You are responsible for returning the materials you borrow from us on time and in good condition.  Please tell us immediately if you find problems with any of the materials.  Do not loan our materials to any other person; YOU are responsible for them.  If you lose or damage our materials, we will bill you for their full replacement value.  You may not check out additional materials until you return all overdue materials, and pay any overdue fees or bills you owe.  Borrowing may be restricted for patrons who violate these policies.

 

 

You will be charged overdue fees of $.25 per item per day if you keep materials past their due date

 

 

Our library services are available to you at no charge.  We do ask for financial support from our library patrons and others, so we can continue to provide an up-to-date collection and high-quality customer service.  Contributions are tax deductible.  Please contact our staff for details.

 

 

 

If it is more convenient for you, you may return our materials to a library that is a member of WMRLS (most public libraries and some other libraries are). That library will return the materials to us.  Additional policies apply; see the “How to Use the Western MA Regional Library Delivery System” brochure.

We may also be able to send materials to you through the same library.  Ask us for details.

 

 

You may now view our entire library collection on-line through a link on our Web site, www.westernmasshealthycommunities.org.  You may reserve materials on-line, or give us feedback.  Our Web site includes information about out staff, all WMCHC services, directions to our library, and much more.

 It  is our pleasure to serve you, and we want your feedback!   Following these policies and procedures will help ensure that our materials are available for everyone who wants to use them.

 

The WMCHC library is open to anyone who lives or works in western Massachusetts.  Our materials are geared to the needs of teachers, health coordinators, guidance counselors and other school personnel; agency and organizational staff; group leaders; coalition members and leaders; other prevention professionals; and parents.

 If you want to borrow materials, you must complete and sign a Patron Membership Card, indicating your agreement with WMCHC policies.  We ask you to give us as many different ways in which to contact you as possible.  We also ask you to show a driver’s license or other identification to verify your home address.  Your card will be kept on file at WMCHC, and we will verify your contact information each time you borrow materials.  Your signature on the card gives us permission to contact you about library transactions, library and other WMCHC information and events, donations, and other communication as needed.

 

WMCHC welcomes college students.  We require that you provide us with your permanent home address as well as your address while at school, plus other ways to contact you. 

 

• New borrowers:  You may borrow a maximum of 2 items during your first visit.  Once those items have been returned in good condition and on time, you may borrow within the regular limits.
• Regular borrowers:  You may have a maximum of 5 items on loan at a time.

 

Materials are checked out for a period of 3 weeks.  If you contact us on or before the due date, you may renew materials for an additional week by phone, e-mail, or in-person (if no one has reserved them).

 

Items may be reserved by phone, e-mail, or in-person up to 1 month in advance of the date needed.   We will do our best to assure that circulating materials are returned in time for your reservation, but we cannot guarantee it.

 

 

WMCHC makes every effort to keep the collection as up-to-date as possible.  We value your suggestions for additions.  While we have items in our collection on a variety of public health topics, we focus on adding materials within our priority topic areas which include alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention; violence prevention; STD/HIV prevention; teen pregnancy prevention;  nutrition and physical activity.

 

 

The Web site used by WMCHC to maintain circulation records is secure.  Patron data is available only to authorized personnel.  In addition, we do not sell, rent, or loan our library patron data to any other organization or business.  We generally will not reveal to other persons which materials you have borrowed.  If your materials are overdue, however, we do reserve the right to ask for help from others (e.g. employers, co-workers, family members) in returning the materials.