Starting July 1, 2017, we'll take care of the work of renewing your Library items for you. Items will be automatically renewed up to three times, unless your item is on hold for another patron. Each auto-renewal gives you an additional full loan period, and we'll notify you of the new, extended due date via email.
How many times will an item renew? Items will be automatically renewed up to three times.
Are there items that won’t be renewed? Be aware that items that have already been renewed three times will not be renewed. Any items with a hold placed by another patron will not be renewed. In addition, items in the Lucky Day Collection cannot be renewed. (See "How long do my items check out for (i.e., loan periods)?" for more information about loan periods.)
How do auto-renewals work? The auto-renewal process will start three days before an item is due. On that date, the item will be automatically renewed if there are any remaining loan periods available. The additional loan period will start the day the item was originally due, even though the renewal occurred three days prior to this.
Won’t I have a shorter overall loan period? No. Items are renewed three days before the item is due, but the new due date is calculated using the original due date.
Will I get a notice that items have been renewed? If you have chosen to receive notices by email, you will get a notice that items have been renewed. The notice will provide the new due dates for each item and the number of potential renewals remaining. You will also be notified of any items that weren’t renewed because of holds placed by other patrons or because the item is out of renewals. To ensure you receive these notices, please check that your email address is current in your account and that you have opted-in to receiving email notices under the "Contact Information and Preferences" section. You can review and update your email address online or by speaking with a City Library staff member.
Will I get a phone notice that my items have been renewed? No. Auto-renewals notices will only be sent by email.
Is there anything else that might prevent a renewal? Any outstanding issues with your account that would block you from checking out additional items will also prevent renewals.
What if I don’t want the items renewed? Is it optional? Auto-renewals will occur automatically for any eligible items as long as the library account is in good standing. You may not opt out of auto-renewals.
How will this work with Library Elf? Whereas Library Elf used to automatically renew all City Library items that were eligible, this feature will be discontinued for City Library cardholders effective July 1, 2017 since the Library has implemented an automatic renewal policy. Families with multiple library cards can continue to utilize Library Elf to keep track of when their items are due and when their holds are ready to be picked up.
Will my Interlibrary Loan (ILL) items be automatically renewed? No, these renewals must be approved by the lending library, so you must call The City Library and request renewals for Interlibrary Loan items.