Borrower's Cards
Who Can Obtain a Card?
STATEMENT OF POLICY
Any citizen of the State of Indiana is eligible to obtain a State Library card. When a patron requests the issuance of a card, they will be required to complete the information on the �Indiana State Library Card Registration Form�, state form 44689(R3-00), and provide a picture ID. This ID may be a drivers license, a picture ID issued by the State of Indiana, other employment ID with a current address, or any other picture ID of this type.
Upon completion of the registration form, and provision of the picture ID, the patron will be issued a library card.
Replacing the first lost card is done at no charge.
Replacing the second or more lost cards will cost $5.00 per card.
Patrons may borrow up to 15 items at one time. No more than 6 magazines or other serials may be borrowed at one time.
Indiana residents, who live in an area without free library service, may mail or telephone a request for materials. Call (317) 232-3675 for assistance.
How Do I Borrow Materials?
Materials can be borrowed from the State Library through one of the following methods:
- Regular Loans
- Short-term Loans
- Interlibrary Loan
Materials are circulated through the Loan Desk to insure proper handling of returned, overdue or lost items. Decisions on whether or not to loan older material from the general collections are primarily based on their format and condition. Pre-1930 imprint materials and bound volumes of magazines (serials) are not loaned. No more than six issues of a magazine (serial) title may be borrowed at one time. A maximum of 15 items may be borrowed at one time. Renewals may be requested in-person or by telephoning (317) 232-3675.
How Long Can I Keep Materials?
The time period or length of loans varies depending on the type of material
- Books, magazines, audiocassette tapes and vertical file (pamphlet) materials are usually loaned for 30 days upon request at the Loan Desk. Renewals may be requested in-person through the Loan Desk or by telephoning (317) 232-3675.
- Federal government documents and Data Center materials are usually loaned for up to 30 days with the permission of one of our Reference Librarians. There may be a shorter loan period (3 days) for materials in high demand.
- Compact-Discs (CD-ROM) may be available on selected topics for borrowing for a two-week loan period, one disc per person at a time.
- Videotapes (VHS) from the general collections may be borrowed for 1 week. Copyright restrictions may apply. Videos may be reserved ahead of time.
- Short-term loans lasting from a few hours to overnight may be granted with the permission of one of our Reference Librarians. Short-term loans are processed through the Loan Desk.
Some materials do not circulate. Reference materials from any division do not circulate. The collections in the Genealogy Division do not circulate.
The bulk of the Indiana Division collections do not circulate. This includes pamphlets, photographs, maps, broadsides, original newspapers, manuscripts, county histories, Civil War regimental histories, reference books, materials published before 1930, and any item for which the Division has only one copy. Materials in poor condition do not circulate.
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