NOBLE was founded to foster the sharing of resources among our member libraries. To facilitate the process, all members agree to the following policies and procedures.
1. Lending libraries are expected to:
- be as generous as possible in lending materials. Libraries have the right to refuse to supply an item if special circumstances apply, e.g., the title is needed for a school assignment or book club.
- mark clearly in the catalog any materials with hold restrictions
- share new items, with restrictions limited to the system’s one-time age-based hold protection settings of either two weeks, one month or three months
- check and respond to requests at least once a day.
- mark “missing” within one day those items that are requested and cannot be found on the shelf.
2. Borrowing libraries are expected to:
- review Purchase Alerts and acquire titles repeatedly requested
- request items only to fill a specific patron’s request except for library-operated book discussion groups.
- refrain from placing holds on titles in order to fill a display.
- use the uniform network transfer loan period when checking out materials.
- return an item immediately to the owning library after its loan to the original requesting patron unless another hold request is triggered.
- remove items from the hold shelf after hold shelf expiration. .
- collect and keep fines for any NOBLE materials in order to eliminate a patron’s delinquency. For those libraries that don’t collect fines, they may waive all fines for items borrowed from and returned to their libraries.
- send funds collected for lost materials to the item’s owning library by check or money order payable to the library or specified governing institution with identifying bibliographic and patron information via U.S Mail. Credit/debit card payments through the patron’s account on Evergreen are encouraged as the payment and bibliographic information transfer occurs automatically.
- contact the patron when items owned by other NOBLE libraries are returned missing some parts to obtain their return before sending the item back to the owning library. The library should use the Mark Item Missing Pieces process in Evergreen to change the item’s status to Incomplete. If after contact the missing pieces are not returned within one month, the incomplete item should then be returned to the owning library. To retain the Incomplete status, the item should not be scanned before return to the owning library, and so must be packaged with a delivery slip to avoid misdelivery from automated sorting, and with an explanatory note to the owning library so that the item is not checked in there.
- when an item is returned in damaged condition by the patron, contact the owning library prior to putting into delivery to inquire as to how to proceed.
3. Violations of this policy should be reported to the Executive Director.The President and/or Executive Director will speak with directors of libraries with signifcant validated complaints. If the issue is not resolved, the matter will be brought before the Executive Board.
4. Libraries should post circulation policies on their websites.
5. NOBLE libraries must not distribute library cards nor PINs to non-NOBLE libraries.
6. Libraries seeking multiple copies of a title for a book group have the option of using a Book Group Card. Holds are placed for the Book Group Card rather than for individual patrons. The card or cards must have the Permission Group of Book Group.
In book group card loans, it is understood that:
- Copies may be displayed for pickup by patrons
- Copies may be held for pickup by patrons longer than normal
- Copies must be checked out to patrons on their personal card
- Copies may be recirculated to additional patrons in the book group
- Copies may be away from the owning library for 4-6 weeks
Lending libraries can decide what they are able and willing to supply on a case-by case basis.
For community reads and other larger scale needs, libraries should check availability in the NOBLE catalog and contact libraries directly or post to the NOBLE-info group to find libraries who are interested in lending.
Approved at the Meeting of the Members, May 18, 2000
Revised at the Meeting of the Members, June 21, 2001
Revised at the Meeting of the Members, February 19, 2004
2.6. Revised with the passage of the Uniform Loan Period for Network Transfers, June 9, 2016
Revised at the Meeting of the Members, March 16, 2017, June 14, 2018