Circulation and loan regulations are dependent upon the judgment of the professional staff and the school administrators. However, prime consideration should be given to the maximum use and flow of materials throughout the school and for home use. Equitable access to materials for ALL students should be a primary concern. Only in unusual cases should students be prohibited from using materials outside the library media center. Lending regulations should be fair, with loans renewable, unless there is justification for limitations. Equitable access to materials should be the primary driver
Loan Periods and Renewals
The library media specialist will determine the duration of loan periods and other regulations concerned with circulation, according to the student, staff, and program needs of each school. Generally, such regulations should ensure the accessibility of as many materials as possible to as many students as possible. The decisions involving whether to lend or extend borrowing privileges should always take into consideration students’ needs for the materials, practical considerations, and the necessity to reinforce the concept of responsibility for the care and use of public or private property. Usually books may be renewed, within reason, but length of the loan may vary with the form of the material—e.g., books may be needed for two weeks, a reference book or an audio item overnight.
Students should be encouraged to borrow all types of materials, and provisions should be made for home use of materials. Practicality will determine the extent to which students may borrow materials and equipment for home use.
Student selection and borrowing of library media center collection materials should begin no later than the second week students are in school. All students in grades K-5 should be permitted to borrow books from everybody, fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novel library media collections.
Overdues
Each school may formulate policies for overdue materials. However, while it is important to encourage students to be responsible users of materials, it is not acceptable to withhold checkout indefinitely due to their having overdue items. Library media specialists should not clear students' records at the end of 5th and 8th grades. Instead, as students move to the next school, the library media specialist at the new school should make an attempt to retrieve any materials overdue from students; a tactful approach might be: "We can return the books for you to your previous school." During this time, students should be permitted to borrow a minimum of one item at a time while giving them an opportunity to return the overdue items.
Amnesty Day – On the date of the first report card in any given year, overdue and lost books from the previous school year are cleared from all students' records for grades preK-8. After this time, student accounts are returned to full checkout privileges. The school from which the items are missing should follow the instructions provided by Media Technical Services for clearing the borrower records.
Lost or Damaged Materials
Lost materials or materials damaged beyond repair should be paid for by the user responsible for the damage or loss at an amount not to exceed the replacement cost of the item. It is suggested that the user’s name and the amount paid for the item is indicated and that this information is retained by the library media specialist until the item is withdrawn from the collection. If the item is eventually found, money should be returned to the person who paid for it.