6. How long can I keep a book out?
You may borrow books, magazines, audiocassettes,
videocassettes, records, compact discs, and many
other kinds of materials. Most items can be checked
out for 21 days; however, there are some exceptions:
- videocassettes 7 days
- 16mm films 1 day
- bestsellers 14 days
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7. Can I return books to any Dallas Public Library?
You may return borrowed materials to any Dallas
Public Library location.
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8. Can I return my books after the Library closes?
Night drops are available at all branch libraries,
including the Central Library, where the drop off
box is located on Ervay St. (the east side of the
building).
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9. Renewing by: phone / email / in person / online
- By phone: Contact Central Library Circulation at
214-670-1740 or circulation staff
at any branch library for assistance during library
hours. Have your library card ready as staff will
need this information.
- By email: Contact Circulation Specialist at
webmaster@dallaslibrary.org
or your local branch by email. Please include your
library card number and name in all correspondence.
- In person: Renewals may be made in person at any Dallas
Public Library location. Have your library card
ready as staff will need it to complete the renewal.
In addition, you can renew your library materials
at any Dallas Public Library location during regular
open hours by using any public computer (library
card number and
PIN required).
- Online: Library materials may be renewed
online with
your library card number and PIN.
Material may not be renewed on the same day it
was checked out. Renewal dates are from the date
renewed, not the date material is due. (We recommend
renewing one day prior to the due date in case there
are problems.)
Renewals are not possible between
11:30 p.m. and 7 a.m.,
or on Sundays before 1:00 p.m.,
while system maintenance is being performed.
If you are having problems renewing via the Web,
contact Library Circulation Specialist at
webmaster@dallaslibrary.org,
Central Library Circulation at 214-670-1740
or circulation staff at any branch library for assistance.
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10. Why can I sometimes not renew materials via the web?
Periodically, we have experienced intermittent
server problems which affect both the online catalog
and online renewal services. We apologize for the
inconvenience and are working to address the immediate
problems, as they arise, and also to eventually
implement a more fundamental solution.
If you need immediate assistance, please call
214-670-1400 or your local branch
during library hours. You may also contact us by
email at
webmaster@dallaslibrary.org.
Please include your library card number
for renewals and requests.
There are also several cases where you cannot renew
items checked out to you. Renewals will be
blocked
if:
- There are outstanding fees or fines on your
card.
- The material is overdue. Material should
be renewed by 11:30 PM on the date due.
- Your card has expired or if your card will
expire prior to the new due date.
- There is a request/reserve on by other library
patrons for the item. Check with your local
branch library for additional copies
Material may not be renewed on the same day it
was charged (checked out). Renewal dates are from
the date renewed, not the date material is due.
(We recommend renewing one day prior to the due
date in case there are problems.)
Renewals are not possible between 11:30 PM and
6 AM, or on Sundays before 1:00 PM, while system
maintenance is being performed.
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11. Overdue & Lost Materials
Fines on most items are $.30 cents per day
per item with a $12.50 or cost-of-material
maximum. Videocassettes and films are $1 per day
if overdue. If an item is lost, the retail price
is charged along with a service charge of $10.
Videocassettes, DVDs, special reference
loans, and vertical file materials are $1 per
day if overdue, with a $20.00 maximum.
The following fees will go into
effect Monday, April 16, 2007:
Lost Borrower’s Cards - $3
Unlimited use annual non-resident card - $200
Lost materials Processing fee - $20
CD’s overdue fine $1.00
Delinquent accounts of $35 or more may be referred
to a third party collection agency; an additional
$20 collection fee will be added to referred accounts.
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12. How many books and other materials can
I check out?
On a first time application, you may borrow up
to five items, or one multi-volume set of audio
or video cassettes containing more than five items.
After the application is processed, there is no
limit on the number of "circulating" items you may
borrow, with the exception of videos and DVDs. Effective
June 1, 2003, there is a limit of 5 DVDs and 5 videos
per library card.
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13. What does Personal Library Account Information
offer?
This
page, accessible through the Dallas Public Library
Web Catalog, provides the following information:
- Displays your name and address as indicated
in our database.
- Indicates items currently charged (checked
out) to your account. These items may be renewed
on this screen. (See also Why can I sometimes
not renew materials via the Web? below.) This
screen will also provide you with the date the
material is due back to the library.
- Provides you with the amount of fines/fees
due on your account.
- Indicates any outstanding requests for library
materials on your account.
