Borrowing Guide – Millburn Public Library

Borrowing Beyond Millburn

Loan Periods, Renewals & Fines

Self-Checkout

Millburn cardholders in good standing have access to millions of items from across New Jersey’s libraries through interlibrary loan.

BCCLS

BCCLS is the consortium that Millburn Library belongs to as a member. This gives Millburn-Short Hills residents in good standing access to items in 70+ participating libraries in Essex, Bergen Hudson & Passaic Counties. Materials can be obtained through walk-in service at any BCCLS library, or by making a BCCLS Hold/Pick-Up Request. Requests can be made through the online catalog or by speaking with a Millburn Library staff member. (BCCLS, or “Buckles”, stands for “Bridging Communities, Connecting Library Services”— previously, “Bergen County Cooperative Library System”.)

One Card, Many Libraries: all searches in the online catalog automatically show availability from all 70+ libraries in BCCLS. If a copy isn’t available on Millburn shelves, you can place a request for another library to send it to us for you. You’ll get an email or text notification when it arrives and is available for pick-up. BCCLS-loaned materials can be picked up at the Millburn Library Circulation Desk; or, when placing the Hold, you can choose which BCCLS library to have it sent to for Pick-Up.
Library items can be dropped off at any library’s return drop-box (with the exception of some specific items that must be returned to the owning library only, such as Museum Passes, devices, etc.)

See here for a complete listing of BCCLS library locations (or here for a map).

Millburn-Summit Reciprocal Borrowing

Available to registered patrons in good standing, renewed annually
Most items available for loan
Holds may be placed on items (but only items owned by Summit Library)
Items borrowed from Summit Public Library must be returned there, in-person
Summit Public Library’s policies will apply (overdue fees, renewals, late fines)
Services such as inter-library loan, story-time registration, etc., are not included

Bergen Community College Library Reciprocal Borrowing

The Sidney Silverman Library allows borrowing privileges for any Bergen County residents age 18+ who have a library card issued by a BCCLS member library and are in good standing. You will also need a second form of photo ID with current residence information to borrow.
Reciprocal borrowers can check out up to 4 BCC items at once.
Books are loaned for 21 days, and media for 7 days. Books only may be renewed once, provided there are no Holds.
Borrowers may return books to Bergen Community College or any BCCLS library.
Study space & computer usage at the Silverman Library is prioritized for BCC students, it is recommended you visit in the evening or on the weekends.

ReBL

Essex County’s Reciprocal Borrowing & Lending program, or “ReBL”, is an agreement that provides access to walk-in borrowing service only at virtually all Essex County public libraries, including ones not in BCCLS.

ReBL provides access to five academic libraries:

In order to use your ReBL privileges, you must get a ReBL sticker from your home library for your library card first (the ReBL sticker is not required for libraries in BCCLS directly). Millburn patrons can stop by the front Circulation Desk to receive one.

Some limitations apply, and you must borrow and return items in-person from the ReBL library that owns the item you want to use, as there is no inter-library transit for ReBL borrowing.

JerseyCat Inter-Library Loan

Items not owned by Millburn Library and/or the BCCLS catalog might still be obtainable from another library statewide, using the Inter-Library Loan (ILL) service. Let the library staff know if you need any assistance finding items. You can also Suggest a Purchase online for unavailable items, or, if looking for a journal article for research, request it on our Ask a Librarian page.

Loan Periods

Due dates are printed on your checkout receipt, or emailed if self-checkout used. Due dates for all your items can be reviewed online by logging in to the BCCLS catalog.

2 week period: New Adult books, holiday books, back-issue magazines, non-print media (audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays)
4 week period: all other Adult books, Children’s & Young Adult books

Renewal of Items

The BCCLS catalog system will automatically renew eligible items just before their due dates. You will receive a text or email notification.

The renewal period for an item is the same as its original loan period.
Items may also be renewed in-person, by phone, or online, unless the item is on Hold for another patron, you have reached the renewal limit, you own $10 or more on your library account, or you have 10 or more items overdue.

Fines

As of January 2020, the Millburn Library is fine-free for Millburn Library-owned items. Exceptions include: Museum Passes, Library of Things items. Overdue fines still apply to these special items. See our guide on paying fines online with a credit card. Additionally, other BCCLS libraries may still levy overdue fees, so Millburn/Short Hills patrons may incur late fees if borrowing from them.

Remember that all borrowed items still have have due dates, so please return items by these dates, as other patrons may be waiting.

Any item that is 60+ days overdue (“lost”) will be billed at full replacement value. Additionally, accounts will be blocked if there are 10 or more overdue items out.

Overdue & Replacement Notices

1st overdue notice: sent 14 days past due date
2nd overdue notice: sent 28 days past due date
3rd notice (replacement bill): sent 60 days past due date

Account Blocks

Your account will be automatically blocked if any of the following occur:

Charges of $10.00 or more have accrued
10 or more items are overdue at once
An unreturned item is 60 days or more overdue (“lost”)

Your account must be paid in full before a block is removed. You will not be able to borrow items or use select services (such as the Museum Pass program) until your account is unblocked.

Good Standing

A patron is considered in good standing when:

The account is not expired
There are no overdue/unpaid fees, fines, or lost items in excess of $9.99

meeScan

Millburn cardholders can use meeScan, a smartphone app that lets you check out items in the palm of your hand— no need to stop by the Circulation Desk on your way out. Using the meeScan app is a good way to minimize touchpoints while visiting the library, or just to avoid a line if you’re in a pinch.

Download the meeScan app, register your library card, and begin scanning the barcodes on the back of the items you wish to checkout. A checkout receipt will be emailed to you.

Note: access to your phone’s camera is necessary to scan barcodes, as well as access to location services to validate you are in the library via geolocation.

Self Check-Out Kiosks

Millburn Library has two self-checkout machines to make your visit quick & convenient. The kiosks have user-friendly instructions on a touch-screen, and can be used by any patron with a valid library card in good standing. Just about anything in our collection can be checked-out at the kiosks: books, DVDs, CDs, and more. However, any item on hold and/or a transfer from another library still must be picked up at the Front Circulation Desk.

If you have any questions about our self-checkout options, just ask to speak with a library staff member during your next visit.