Borrowing

Access to Materials
Chapter 3.01

Policy

Alameda County Library participates in universal borrowing under the California Library Services Act and will provide in-person loan service to residents of all California public library jurisdictions. Alameda County Library cards are available for free to anyone living, working, or going to school in the state of California.

Library Cards

• Register in person and bring identification with name and current address.
• Examples of acceptable identification include a California driver's license, California ID, or a school-issued ID, a physical or digital utility bill, or recent postmarked mail.
• There is no minimum age for a library card. Parents/guardians may decide when to get a card for their children. For children under 13, a parent or legal guardian must complete or sign the application and may access the account. The child must be present to receive the library card.
• Members may borrow from the full range of circulating materials, regardless of the member’s age or reading level.
• Alameda County Library is committed to providing equitable access to all. Individuals who cannot meet the above requirements for any reason should contact their local library to hear about additional ways to access library services.

eCards

• Register online at aclibrary.org.
• Once registered, members may immediately use remotely-available electronic resources and place holds on items.

Confidentiality

It is the policy of the Alameda County Library in accordance with California Government Code Section 6267 to keep all library circulation and registration records confidential. Review Chapter 7.01 (Privacy) for more detail. Please help us protect member privacy by reporting lost or stolen library cards or materials immediately.

Borrowing

• Members may borrow up to 100 items. Within that 100-item limit, members are limited to a maximum of 20 DVDs or Blu-rays, 20 CDs or Audiobooks, 15 Link+ items, and 2 digital devices, such as a computer.
• All Alameda County Library items check out for 3 weeks except for some digital devices which are for use in the library only.
• Items may be renewed up to 2 times unless there is a hold on the item or the member has borrowed an item that is 21 or more days late.
• Items from Lucky Day or similar collections may not be renewed or placed on hold.
• Items borrowed through Link + are subject to the borrowing policies of the lending library, which may include different check out times or limitations.
• Members are responsible for all materials checked out on their account.

Returning

To encourage the responsible use and timely return of County-owned property, Alameda County Library bills members for damaged and unreturned items. We do not charge overdue fines.

• Members will be billed the cover price of any item not returned in good condition by 21 days after the due date. If an item does not have a cover price, the member will be billed the price listed on the item’s library catalog record.
• All bills remain on the member’s account until paid. No interest is ever charged.
• Bills are not reported to collection agencies and will not affect a credit score.
• Borrowing privileges are suspended if the member’s account has an unpaid bill for a damaged or unreturned item, or if the member owes $10 or more for any charges.

Example: All items check out for 21 days. The chart below indicates the amount the member would owe based on the amount of time an item is kept.