Residents:(Adult) Residents applying for a Haddonfield Public Library card must provide current proof of residence, or a current tax bill or property tax receipt on property owned. Acceptable proof of personal identity: Current NJ driver’s license or government-issued photo identification or current school-issued identification.  Acceptable proof of Haddonfield residency: address displayed on current photo id; current vehicle registration; a current (no older than 2 months) utility or credit card bill or property tax bill/receipt with Haddonfield address. Post Office boxes are not acceptable. A local address in Haddonfield must be provided.

Free cards are available to all residents of Haddonfield Borough. Minors who reside in Haddonfield may have library cards with parental/legal guardian consent. You can get a card immediately at the library with identification and proof of residence. Cards are renewed every 2 years for residents.

Free cards are also available to non-resident categories as listed below in the “Who is eligible” section. The registration for these types are eligible for renewal annually. Family members may not use cards issued to non-residents.

 

Who is eligible?

A. Residents of the Borough of Haddonfield are provided free library cards

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B. Non-residents — free cards are issued for the following:

1. Non-resident owners of property in Haddonfield.

2. Non-resident proprietors of business who rent property in Haddonfield.

3. Non-resident managers or full-time employees (minimum of 30 hours/week) of a business in Haddonfield

4. Non-resident full-time nannies, au pairs, caregivers of a Haddonfield resident

5. Non-resident teachers in Haddonfield schools, public and private

6. Bancroft students who live on the Haddonfield campus or in a Bancroft Group Home

7. Non-resident employees of the Borough of Haddonfield & Haddonfield Public Schools

8. Non-resident members of ministerial or educational staff of Haddonfield churches.

9. Public and Private School Tuition students

10. Temporary Haddonfield residents

11. Volunteers serving on the Haddonfield Friends of the Library board

12. Members of the press covering Haddonfield for their newspaper

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C. NON-RESIDENTS not eligible for a free card are welcome to join the Library at an annual fee per family.

Procedures and regulations for the eligibility of library cards shall be developed and administered by the Library staff.

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Access to Use of Library Materials and Services to Minors

Article V of the Library Bill of Rights states, “A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background or views.” Libraries should ensure that all members of the community have free and equal access to library resources. This principle applies equally to all users, minors as well as adults.

At the same time, the Haddonfield Public Library cannot and should not assume the role of parents or the functions of parental authority in the private relationship between parent and child. Parents/legal guardians — and only parents/legal guardians — have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children – and only their children – to library resources.

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Confidentiality of Library Records and e-Content Policy

The Board of Trustees of the Haddonfield Public Library believes that it is the basic right of every individual to read what s/he wishes without fear of censure or legal consequence. It also affirms the right of every person to privacy.  The library will not disclose any personally identifying information except as required by NJ law.  Such records will not be made available to any individual, organization or government agency except pursuant to New Jersey Law (NJSA 18:A 73-43.2), which reads: 

“Library records which contain the names or other personally identifying details regarding the users of libraries are confidential and shall not be disclosed except in the following circumstances:

1. The records are necessary for the proper operation of the library;

2. Disclosure is requested by the user; or

3. Disclosure is required pursuant to a subpoena issued by a court or court order.”

Children 13 years of age or older and having full possession of their library card will have their records protected, except for the bulleted reasons that follow.  In order to ensure proper operation, the library will disclose information about items checked out on a minor’s account to parents and caregivers who are understood to be responsible for circulation transactions on behalf of the minor in their care if:

• The parent or caregiver is acting to ensure that all items checked out to a minor have been returned;

• An item, or items, needs to be renewed and the adult is conducting the transaction on the minor’s behalf;

• An item is overdue and generates a fine that the minor is unable to pay;

• An item has not been returned, and after two overdue notices have been issued the item’s status changes from Out to Lost;

• An item is returned by a minor and is damaged to the extent that, in the opinion of the Head of Circulation or other designated staff member, the item cannot be returned to the shelf for further circulation, AND the minor is unable to settle the costs and fines that are incurred per the “Lost and Damaged Items” policy.

As a public institution, the Library is legally required to comply with information requests pursuant to the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, P. L. 107-56, Oct. 26, 2001.) Under this act, the person whose records are subject to a search warrant may not be notified that a search warrant has been served. It permits the FBI to obtain a search warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court to retrieve library usage records of someone who is under investigation of involvement in an ongoing terrorist or intelligence investigation. The act absolves all institutions and employees from any liability for releasing personal information in compliance with a FISA search warrant.

New Jersey’s confidentiality of library records law applies to electronic content within the library’s control. Libraries have a longstanding commitment to protecting the privacy of their customers. Records of physical books checked out are currently protected by law. However, the library cannot control the data practices of Google, Amazon, or other third-party vendors that collect and/or disclose information about library customers and their use patterns (bookmarks, margin notes, etc.)

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Adopted by the Haddonfield Public Library Board of Trustees on April 23, 2013. 

Rev. 7 31 2014.  Rev. 11/20/2015   Rev. 2/28/2017