Library card and user’s responsibility

The library services are open to everyone, if they follow the library rules.

To obtain a library card and a PIN code, customers must show proof of identity and sign the card to show they agree to comply with the library rules. Children under 15 must have written consent from their guardian. Items borrowed using a communal library card are the responsibility of the person in charge of the card.

The library card is personal, and customers are responsible for all items borrowed using their card. The personal responsibility also applies to using a self-service library. Guardians are responsible for all items that children under 15 borrow from the library and for their use of other library services, equipment and facilities, and self-service libraries.

Customers must always show the library card when they borrow items and, if required, at any other time when they use the library services.

If customers lose their library card, or their name or address changes, they must inform the library immediately. Before they inform the library of the loss of the library card, the customers are responsible for all items borrowed using the card and all fees that may result from this.

Library users must handle library materials and other library property with care in order not to damage it. The library is not responsible for any damages that borrowed items or used equipment may cause to customers.

Borrowing items

Items have different loan periods. You can see the due date on the library receipt. You can renew a loan if no-one has reserved the item and you have not exceeded the maximum number of renewals. You can renew items at the customer service point in the library, in the online library, over the phone, or by email.

There are age restrictions on borrowing films, games and TV programmes. These age restrictions are set in law.

Customers can reserve items from the library and make suggestions for new items. If you wish to borrow an item that is not found in the library, the library staff can help you borrow it from another library. This inter-library service is subject to national guidelines, and the terms and fees set by the lending library.

Returning items

You must return or renew items at the latest on the due date. If you wish, you can have a receipt for returning the items. The loan period ends when the customer service or self-service library closes. In the online library, the loan period ends at the end of the day.

Some libraries have a drop box for returning items. When you return items to the drop box, they will be registered on the next day the library is open. You are responsible for the items you return in the drop box.

Fees

There is no charge for using, borrowing and reserving items in the library. Guidance and advice for library users and information services are also free. You must pay a fee if you return items late or do not collect a reserved item. You must also pay if the library has to send you a reminder or an invoice for late items, if you wish to print something at the library, or if you damage library items. The current fees are listed in a separate annex.

The library is not responsible for the safe delivery of due date reminders, notifications for late items, or collection notices. The due date is binding. You must also pay the late fee if you were unable to renew loans in the online library.

Any lost or damaged items must be replaced with an equivalent new item or by paying the price set by the library. Due to copyright charges, you cannot replace DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, and CD-ROMs with a new item.

The library has the right to recover its fees through the courts. Customers must pay the recovery costs.

Loss of the right to borrow items

Customers will lose their right to borrow library items if they have been sent an invoice for items that have not been returned, or if they have unpaid fees that exceed the limit specified in the fees annex. This ban will be valid until the customer has paid all the fees.

Loss of the right to use library facilities

Loss of the right to use library facilities means a temporary ban to use the library. This can be because the customer has repeatedly and fundamentally disrupted the operation of the library, jeopardised security in the library, or damaged library property. The maximum duration of this ban is 30 days. The chief librarian can impose this ban. When a ban is imposed, both parties will be given the opportunity to be heard. An official decision will be made about the ban, and the customer has the right to make a claim for a revised decision in accordance with the Local Government Act.

Data protection

The borrowers’ register in the library complies with the Personal Data Act. The library has the right to store the borrower’s personal identity code in the register (Section 13 of the Personal Data Act 523/1999). Information in the register is not disclosed to outsiders. You can see the Description of File and Privacy Notice in the library and on the website.