current street address.
• Proof of property ownership in your name via the Skagit County Assessor's website for real property within the incorporated city limits of Mount Vernon.
• Proof of a current Annual Business License in your name per the City Finance Department.

CHILDREN UNDER 18
Cards for children under 18 years of age are issued on the basis of the residence of his/her responsible parent or legal guardian. The parent or guardian must provide proof of residence as outlined above and agree to be responsible for materials checked out on the child's card by signing the application.

NON-RESIDENTS
Washington state law (RCW 27.12.270) mandates that libraries "shall be free for the use of the inhabitants of the governmental unit in which it is located...".

Almost every county in the state provides a county library to serve it citizens. Unfortunately, Skagit County has no such library. The city libraries in the county are mindful of the lack of library service outside their respective jurisdictions, and allow non-residents access to borrower services through the purchase of non-resident cards. The annual fee at the Mount Vernon City Library as set by the Board of Trustees is currently $80. The annual fee for senior citizens remains at $40. Cards may be purchased on a annual,semi-annual,or quarterly basis.

For your yearly fee of $80 you will have access to more than 80,000 items. To help put this in perspective, compare that to what $80 will cover elsewhere: 2 or 3 hardbound books per year, pizza and a movie for two nights for a family of four, or less than a year's subscription to the Skagit Valley Herald. But a library card is the best bargain around at less than 22 cents a day!!

RENEWAL OF CARDS Do not throw away your card when it expires. Just bring it back to the Library and we will update the information in the computer and renew your card for another year.

LOST CARDS When you apply for a Library card you agree to be responsible for all materials checked out on your card. For your protection, report all lost or stolen cards immediately. There is a $1.00 replacement charge for lost cards.

LENGTH OF CHECKOUT
DVDs check out for 7 days, New Books for 14 days, and all other items for 21 days.You may check out up to 5 items on the day your card is issued. There is no limit on the number print items after the first day. Customers are limited to no more that 12 DVDs, 12 talking books and 12 music CDs on an account at any time.

RENEWAL OF CHECKED OUT ITEMS
Materials may be renewed two times if no requests have been placed on that item by another patron.

RETURNING ITEMS
For your convenience, return drops for all items are provided on the front of the Library building to the right of the main entrance on Snoqualmie Street. One is for books and magazines; all other items go in the other return (DVDs, CDs, tapes, etc.). The returns are locked during the hours the Library is opened so items must be returned inside the Library to the front desk. Please be aware that there are a few items that are too large to go in the drops and must be returned inside the Library. This does not exempt you from late charges.

 

NOTICES
It is each customer's responsibility to return materials on time. As a courtesy, we send out overdue notices via email or U.S. Mail after 10 days. Failure to receive notices does not exempt you from fines.

Borrowing privileges will be denied until all overdue materials are returned and charges are paid in full. Accounts delinquent for 60 days are sent to our collection agency, and a $15 collection fee is charged.

FINES
Fines will be calculated for late returns on the following schedule:

• Audio / Visual $0.25 per day.
• New Books $0.25 per day.
• Other Materials $0.15 per day.

LOST OR DAMAGED ITEMS
Lost, damaged, or destroyed materials must be paid for at replacement cost plus any accumulated fines or service charges. Items declared lost are charged a non-refundable Lost Processing Fee.

REQUESTING AN ITEM
If an item is currently checked out and you want to place a hold on it, you are able to place these holds for yourself with a few simple commands in the Public Access Catalog! It will even tell you how many people are ahead of you in line for that item. If you would rather have the staff place the hold, just fill out a hold card completely and turn it in at the front desk. A member of the staff will enter the information into the computer for you and we will give you a call when the item is available.