Get a Library Card

Getting a Library Card

Your library card allows you to:

• Borrow books and other materials from us and from most other public libraries in Illinois.
• Use special online collections to find information, including magazine articles, you can't get just by searching the web.
• Use library computers free of charge.

Residents of the Village of Mt. Morris:

The Mt. Morris Public Library is a tax-supported public library. This means that people residing within the Village limits pay taxes to support the library. Those people who live within these boundaries need pay no additional fee to be eligible to receive a library card.

Persons applying for a library card must present a photo I.D. and one form of I.D. with their current address.This may include, but is not limited to, a driver’s license, utility bill, mail, or voter’s registration card.

Resident cards are issued only to individuals, NOT to families. Except for children under the age of 5, each person using the library must have his or her own library card.

Children ages 5-15 must have a parental or guardian signature to receive a library card.(Children under the age of 5 will not be issued an individual library card.)

A resident card may also be used in other Prairie Area Library System public libraries.

Non-Residents:

Individuals who reside outside the Village limits and do not own property within the Village limits do not pay taxes to support the library. Therefore, a fee must be charged for library services. A non-resident card must be purchased at the public library that is geographically nearest to a person's place of residence.

A family card may be purchased for $60.00 per year.   This fee is based on the average amount a resident family pays in library taxes each year. A non-resident Mt. Morris Library card entitles the bearer to all local library services and may be used in most other libraries in the Prairie Area Library System. A pro-rated summer card may also be purchased for $15.00 and is valid only from June 1 through August 31.

A student (grades K-12) may purchase a student card for $25.00 per year. This card may be used only by the student.

The Illinois Local Library Act allows for persons owning property within the Village but living outside the Village limits to be issued an individual non-resident card at no charge. A current tax bill must be presented and one card will be issued to one owner of the property. The card may be used by that individual only. It entitles the bearer to all local library services.

Reciprocal Borrowers:

Persons holding a valid library card from another library, as delineated below, may be issued a patron barcode at the Mt. Morris Public Library and may use many of the services available at this library. However, anyone with excessive fines or overdue materials from another library will not be allowed to charge out materials from this library.

The following cards will be honored:
A valid resident card from any public library in the Prairie Area Library System.
A valid non-resident card issued by any other library in the Prairie Area Library System.
 

 

 

Renew Books

To renew books and other items, you may come into the library, call the library, or go to the "Contact Us" page of this web site].

Donate a book in honor or memory of someone

Books (or other materials) may be given to the library in honor or memory of someone. You may either bring in a book (preferably new), select from some new books at the library, or request to have a book purchased (you may choose the title or subject and the amount you wish to spend).  A book plate will be placed in the book identifying the person being honored/remembered along with your name as the donor.  Also, the Mt. Morris Community Library Foundation provides matching funds for memorial books, so your gift to the library can be doubled! This is a great option for a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas gift--one the whole community can enjoy.

Get a Newsfeed of Library Headlines

This website has several "feeds", which allow you to automatically receive links to news and events as they're posted on the site. Using feeds is a convenient way to keep up with as many blogs, news sites, and other websites as you like. For a quick tutorial about feeds and how they work, see Common Craft's RSS in Plain English video.

Feeds are marked with a special icon , which you click to "subscribe" to the feed by adding it to whichever program you use as a feed reader (see below). 

Feeds on this site include:

• Library news
• Items featured on the Home page
• Events

There are a number of tools available for subscribing to and reading feeds. Here are a few examples:

• Online feed readers, such as Google Reader or Bloglines.
• Software, such as NewsGator, that you download and install on your computer.
• Widgets for your own web space or portal, such as on MySpace, Google, or My Yahoo.
• The toolbars on some web browsers, like Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox.
• RSS feed support in some email programs, like Outlook 2007.

Each tool has its own specific instructions for adding feeds, but the process is usually as simple as pasting in the feed's address or selecting from a menu.