Membership and Circulation Policy

The Membership Policy guides library staff and informs the public about membership in the Region of Waterloo Library.

Library Membership

Conditions of Membership:

Membership in the Region of Waterloo Library is free to anyone who lives or owns property in the Townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot or Woolwich.
Free memberships are also available to people working or attending school in North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot or Woolwich.
Employees of the Region of Waterloo are eligible for a free Region of Waterloo Library membership
Region of Waterloo Library has reciprocal borrowing arrangements with neighbouring library systems. Any person who presents current proof of residency or property ownership in that municipality, may obtain a Region of Waterloo Library card:
- Brant County
- Cambridge
- Hamilton
- Huron County
- Kitchener
- Middlesex County
- Oxford County
- Perth County (North Perth, Perth East, St. Marys, Stratford and West Perth)
- Waterloo
- Wellington County
Any person who resides outside of the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich, and who does not qualify for free membership through our reciprocal borrowing arrangements with neighbouring libraries, may be charged a non-resident fee for a one-year Region of Waterloo Library membership. Non-resident fees will be waived for First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples residing outside the Region of Waterloo and the four townships. All potential members will be asked to provide photo ID, or two pieces of other identification confirming their current address before a permanent library card can be issued.
Memberships will be renewed every two years, except for paid non-resident memberships which will be renewed and billed annually.
Expired cards can be renewed at any time provided the account balance is $0.00.
Lost or damaged library cards can be replaced in-person at a library branch for a nominal fee.

Responsibilities of Members

Members are responsible for the prompt and safe return of all library materials. If items are lost or damaged, members are responsible for the replacement cost, plus a processing charge, as outlined in the Region of Waterloo’s Fees and Charges By-law.

The Region of Waterloo Library uses a collection agency to follow up on patrons who owe $25 or more for more than 60 days, or within 15 days for items claimed as lost. The collection agency will contact patrons until their account balance is $0. Even if the patron returns items or pays the fine below $25, they will continue to be contacted. A non-refundable collections fee will be charged to the member’s account. Repayment plans may be arranged, pending Supervisor / Management approval. All repayment plans must specify a paid in full end date.

Members are responsible for notifying library staff of changes to the information on their account:

Change of address or contact information (e.g., phone number, email address)
Lost or stolen cards. Members are responsible for all material borrowed on their card, before the date reported stolen or lost.

Members are responsible for following all library procedures while in the library, e.g., Code of Conduct and Internet Use. Membership privileges may be temporarily, or permanently, suspended if there are violations.

Types of Membership:

Members 18 years of age and older are considered adult members. Their library membership provides access to all Region of Waterloo Library collections and services.

Members 15 years of age and under are considered child members. Their membership application and card must include a parent or guardian signature. If the responsible parent or guardian has a current RWL card it must not have a status of “BLOCKED”. The Region of Waterloo Library holds the parent/guardian responsible for materials borrowed on a child’s card, should there be fees and/or damages.
In the case of a child member having two different, permanent, home addresses as well as two different guardians (one for each address), a library card may be issued for each address and parent / guardian. The responsible parent/guardian for each address must sign the membership form associated with their address and must not have a status of “BLOCKED”.
Members aged 16-17 years are considered teen members. Their membership form must include a parent or guardian signature. If the responsible parent or guardian has a current RWL card it must not have a status of “BLOCKED”. The Region of Waterloo Library holds the parent/guardian responsible for materials borrowed on a teen’s card, should there be fines and/or damages. However, under MFIPPA, library staff may not disclose borrowing information/activity on the teen patron’s account to anyone without the permission of the teen patron.
Any potential member who cannot present required ID, including adult, child, or youth members, may be issued an express membership. Express membership holders may borrow two items at a time and are restricted from borrowing high value items.
Temporary memberships will be offered to visitors who are here three weeks to six months and can provide proof of a temporary residence in one of the four townships. Anyone else may opt to purchase a membership.
Institutional memberships are available for schools, care homes, etc. Contact your local branch for further information.

