How do I get a library card?

The Hillsboro Public Library will issue either one card per family or one card for each member of a family residing at the same street address.

 To receive a card, the applicant must provide:

• A completed Hillsboro Public Library Card Application
  (available both in the library, or online at http://www.wccls.org/library_services/library_card.html)

• The name and telephone number of a contact person who does not live at the same address, such as a relative, neighbor, or employer

             AND one of the following sets of information:

• one piece of picture identification, such as a valid Oregon driver's license or Oregon Identification card which verifies the current street address of residence

            or...

• Proof of address (delivered mail, preprinted personal checks or car registration) AND proof of identity (passport, student body card with picture, employee badge with picture, out-of-state driver's license with picture, birth certificate or social security card)

NOTE: Parent or guardian identification may be used for minors who do not have identification.

Card updating and expiration

If a card is unused in three years, it will expire.

Identification will be verified and patron records updated every two years.

A patron's signature on the library card indicates agreement to comply with the current Hillsboro Library Board policies and the current loan periods and limits. At the time of annual patron address update, all balances must be paid in full. It is the cardholder's responsibility to notify the library if the mailing address is changed.

Out-of-county users

Residents of other counties may be eligible for services without charge according to current reciprocal agreements. The same identification will be required as listed above for Washington County residents. The WILI library card may be used at all public libraries in Washington County.

All Washington County public libraries, including the Hillsboro Public Library, issue countywide library cards for nonresidents. We will issue library cards free of charge to individuals who are residents of Clackamas, Clark, Hood River, Klickitat, Multnomah, or Skamania counties. This is possible because of a reciprocal borrowing agreement Washington County libraries have with these counties.

For residents of all other counties, the cost for a library card is $70.00 per year per household. (This is the average cost paid in taxes by a Washington County household for library service.)

Rights and responsibilities of a Washington county nonresident library card include:

• Checking out books, videos and other library materials at all 12 public libraries (and Tuality Health Information Resource Center and Oregon College of Art & Craft)
• Placing up to 50 holds at a time and requesting items from other libraries
• Use of WILI (computer system) to access databases, magazine and newspaper articles and community information

Ownership of a Washington County nonresident library card does NOT include:

• Outreach services for homebound individuals
• Use of any libraries outside of Washington County

Lost Cards

In accepting a library card, the cardholder assumes responsibility for charges incurred in accordance with check-out policies of the Hillsboro Public Library.

Loss, theft, or possible unauthorized use of this WILI card must be reported to a WILI library immediately. In addition, the cardholder who has been charged for items checked out on his or her WILI card must immediately file a police report of loss or theft and unauthorized use and submit a copy of this report to a Hillsboro Public Library Circulation Supervisor in order to avoid referral of the account for collection.

Fines and Overdue Fees

Fines accrue at $.15 per day per item, except for ENTERTAINMENT DVDS which accrue at $1.00 per day per DVD. 

Overdue notices are mailed 10 days after the due date, but fines will begin from the first day after the due date. If $10.00 in fines is reached, or if fines are over a year old, you will be unable to check out or renew library materials until payment is made.

As a member of the American Creditors Association, the Hillsboro Public Library refers for audit and subsequent collection all accounts belonging to library cardholders with items overdue more than 30 days or whose overdue notices are undeliverable by the post office.

Loan Periods and Limits

Most library materials, including books, periodicals, books on tape, books on CD, kits, CDs, single cassettes, CD ROMs, videocassettes, and non-fiction DVDs check out for a period of three weeks. Entertainment DVDs check out for one week.  A total of 100 items may be out simultaneously

Listed below are the county-wide limits for library materials:

• 25 DVDs
• 25 CDs
• 25 High Demand items

Renewals

Most materials can be renewed twice, if no one else has reserved them. For telephone renewals, please call 503-615-6500. Items must be renewed during regular business hours on or before the date that the item is due in order to avoid overdue fees.

Requests/Reserves

Materials may be reserved at no cost system-wide on most circulating titles. Notification of reserved materials will be by email or by telephone. Items may be ordered for and picked up at any of the libraries in Washington County.  If the requested materials are not found in this county, it may be possible to locate and obtain them from another library system.

A card is required for picking up items on hold. The library protects the privacy of its card holder. If a family member is picking up an item which is on hold for another family member, they must have the library card or library card number of the family member who has the item on hold.