Circulation | Bloomfield Township Public Library

Borrowing

We are currently offering curbside service during open hours. Please click here for more information.

If you are a resident of Bloomfield Township or work in or for Bloomfield Township, apply for a library card either online or at the Circulation desk. A nonresident with a library card for a library that is located in his or her community and that Library is a current member of The Library Network and offers reciprocal borrowing privileges to Bloomfield Township Public Library cardholders may use his or her home library card to register at BTPL to borrow books and other materials, subject to BTPL policies and procedures. You can register your library card either online or at the Circulation Desk. Cranbrook Education Community (faculty, staff, and students), Troy residents, and Detroit residents may also register a card either online or at the Circulation desk.

Click here for more information about applying for or registering a library card.

Limit on Materials

Bloomfield Township residents and employees in and of Bloomfield Township, Cranbrook, and Detroit cardholders may check out up to 99 items. All other eligible cardholders at the Bloomfield Township Public Library are limited to 15 items.

Updating Your Library Card

All library accounts expire and need to be regularly updated. Bloomfield Township residents and TLN non-residents must update their accounts every three years by birthdate. Bloomfield Township and local employees, Cranbrook students and faculty, and Detroit and Troy residents must update their account every year by the date the account was created. When your library card expires, all activity on the account will be blocked. In order to update your account, you must come to the Circulation desk and present current proof of residency and/or employment depending on your card type, as well as present a current photo ID.

All fees accrued on an account must be paid in full prior to updating an account.

Fines and Fees

Overdue Fees

We are excited to announce that beginning April 1, 2024, we are no longer charging overdue fines in order to make the Library more accessible and inclusive for everyone in our community. However, you will be charged to replace items that are lost, damaged, or not returned after their due date.
When you borrow items from the Library, you will receive a list of those items showing the date they are due back to the Library. If you keep Library items beyond the due date, you will receive email notifications to return them.

An item that circulates for three weeks will be billed to your account if not returned within three weeks of the due date. An item that circulates for one week will be billed to your account if not returned within two weeks of the due date. Once the item is returned, the charge will be removed from your account.
Patrons with $15 or more in billed items on their account will not be able to borrow any more items until these fees are paid or the items are returned. Accounts with fees totaling $25 or more and 60 days past due will be sent to collections. If items are returned damaged or missing pieces, you will be charged to replace the item plus a small processing fee. Please click here to see the schedule of fines and fees: 2024-2025

You may pay your fines at the Library using cash or a credit card. Online payment services are currently unavailable.

Notifications

The Library sends account notifications by email and text message only. Email notifications include reminder notifications sent four days prior to an item’s due date, hold notifications, and overdue notifications. Email notifications come from btpl-circ (at) btpl.org. Please make add this contact to your email address book to ensure you receive notifications.

Renewing

Automatic Renewal @ the Library

Eligible items checked out to library accounts in good standing are automatically renewed up to three times (one time for non-residents) on the due date. You can still access your account online to view the status of checked out items, and may always return items before the due date.

Items NOT eligible for automatic renewal include:

Items with holds
MeLCat materials

Your library account must be in good standing (not expired and no fees over $15).

Holds

Bloomfield Township residents and employees are eligible to place up to 99 items on hold. Go to the library catalog and locate the specific record for the item you want held. Click on the “place hold” button, then enter your name and the barcode from your library card. The library catalog will place the hold immediately if the item is eligible for holds. The catalog will give you a message if the item cannot be held. Reference materials and current issue magazines cannot be held.

Freezing holds

If you are going out of town and wish to freeze a hold, you may do so by logging into your account and click on “my bookshelf,” then “holds”. Next to the hold you wish to freeze, click the arrow next to “cancel hold,” then click “freeze.” This will hold your place in the hold queue. When you are back, don’t forget to go back into your account to un-freeze the hold.

Notifications

Notifications, received or not received, do not negate the responsibility of the patron for all fees. Failure to receive reminder or overdue notices does not release the patron from paying the fees.

Reciprocity

Not a resident of Bloomfield Township? If you live within The Library Network (TLN) service area, you may register for a card at your home library first and then bring your home library card and a photo ID to register here. Change of address sticker on your driver’s license? Please bring a valid photo ID and a recently postmarked bill, mortgage papers, or rental agreement with your name and new address.

A nonresident with a library card for a library that is located in his or her community, is a current member of The Library Network, and offers reciprocal borrowing of privileges to Bloomfield Township Public Library cardholders may use his or her home library card to register at BTPL to borrow books and other materials, subject to BTPL policies and procedures. Nonresidents who are not covered by a reciprocal borrowing agreement or a resident of The Library Network member library are welcome to visit and browse BTPL’s collections, attend certain public events or programs, and use BTPL guest computers for a limited amount of time subject to BTPL policies and procedures, but may not borrow books or other materials or be entitled to other limited or restricted library services.

Faculty, staff, and students of the Cranbrook Educational Community (CEC) are eligible to receive a blue and white key tag from Bloomfield Township Public Library giving them borrowing privileges whether they reside on campus or not. For CEC who reside on campus, their family members also are eligible for a blue and white key tag. Employees and staff must present either an ID badge or a paycheck stub from CEC at the time of registration. Students must present either a current student ID or a class schedule. Family of faculty and staff must present the faculty or staff member’s ID at the time of registration.

Detroit Public Library and Troy Public Library residents may be registered at this library with a valid photo ID.