Borrowing Materials

Borrowing and Loan Periods

All regular members are entitled to borrow any type of material from RWL. The only exceptions are materials which are legally restricted to certain classes of users (e. g. R-rated movies,) or high value material that is restricted to regular adult and teen members only.
Loan periods - 3 weeks unless otherwise specified (e.g., 2 week loans for high demand items)
Most items may renewed three times through online account or by contacting the library.
Most items without holds may be auto-renewed.
Materials may be returned to any RWL branch.
The library reminds members to return overdue materials through a series of digital or mailed notices culminating in a bill to replace lost material.

Holds

Members may place a hold on most items owned by RWL. Lucky Day items are not holdable.
Holds may be placed through the online catalogue, library app, in person at a branch, by telephone, or through email.
Members will be notified by their preferred method of contact (email, text, phone) when their hold is available to be picked up.
Holds will be available for seven days. If the item is not picked up within seven days, the hold will expire and the item will be returned to the shelf or go to the next hold in the queue.
Holds may be cancelled or suspended through the online library catalogue, at a branch, by phone or by email.

Lost or Damaged Materials

Members shall report lost or damaged items at the earliest possible opportunity.
Charges for lost or damaged items are based on the cost of each individual item. An administrative fee may be charged as well.
Repeated loss, damage or misuse of library material could result in the suspension of library privileges.
The library does not accept donations of materials in lieu of replacement fees.
Refunds will be issued for lost items returned to the library in good condition within ninety (90) days after the charges for the item have been paid. Lost and paid material charges will first be applied to any further outstanding charges on the member’s account, and any remaining balance will be refunded.

Suspension of Borrowing Privileges

Borrowing privileges will be suspended when library members have fees and/or overdue materials in excess of the maximum allowable amount.
Accounts suspended due to overdue materials or outstanding balances will be reactivated when the total balance owing falls below the threshold.

Interlibrary Loan (ILLO)

Members with a valid library card and account in good standing are eligible to request the loan of items not in the library’s collection through ILLO at any branch or online.
The library limits the number of requests per borrower to keep the service as cost effective as possible.
The library may limit the formats available for lending/borrowing through this service.
Members with overdue ILLO items may be subject to overdue fines as per the lending library’s policy or suspension of borrowing privileges until the ILLO item is returned.
If an interlibrary loan item is lost or damaged, it is the responsibility of the member to pay for the item.
The loss of an ILLO item may result in the termination of ILLO borrowing privileges.
Items borrowed for a patron through the ILLO service will have a standard loan period, unless otherwise specified by the lending institution.
The library will not borrow items that have a borrowing fee imposed by the lending institution.
ILLO items are not available for automatic renewal. Renewal of borrowed items are at the discretion of the lending institution.
ILLO items not picked up within seven (7) days after being notified may result in the loss of ILLO privileges.

Privacy

Staff members will not release any personal information about members or members’ borrowing records. Personal information includes all information collected on our membership application, covered by the following statement on the membership application:

The Region of Waterloo Library (RWL), which is owned and operated by The Regional Municipality result of your membership, your personal information will be collected under the authority of the Public Libraries Act, and such information may be shared with RWL and these third parties only as required for the purposes of providing library services. Your personal information may also be used by RWL staff to provide library services, and to inform you of services and programs that may be of interest. This information, such as email address, will be shared with neighbouring libraries with which RWL has reciprocal borrowing agreements, if you choose to use the downloadLibrary service or if you choose to become a member of those libraries. We never sell or distribute your information for commercial purposes. Questions about the information collected may be directed to the Manager, Library Services, Region of Waterloo Library, at 519-575-4590. Your signature below signifies your consent for the Region of Waterloo Library to use and exchange this information for the purposes described.of Waterloo, contracts third party vendors for the provision of certain library services (included but not limited to library circulation software, online catalogue/apps and other library services.)