Who may use the Washington Public Library?
How long may I borrow a book or video?
What if something I want is not in the
collection?
Do you have any special collections?
How many computers are available for public
use?
Do you have wireless Internet connections
available?
Who may use the library’s computers?
Can I search for a Washington Public
Library book from home?
What kinds of special programs does the
library offer?
What are your most popular items?
Who may use the library? Any resident of Washington Borough is eligible to use the
library for free. Business owners with local
businesses and other property owners are also entitled to cards, because they
pay borough taxes. Out of town borrowers
must pay a small fee each year, because they do not pay taxes in the borough. Other borrowers participating in the Open
Borrowing process will also be able to check books out of the library, but will
not be able to use interlibrary loan from this library, according to the Open
Borrowing agreement.
What is Open Borrowing? It is an agreement
between most of the libraries on
How long may I borrow a book or video?
Books, magazines and audio books (tapes
and CDs) are lent for 2 weeks at a time, but before the book is overdue, you
may call and renew over the phone, unless there is a waiting list for the book.
Videos (videocassettes and DVDs) are lent for 1 week at a time.
Fines for books, magazines and books on tape are $.10 per day.
Fines for books on CD, DVDs and videocassettes are $1.00 per
day. Fines must be paid before anything
else may be borrowed on that card.
What if something I want is not in
the collection? You have two choices:
1.
Fill
out a request form and ask the library to add it to the collection. If it is a fairly new item that falls within
the collection development criteria (and most requests do), we will attempt to
buy it. If not, there is always the
second option.
2.
Fill
out an interlibrary loan request form, and let us try to borrow it from another
library. Most older books are easily
borrowed this way, and sometimes other libraries will lend A/V materials; some
even send us microfilm to let patrons use in our building. However, all interlibrary loans are at the
discretion of the owning library, and we must accept their conditions of use.
Do you have any special collections?
Yes, several. They include
·
The
New Jersey Historical Collection, including microfilm of the Washington Star and Star-Gazette from 1868 and the Bathgate genealogical collection.
A digitized version of the Star
from 1868-1923 is also available on in-house Internet computers.
·
The
Emma Campbell Groves Collection of items celebrating African-American history and
culture.
·
The
Hans P. Meichsner Fine Arts Collection of books pertaining to American
illustrators and painters.
How many computers are available for
public use? There are now 15 computers in the public
area:
9 with both the Internet and Microsoft Office 2003, (thanks to a
state grant from the Department of Community Affairs)
3 with just Microsoft Office,
2 with only OPAC software, for searching the library’s holdings,
1 with no Internet connection, but connected to in-house
databases.
Do you have wireless Internet
connections available? Yes, it has been available since July 2006,
thanks to a grant from the NJ State Library and Highlands Regional Library
Cooperative. Patrons are free to bring their
own laptops to access the Internet this way.
Who may use the library’s computers?
Anyone old enough to read. Minors
must have written permission from their parents or guardians to use the
Internet computers. Computer users must
show photo id when they sign up to use the machines.
Can I search for a
What kinds of special programs does the library offer?
Children’s programs include a Thursday morning preschool story
time with “Miss” Mary Annelli during the school year. During the summer, there is a summer reading
program for elementary school children, with programs in July, but reading for
rewards all summer. The library also
attempts to procure all or most of the books on the middle and high school
reading lists (that we know about), and keeps them in a special section during
the summer. There are also seasonal
craft programs for all ages.
Adult programs include support for the Washington Historical
Society and various craft and informational programs during the year. This year we are once again housing the free
tax support for Senior citizens through the Office on Aging. This is offered on Tuesday mornings between
February 1 and April 15.
What are your most popular items?
The DVD collection is growing, and use is also increasing
greatly, while books on CD are not quite replacing books on tape. Among adult books, fiction is more popular
than nonfiction, but the collection of “how-to” items is always well used.
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