To use this page, you need your Dallas Public
Library card number (the 14 digit number on the
back of your library card) and your
PIN
number. If you don't know your
PIN
number, contact Central Library Circulation at
(214) 670-1740 or circulation staff
at any branch library for assistance.
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14. Requesting an Item
In the Dallas Public Library catalog, requesting
an item means asking the system to locate the first
available copy of the item you want in order to
have it sent to the library unit of your choice
for checking out to your account. The process may
take several days. The pickup agency will notify
you when the material becomes available for you.
If you originally logged onto the catalog as
"Guest," you’ll be prompted to enter your 14-digit
library card number and your PIN number. (A PIN
number is assigned to your library account when
your account is created and, along with your library
card number, validates your login session. If you
don't know your PIN number, contact Central Library
Circulation at (214) 670-1740 or
circulation staff at any branch library for assistance.
You can also change your PIN number yourself on
the web catalog's About My Account page.)
The next screen verifies the item information
and asks you to specify:
- A date beyond which the request will expire,
if it cannot be fulfilled for some reason; this
date cannot be extended beyond the default 90
days, but it can be shortened.
- Your pickup point (any branch library or
at Central – for Central, use only CENTRAL-CCD)
You will be notified either by phone or mail
when the material is available at your chosen pickup
point. IMPORTANT: To check out the material, you
will need to bring the same library card (same account
number) which you used to request the material.
Some items cannot be requested:
- Reference materials
- Items which do not show holdings (on-order,
lost, withdrawn, etc.)
There are also some cases in which your account
will not be able to request materials. Check the
My Account page to see if any of below apply:
- If there are outstanding fines on your account.
- If you have overdue items on your account.
- If the material is on search (Library staff
is searching for material that our records indicate
is overdue, but which you have notified us has
been returned).
- If your card has expired. (Contact Central
Library Circulation at (214) 670-1740
or circulation staff at any branch library for
assistance.)
- If you are trying to request an item between
11:30 PM and 6 AM, or on Sundays before 1:00
PM, while system maintenance is being performed.
- If you already have a request on this same
record. (You cannot place a second request;
library staff, however, can do this for you
if the need arises.)
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15. PINs (Personal Information Numbers)
Default PINs are set as the last four digits
of the phone number on record for your account.
If you don't know your PIN, contact Central Library
Circulation at 214-670-1740 or
circulation staff at any branch library for assistance.
Have your Dallas Public Library card ready, as staff
will need this information. You may also request
to have your PIN reset by email (webmaster@dallaslibrary.org).
Please include your library card number and name
in the email.
You can also change your PIN
number yourself on the web catalog's About My Account
page.
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16. Will I be notified regarding the books
I requested?
You will be notified by phone or mail
when your requested material is available. If
you wish to be notified by email, please contact
the circulation staff at any branch library or
at central.
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17. Why am I not receiving my email notifications?
Library notices -- alerting patrons to requested items
that have come in or alerting them that they have books
overdue -- are sent from our circulation computer. Unfortunately,
many Internet Service Providers (ISP's) and email programs
such as Microsoft Outlook or Hotmail classify the email
as spam and automatically delete the email or move it to
a "junk mail" folder. Recently, in their effort to combat
spam, many ISP's have changed how bulk email is screened,
and this has affected receipt of library notices.
If you add this email address --
dlibrarian@alpha2.dallaslibrary.org
-- to your contacts, address book or "white" list, it should
resolve the problem and enable to successfully receive notifications
from the library. ("White" lists are sometimes known as
"safe lists" or "friends lists".)
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18. Why do some items in the catalog say "The library
currently has no holdings for this edition."?
There are a few reasons that items are sometimes in the
catalog with "no holdings":
- The item may be on order. Records are created when
items are ordered, but holdings are not added until
the items are received. These order records are always
list first in search results, so sometimes you will
see several items with no holdings.
- It could also be that all copies of the item have
been checked out and are long overdue. This will cause
the catalog to say "the library has no holdings".
- Another possibility is that the holdings have been
removed from an incorrect record and added to a correct
one.
So, though there are several reasons you may see a record
with no holdings, please ask a librarian for assistance.
A librarian at one of our branches or at the Central library
will be happy to assist you to let you know if the item
is on order or if it could be borrowed from another library
on Interlibrary Loan.
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19. What do the numerical request status codes mean?
These codes, which are generated by the system when
you have a book on request, have the following meanings:
1 = Outstanding
2 = Committed
4 = Hold
16 = Unclaimed
33 = Item Specific Request
34 = Item Specific Request Committed
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20. Can the Library's catalog or other databases
be accessed by from my home or office?
