Who can get a card? 

What is the borrowing policy? 

How much are overdue fines? 

Library Card Eligibility

Library cards are free to all residents of Georgia.  Persons who attend school, own property or are employed in Georgia are eligible for a free PINES (Public Information Network for Electronic Services) card.  Patrons of both PINES and non-participating Georgia public libraries may receive a PINES card.  Users from non-participating Georgia libraries shall have the same privileges as PINES users.  Most PINES cards are valid for 2 years.

Property owners who do not reside in Georgia may be required to show proof of ownership, such as a tax bill or deed.  Persons employed in Georgia or attending school in Georgia may be required to show proof of employment or enrollment.

Out-of-state cards are available to persons living outside Georgia who do not meet the above criteria for a $25 annual fee, payable at the time the card is issued.

Signing a PINES card application denotes acceptance of responsibility for lost or damaged materials.

There is no minimum age for a child to receive a PINES card.  A parent or legal guardian may register a child.  Parent or guardian must show proper ID to register a child.  A parent or guardian must sign the application for all children under 18.

Proper identification must be presented to register. A library card is required in order to check out materials and for other library services which require a library card. 

An applicant for a new card is required to provide proper ID, which includes current local address. Acceptable ID includes valid driver’s license, valid voter registration card, checks with pre-printed addresses, a utility bill, tax receipt or other piece of mail that shows the user’s name and present address.  The registering library is responsible for ensuring that a correct address is obtained.

Applicants for a card must complete and sign an application form, available at any PINES participating library’s circulation desk.

Parents or guardians of children under the age of 18 must sign their child’s application.

Borrowing Materials Policy

A patron must present a card in good standing to borrow materials.  A patron’s card will be blocked, and no services may be obtained with it if the patron has 10 or more overdue items, or owes $10 or more in unpaid fines and/or fees.  Delinquent borrowers who have not reached these limits may still borrow materials; the system operator will be notified that the patron is delinquent.

 In most cases, a maximum of 50 items may be charged simultaneously on a PINES card.  Due to popular demand, there is a limit on how many DVDs or videos that you may check out at one time. This number varies from one library to another - usually 2-4 at a time. Please respect these limits to allow all library patrons to enjoy the libraries' audio-visual collections. In a few libraries, other "item type" limits may be enforced, due to small collections.

 Materials circulate for varying periods of time. 

• Most books and magazines check out for 14 days.

• New fiction checks out for 7 days.

• Videos and DVDs check out for 7 days.  You must be at least 18 years old to check out DVDs and videos.

• Books on Tape check out for 14 days.

• Materials can be returned to any library in the ECGRL system. Books may also be returned to any PINES library. Please return all audio-visual materials (CDs, videos, and DVDs) to the library from which the item was checked out; if this is not possible, please return them to a library in the ECGRL system.

• Books may be renewed twice for 14 days (or seven days for new fiction titles), if there are no reserves on them. Renewal can be done in person or by phone.

Fines and Fees

Overdue fines in all libraries in the East Central Georgia Regional Library system:

• All print materials, audio cassettes, compact discs:  $.10 per day, to a $10.00 maximum

• Videos: $.50 per day, to a $10.00 maximum

• Equipment: $1.00 per day, to a $25.00 maximum 

• Overdue PINES InterLibrary Loan material:  $.50 per day, to a $10.00 maximum

• Interlibrary Loan Items (borrowed from other libraries outside of our region: $.10 per day to a $10.00 maximum

Fines in the PINES library system in Georgia may vary from regional library system to regional library system, due to different policies that the various systems may have chosen.  

Additional Fees:

• Replace Library Card: $2.00

• Replace Damaged Barcode: $1.00

• Lost or Damaged materials: Value of the item plus a $5.00 processing fee and any overdue fines

• Damaged Materials: Estimated value of damage/cost of repair

• Non-resident fee $25.00/year

• Lost Audio Cassette/Floppy Disc/Compact Disc (accompanying a book): $10.00

• Damaged Cassette Box: $7.00

• Damaged Compact Disc case: $1.00

• Deposit for Transient Patron borrowing privileges: Value of items charged.

Using your card

In most cases, you must present your own library card to obtain library services which require an account.  You may not use another person's card to use a library computer.  If you loan another person your card in order to check out materials either for yourself or for them, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MATERIALS CHECKED OUT ON YOUR CARD, INCLUDING ALL FINES AND FEES.

Page last updated 08/20/2008