Area of Service

The Middlebury Public Library serves the town of Middlebury as well as Jefferson, Middlebury, and York Townships of Elkhart County. The services of the library are free to all residents of the service area.

Library Cards

A borrower’s card will be issued free of charge to patrons aged 18 and older who show proof of residence in the service area. Cards are valid for three years.

Valid forms of identification include:

• Indiana Driver’s license with current address;
• Indiana ID with current address

In the absence of the above form of identification, patrons may also present:

• Utility bill (no older than 30 days);
• Property tax bill;
• Or anything showing patron’s name and current address

Parents/legal guardians can apply for a library card for a child. The parent or guardian must have a library card in good standing and show proof of residence. Parents/guardians have the option of allowing computer use for the child. Cardholders may link household members to an adult cardholder who will be responsible for all fees and payments for lost or damaged materials charged on the linked card.

Teachers: Teachers employed in a public or non-public school in the MPL service area may receive a Teacher card at no charge. Teachers must present a valid form of identification as well as a school ID, paycheck stub, or another form of professional identification. Teachers can check out items for an extended loan period of four weeks.

Staff: All non-resident staff members of MPL are issued a library card that is valid during the entirety of their employment.

Reciprocal Borrowing

Middlebury Public Library has a reciprocal lending policy with Bristol, Elkhart, Goshen, LaGrange, Mishawaka-Penn-Harris, Nappanee, and Wakarusa Public Libraries. Reciprocal borrowers in good standing with their home library can apply for a free Middlebury Public Library card by presenting their home library card and a valid form of identification. Reciprocal borrowers do not have access to MPL’s online resources, and may not check out Library of Things or park/zoo pass. Cardholders may link household members to an adult cardholder who will be responsible for all fees and payments for lost or damaged materials charged on the linked card.

Other Cards

All others pay a fee to be a member:

Non-resident: $55; Anyone who lives outside the MPL service area can apply for a non-resident card.

Public Library Access Card (PLAC): $65; PLAC cards allow patrons to borrow materials from any public library in Indiana; the patron must present a valid home library card in good standing and a valid form of identification.

Summer: $15; Summer visitors may purchase a MPL card that is valid from June 1 to August 31. Patrons may upgrade their Summer card to a Non-resident card for an additional $40, and the card will expire the following June 1.

Lost Cards

A charge of $1 is required to replace a lost card.

Borrowing Privileges

Borrowing privileges may be revoked for any of the following reasons: destruction of library materials, failure to return materials, failure to pay for lost or damaged items, and objectionable conduct in the library.

Loan Periods

Patrons can check out up to 100 physical items at a time, including a maximum of 1 Park/Zoo Pass. Checkout limits for e-materials are set by the consortia agreement with the content provider. All materials except for Park/Zoo passes may be renewed by telephone or on your online account. New items have a fourteen day checkout with one renewal. If an item is on hold for another patron, renewals are not allowed.

Material Type	Loan Period	Renewals	Loan Limits	Overdue Fees
Books, Books on CD, Music CDs, Playaways	3 weeks	2	N/A	N/A
New Books, New Books on CD, New Playaways	2 weeks	1	N/A	N/A
DVDs, Magazines, Playaway Views, Launchpads, WonderBooks	1 week	2	N/A	N/A
Parks Pass, Zoo Pass	1 week	0	1 per family	$1 per day
Library of Things	1 week	1
Laptops	2 hours (in-library use only)	1		N/A
eBooks, eAudiobooks	Depends on content provider	Depends on content provider	Depends on content provider	N/A
Interlibrary Loans*	Depends on lender policy	Depends on lender policy	10 active ILL requests	Depends on lender policy

*See MPL’s Interlibrary Loan Policy for more information.

Lost or Damaged Materials

The patron is responsible for the safe return of all materials checked out to them and will be charged the cost of replacing the item if lost or damaged. No materials will be checked out to the patrons until the fee is paid in full. The library will not accept replacement of the item.

Holds

Limit of 10 items may be put on hold.

Materials will be held on reserve for a patron for seven days after notification.

Purchase Requests

Patrons may request items for purchase using the Purchase Suggestion form on MPL’s website. Suggestions are reviewed by Librarians and are subject to MPL’s Collection Development Policy. If the item is not purchased, MPL will try to borrow the item through Interlibrary Loan (see Interlibrary Loan Policy).

Reviewed: December 11, 2003
Revised: September 11, 2014
Revised: December 12, 2019
Revised: January 2020
Approved: August 11, 2022

Revised: March 16, 2023