The library catalog can be searched via the Library website
from your home or office computer. Use the Search the
Library Catalog
link on the Library's home page.
This service is available Monday through Saturday, 6:00
AM - 11:30 PM, and Sunday, 1:00 PM - 11:30 PM.
Many databases and electronic books can be remotely accessed
from the Library's home page, using the Log In to Databases link listed under "Electronic Resources" toward the bottom of the center column. In most cases, you will need to use the 14-digit
number appearing under the barcode on your library card.
Other electronic databases are available only at one
of the twenty-five library locations
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21. Does the Library have a place where I can prepare a résumé?
The Central Library can provide
access to Microsoft Word each
branch library can provide
access to both WinWay Résumé and Microsoft Word. A
résumé can be prepared using either.
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22. How can I access old newspaper articles?
The Library subscribes to approximately 80 newspapers
from across the U.S. Most of them are retained for three
months.
The Humanities Division, housed on the 3rd floor, maintains
older copies of some national newspapers on microfilm. (However,
from August 2006, the unit has temporarily re-located
to the 1st floor, while the 3rd floor is undergoing renovation.
More information is available here.)
The Texas/Dallas Division on the 7th floor has microfilm
copies of many Texas newspapers.
The Dallas Morning News historical archive (1885-1997)
is accessible electronically via the
Newsbank database.
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23. Are meeting rooms available at the Library?
Meeting rooms are available for community groups for
instructional or informational programs at all branches
and at the Central Library for a
fee. Please contact the
branch
at which you are interested in reserving a room,
directly, for further information.
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24. Does the library offer any programs?
The branches and the Central Library offer many
programs. The Library's monthly publication, The
Almanac, gives complete event listings and times of
all programs for the month at the
branch libraries and at the
Central Library.
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25. Does the Library offer classes?
Classes are available at may branches for preparation
for the G.E.D. (high school equivalent) exam and for
learning English as a second language (ESL). Computer
classes are also offered at most locations. Schedules
are on the Library's home page under "Classes".
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26. Does the Library have a fax machine for public use?
Although the
Library does not have a public fax machine, a fax
service, which can send library materials to branches
and businesses, is available for a fee.
The Express Business Center, located in Room ES on
the L2 level of City Hall, provides fax, notary and
copying services during regular business hours. Fees are
charged for these services; the telephone number is
(214) 670-4567.
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27. Where can I get tax forms?
Original tax forms and booklets—including current
and previous years—are available at the
Central Library on the 6th floor in Government Information.
A book of tax forms, which may be copied for a fee, is
available at all branches.
Tax forms are also available at most United States Post
Offices or by calling the IRS's Tax Forms Hotline (1-800-TAX-FORM
/ 1-800-829-3676). They are also available
online.
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28. Does the Library accept gift books and magazines?
The Library accepts gifts and donations. Although the
Library does not provide appraisals for the value of donations,
all gifts are tax-deductible. The Central Library and branches
accept old and new books and magazines at the circulation
desks.
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29. Does the Library offer tours?
Guided tours of the Central Library may be booked as
follows: For children 6th grade and under, call the Children's
Center at (214) 670-1671 For all other
tours call (214) 670-7800 Tours are available Monday through
Friday. Reservations should be made at least three weeks
in advance. Please also see the Central Library
tours information page.
Contact the branches to schedule tours there.
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30. When is the Library's Summer Reading Program,
and how can I enroll my child?
The Mayor's Summer Reading Program
begins in May and ends in August each year. Incentives are
offered at various numbers of hours read to keep enthusiasm
up; as the number of hours read go up, incentives become
larger. Your child can enroll at any branch library or at
the Central Library in the Children's Center.
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30. How can I make a donation to the Library's
Pet Memorial Fund?
This
fund was established in
Dallas as a result of a cooperative between the
library and the Texas Kennel Club. It is a lasting
way to remember a beloved pet. Animal lovers, pet
owners or friends wishing to donate may pick up
a form at any Dallas Public Library location or
send a check to Pet Memorial Fund, Dallas Public
Library, 1515 Young St., Dallas TX 75201. This donation
will be used to purchase library materials that
provide information and enjoyment for animal lovers
of all ages. A $25.00 minimum gift is necessary
for acknowledgement in the Pet Memory Book and a
bookplate in the book purchased. However, all gifts
are greatly appreciated.
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