Library Card
All about the Library Card
The library will serve all residents of the Linwood community and surrounding areas. The library participates in the Northeast Kansas Regional Library System and has a shared catalog with other libraries in the region. The library will permit any non-district citizen to borrow materials or receive services without charge, subject to reasonable library rules, which are applicable to everyone. All borrowers must be registered and must have a valid local or system patron card to borrow library materials.
Our library is connected to several libraries in the area. A library card for one of these libraries will also work at our library and vice versa. The closest connected libraries are: Basehor, Bonner Springs, Eudora, Leavenworth, Lansing, and Tonganoxie.
How to get a library card?
You must complete an application form in-person to register for a new library card. You will need to bring your Driver’s License with you at time of application. Applicants under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian sign the application form before a new card can be issued. Materials cannot be checked out until a library card is issued.
All library cards expire after one year, but can be renewed by library staff upon the expiration date.
What can youth check out on their own?
If you don’t want your children to be able to check out movies rated PG-13 or R or video games rated M, you need to let us know. We will make a notation on your child’s account preventing these items from being checked out. You can change the restrictions at any time you want. Without placing this notice on your child’s account, your child will be able to check anything out on their own.
Can you still check out something if you forget to bring your card?
It is preferred that patrons bring their cards in order to check out items. However, due to the nature of a small library, a card is not required in order to check out materials. If the library staff does not know the patron personally or is concerned with possible misuse of a patron’s library account, a card will be requested.
Your online account:
All patrons can access their accounts online. This allows you to place holds on books, DVDs, or music without even having to come into the library. You can also renew items, manage your account, and access some online content such as Flipster (magazines).
Before you can use your online account you need to know what your setup is. Most of the time it is your library card number and a default password that was given at the time of your library card registration.
You can easily change your username and password. We can do that at the library or you can do that once you access your online account. We are unable to retrieve your password if you have forgotten it.
To access your account online, you need to visit the NEXT Search Catalog.
Check out policy:
1. Three weeks for books and audiobooks.
2. Two weeks for eBooks, unless the patron has specified a shorter loan period in their Sunflower/Overdrive eLibrary settings. Check out our Getting Started page for information on available digital resources like eBooks and digital audiobooks.
3. One week for DVDs, video games, and magazines.
4. Interlibrary loan materials will follow the lending library’s loan periods.
5. All materials may be renewed twice if there is not a waiting list for the item.
6. The library Director may establish special loan periods for unique situations, for example for a group book club.
7. The Library shall enforce a limit of five DVDs and/or video games at one time. This limit only pertains to items belonging to the Linwood Community Library; a patron may check out additional DVDs belonging to other libraries in the NExpress system.
8. There is no limit on the number of books a patron may check out at one time; the limit on eBooks is five at one time.
What cannot be checked out:
Almost everything in the library can be checked out, but we do have a few items that are available for in-library use only. These items include:
- iPads
- Genealogy materials
- Local history materials
- Items marked as reference
- Nintendo Gaming System
Renewing:
Just about everything you check out can be renewed. You can renew your items online using your account, or we can renew the items for you if requested.
Items that were requested outside our NEKLS library system and were obtained via Interlibrary Loans may or may not be available for renewal. We will need to request additional time from the lending library.
You will not be able to renew items that have a hold on them. A hold is when someone else has requested the item.
Some items, like video games, will not allow a renewal. These items will have to be rechecked out if you want to have them longer.
If you have already renewed your item the limit the system will allow, you will need to recheck that item out again in order to keep it longer.
Overdue fines:
The Linwood Community Library does not charge fines for overdue materials. Other libraries in the system do have fines. Make sure you pay attention to what and where you check out to avoid fines.
After an item is overdue by 35 days, your library card will be restricted systematically. You will not be able to check out from any library in the system until said items are returned. You also will not be able to login to a library computer until said items are returned and the restriction on the account is removed.
Missing or lost items:
If a patron loses materials checked out on his/her card, the patron will be responsible for the replacement costs of those items. If materials are damaged so as to be judged by the library as being unsuitable for the placement back into the collection, the patron must pay the replacement costs.
The library will do its best to obtain the most accurate replacement cost for the lost or damaged materials and provide that information to the patron. However, the replacement cost is to be determined by the library and will not be negotiated.
Sometimes patrons wish to replace lost or damaged materials on their own and provide the new material to the library. Only through an arrangement with the Library Director can replacement materials from patrons be deemed acceptable. The library Director retains the right to reject replacement materials and require payment for the lost or damaged items.
Don’t see what you want at our library?
Interlibrary loan is an invaluable service available to all library patrons who have a library card at the Linwood Community Library. If our library does not currently have the requested item, library staff shall attempt to find another source for the item.
This includes materials we don’t carry such as music.
If you think we should own something in our collection that we don’t currently have, please feel free to make a suggestion. We have suggestion cards available at the front circulation desk.
Kansas State Library card:
There are many online services you may want to access that require a Kansas State Library card. These cards can be obtained at any Kansas library, including ours. This card is different from your Linwood Community Library card. You must register for the Kansas State Library card separately.
Cards are good for 3 years at a time.
See our Getting Started page for more information on digital resources like eBooks and digital audiobooks
There are a ton of resources available to you once you have the Kansas Library card.
- eAudiobooks: cloudLibrary
- Materials on subjects like genealogy, foreign languages, business, auto repair, research and reference, and more. Check out a list of available subjects from the database.