MeLCat

MeLCat is a service linked from our library catalog that allows you to search and request items in a joint catalog of many Michigan public and academic libraries. Loans through MeLCat are available to residents and employees in Bloomfield Township. When searching for materials in our database, if you find that we do not have something you need, choose the MeLCat button to see if the item can be requested through MeLCat. If you find the item you need within the MeLCat catalog, you can make an immediate request by clicking ‘Get This For Me.’ Select “Bloomfield Township Public Library” as your home library and enter your name and library barcode number.

You may renew some MeLCat items by accessing your account online or calling the library at (248) 642-5800. There is no guarantee that a MeLCat item will be renewed. The owning library of the item sent via MeLCat sets the renewal policy.

Returning MeLCat

Inter-library loan material cannot be returned in the automated drop box. The papers that circulate with this material could fall out of the item and be harmful to the system. Please return inter-library loan material in the manual drive up return or the walk-up return.

Lost items

If you lose a MeLCat item, you may be responsible for that item’s replacement cost as determined by the lending library. Please contact the Inter-library Loan Department as soon as possible at 248-642-5800 (ext 153). We will contact the lending library to see what the cost to replace the item will be. Please do not purchase outside replacements; most libraries do not accept these. We have no control over the policies of other libraries and must abide by them if we are to stay in good standing with MeLCat.

Canceling a Request

Items already in transit cannot be canceled. Requested items can be canceled by calling the library at 248-642-5800 and ask for the inter-library loan department. You can also cancel your own MeLCat requests by signing on to your library account online.

Processing / Shipping Time

The time it takes for an item to arrive via MeLCat depends upon each lending library’s processing and shipping times. We will notify you when your request has arrived and the item will be held for ten days. If you need something right away, the librarians at Adult or Youth Services may be able to direct you to a library nearby that has the materials you need.

ALA Requests

If you can not find an item in MeLCat, please see a librarian at the Adult or Youth Services desk. They can attempt to place an ALA request for rarer items. Any inter-library loan fees at the lending library will be passed onto the patron. It can take several weeks for these requests to be processed, depending on library response time, shipping, and availability of the item.

Rights and Responsibilities

Privacy Policy

Michigan law protects the confidentiality of library users’ records. The records and record of Library items you request or borrow can’t be shared with anyone without your consent unless ordered by a court of law. Copies of the Michigan Library Privacy Act are available upon request at the Circulation desk. A valid Library card must be presented for access to any Library records and record of a person – minor or adult – named on the card.

Presenting a valid library card allows the cardholder the ability to check out items, view their account, and pay their fees and fines. Without a valid card, the cardholder must show a valid photo ID. Beginning April 1, 2019, the parent/legal guardian must have a minor child’s library card in order to gain access to the account and check out on the account without a minor child present. Parent/legal guardian can fill out a release of minor library record (minor must be present with a library card at the time the form is filled out) which will then allow parent/legal guardian to gain access to minor child’s record without the minor child having to be present. The release does not allow parent/legal guardian to check out on minor child’s card; it only gives parent/legal guardian access to what minor child has checked out, fines and fees, and for payment of fines/fees.

Upon registering your library card, you must read and agree to sign and abide by the following pledge:

“This library card permits me to borrow materials and use services from the Bloomfield Township Public Library. I agree to be financially responsible for all materials borrowed or services used through this card. I agree to abide by all library policies and regulations. This library card is subject to expiration. Responsibility for the choice of materials borrowed rests with the person whose signature appears on this pledge. It is the sole responsibility of the person to whom the Library card belongs to the return of items borrowed and fees and fines accumulated on the card. Lending a library card to others or using your library card to check out items for others does not release the person’s names on the card – or the parents or guardian of a minor – from these responsibilities. It is the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian to determine whether a minor may use a library card at BTPL. The Library assumes that permission to use a valid BTPL card has been assigned to the individual who is in possession of the card.”

Rights and Responsibilities

Pursuant to the 1996 and 1998 amendments to the Library Privacy Act (PA 455 of 1982), the Bloomfield Township Public Library Board of Trustees will observe the following to assure the privacy of the library records of patrons, including minors:

A valid Bloomfield Township Public Library card must be presented for access to any library records of the person, minor or adult, named on that card. Presenting a valid library card allows the holder of the card to check out materials and review the record of the person named on the card, including current materials checked out on the card as well as overdue materials. The library assumes that permission to use a valid Bloomfield Township Public Library card has been assigned to the individual who is in possession of the card.

Lost or stolen Bloomfield Township Public Library cards must be reported immediately to the library in order to assure the privacy of the library records of the individual named on the card. Failure to report a lost or stolen card may result in materials, fines, and fees being incurred on the card which will be the responsibility of the patron named on the card or the parent or guardian if a minor.

The materials, fines, and fees accumulated on a library card will be the sole responsibility of the person, to whom the card belongs, or the financially responsible parent or guardian if the cardholder is a minor. Lending a library card to others or using a library card to check out materials for others does not release the person named on the card or the parent or guardian of a minor from responsibility for materials.

All financial responsibility for library materials, fines, and fees is held by the parent or guardian of a minor (minor defined as anyone under 18, unless declared legally independent) or by the adult to whom a card is issued. It is the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian to determine whether a minor may use a library card at the Bloomfield Township Public Library.

The signature on the application for registration for a library card at the Bloomfield Township Public Library constitutes written consent for the holder of the card–either the adult or if a minor, the financially responsible parent or guardian of the minor-to carry out all of the privileges of possession of the library card.