No more late fines! Whitehall Township Public Library and other libraries in the Lehigh Carbon Library Cooperative are pleased to announce we will no longer charge late fees for books and other items, effective Sept. 1.

All items still have due dates and a limited number of renewals. You can check out most books and CDs for three weeks, but high-demand books have two-week loans and DVDs have one-week loans. You can renew most items twice.

Items that are 28 days overdue are marked as lost in the system, and you’ll be charged replacement costs and processing fees as usual. If you return the lost item before paying the replacement cost, we’ll waive that charge. We can’t refund money you’ve already paid, even if you return the book later.

You may have to pay overdue fees for interlibrary loans, which are materials we borrow from libraries outside our system. Also, some of our libraries have special collections like museum passes, STEM kits and musical instruments that may charge overdue fees. If you’re checking out materials besides books, DVDs or CDs, you can ask the owning library if overdue fees apply.

Starting Sept. 1, the library can waive any overdue fines on your account from any past materials, apart from the exceptions listed above. You will still be charged other fees for things like lost and damaged items. We won’t waive any old fees except for overdue items.

Your library account is blocked as soon as it has $10 or more in fees, including fees from lost materials. Until you settle this, you won’t be able to check out more materials. It will also prevent you from using some resources in certain libraries, like databases or public computers.

***

We have a library information table near the circulation desk. This will be for calendars, newsletters, coloring sheets, database handouts, bookmarks, etc. Stop by and gather information or ask us for help.

***

Patrons may come inside the library for one hour to browse the collection, select items to check out and use our copier. Patrons may also use the public computers for two hours a day. No loitering is allowed.

We will continue curbside pickup until the end of the year.

***

The new business hours are 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The library is closed Sundays.

If you have questions and need help, call the library at 610-432-4339 or visit our website, whitehallpl.org.