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Borrowing from SCLSNJ
Loan Periods
| Item Type | Loan Period | Checkout Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Audiobooks | 21 days | - |
| Books | 21 days | - |
| Book Discussion Kits | 42 days | - |
| Museum Passes | 3 days | - |
| DVD/Blu-rays | 7 days / 14 days | - |
| Equipment for In-house Use | 1-4 hours | - |
| Hot spots | 21 days | 1 |
| Interlibrary Loans | 21 days | - |
| Launchpads | 7 days | 2 |
| Lucky Day Books | 14 days | 2 |
| Lucky Day Hot spots | 7 days | 1 |
|
Magazines |
7 days | - |
| Music CDs | 21 days | - |
| Overnight Reference* | 1 day | - |
| Storytime Theme Kits | 42 days | - |
| Video Games | 14 days | 7 |
We will charge you a late fee of $20 per day for Museum Passes that are not returned on time. For Interlibrary Loans, any fee incurred from the lending library will be added to your account.
*At the discretion of SCLSNJ staff, reference materials can be loaned on a case-by-case basis.
Borrowing from Main Libraries through SCLSNJ
The Main Library Alliance, founded in 1979, is a library consortium that serves over 798,000 patrons across more than 100 municipalities spanning Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Union, and Warren counties and allows those participating libraries to share resources with one another and their patrons.
Click here for a full list of Main Library Alliance member locations
You can request items to be picked up at SCLSNJ locations, and you can return items at any Main Library Alliance location.
Membership in the Main Library Alliance dramatically increases the breadth of materials and resources available to SCLSNJ patrons. With over 3.2 million library items at 57 participating libraries, the Main Library Alliance collection is almost four times the SCLSNJ collection of 850,000 items.
This collaboration is about maximizing value and convenience. It's one more example of how SCLSNJ is working hard to find new ways to share resources and be smart, responsible stewards of public money.
You will keep your spot in the hold queue.
The behind-the-scenes work of figuring out which available copy of a title goes to which patron is much more dynamic and complex than our previous system, so you won't be able to see your position in the queue. However, there are several new features in place to ensure that you receive holds as fast as before, if not even faster:
SCLSNJ patrons always get "first dibs" on SCLSNJ items. That means even if there are patrons from other Main libraries in the hold queue, an available SCLSNJ item will go to the next SCLSNJ patron in line first.
The new system is great at figuring out what the most efficient way is to get requested items in your hands. This will cut down on the time it takes to get items from one SCLSNJ branch to another, and from other Main libraries to SCLSNJ.
Yes, our items are fine free. However, there are libraries in the Main Library Alliance that still collect fees. This means that if you go to a Main Library and check out one of their items at their location, you may be liable to accrue fines. However, if that item is sent to an SCLSNJ location and you check out the item with us, you will not accrue a fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
When you come to pick up an item on hold that is available for you, find the Holds area at your branch.
Holds will be on the shelf in order by:
The first four letters of your last name, and then
The last four digits of your library card number.
Important: Items awaiting pickup have NOT been checked out to you ahead of time.
You must have a valid library card, photo of the library card, or driver’s license to checkout material. The card holder does not need to be present as long as one of the aforementioned items are given.
You can have a maximum of 75 items checked out at any given time. Only a few types of items have specific limits — see the Fees and Loan Periods section below for more information.
For Self Checkout download the SCLSNJ App on your personal device or use our self-checkout stations.
We will automatically renew your items for you three days before they are due. If your materials cannot be renewed for some reason, you will receive a coming due notice as usual.
- Materials with holds cannot be renewed.
- There is a limit of 3 renewals for each item.
- Library accounts must be in good standing.
- Automatic renewals only apply to physical materials; e-books and e-audiobooks will not be automatically renewed.
We want you to return the items you check out so that we can share them with others. We won’t charge you a fine for returning an item late, but if you haven’t returned it several weeks after the due date, we will consider the item lost and charge you the cost to replace it. You will not be able to check out items if you have $20 or more in fees.
We will charge you a late fee for Museum Passes that are not returned on time. For Interlibrary Loans, any fee incurred from the lending library will be added to your account.
Libraries part of the Main Alliance (outside SCLSNJ) may charge fines. You are liable for fines if you check out items directly from those locations. Items checked out from SCSLNJ locations do not have fines.
Be sure to sign up to receive a courtesy email reminder. This notification will remind you when your items need to be returned. You can always check your status by logging on to My Account [my account].
You can bring your checkouts back to any SCLSNJ branch or Main Alliance location. Return your materials inside during open hours, or use our 24/7 outdoor book drops to return items anytime.
In person – Pay by cash or check at any SCLSNJ location during regular operating hours.
Online – Log into My Account and use your credit card to pay online.
About your credit card payment:
- No service charge
- Payments immediately applied to your Library account
- Email receipts sent automatically after payment
You can avoid fees by signing up to receive a courtesy email reminder.
Important: accounts with a balance of $75.00 or more shall be referred to a collection agency.
Patrons will be charged a fee of $7 for each collection agency referral. This fee cannot be waived.
Notifications about holds, items that are overdue, or lost are sent via email, mail, or text message.
By opting in to text message notifications:
- You will receive messages when items are available for pickup and are overdue.
- You can cancel the SMS service at any time. Just text “STOP” to this number.
- Once you have sent the SMS message “STOP” to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have unsubscribed.
- After stopping, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us.
- If you want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time and we will start sending SMS messages to you again.
- If you are experiencing issues with the messaging program, you can reply with the keyword HELP for more assistance.
- Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
- As always, message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you.
- You will receive when items change status that may be multiple times per day.
- If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider.