Library Policies
Need a Library Card?
Library cards are available to residents of East Lyme and Niantic at no charge. We require a photo ID with your local address in East Lyme or Niantic or a photo ID with a piece of mail to verify your local address (for patrons 16 and older). A parent or guardian must sign and show ID for a child 15 and younger. Parents are responsible for materials on their child's card.
Library cards expire every three years. We require you to come in person with your physical card to renew. We cannot renew library cards over the telephone.
Temporary residents may get a library card. Temporary residents are limited to 10 items at a time. Temporary cards are valid in East Lyme only.
We honor all other valid Connecticut public library cards. Your hometown library is determined by the address on your CT driver’s license. (Per Regulations of CT State Agencies, Section 11-31c-1)
No Late Fees Policy
The East Lyme Public Library, beginning September 15, 2020, will not charge any patron using our library overdue fees on late items, with the exception of museum passes. This elimination of overdue fees applies to East Lyme Public Library items only. Patrons will instead be encouraged to make donations to the library to support our services.
Patrons are still responsible for any damaged or lost items on their accounts and any late fees accrued on other libraries’ items.
Long overdue items on patron accounts will enter billed status at either two or four weeks overdue, depending on the item loan period (items with a 7-day loan period enter billed status after 14 days overdue; items with a 14-day or longer loan period enter billed status after 28 days overdue). Any billed item will block a patron’s borrowing privileges until the overdue item is checked in and cleared from the patron’s account.
Loan Periods
All Fiction and Non-Fiction Books: 3 weeks
Express Books: (limit of 3), 3 weeks with one renewal
Binge Boxes: (limit 1), three weeks with no renewals
DVD/Blu-ray movies and TV Series: (limit of 6), 3 weeks with no renewals
Books on CD: 3 weeks
Lawn Games: 1 week with no renewals
Playaway Audiobooks: 3 weeks
Magazines: 3 weeks
Music CDs: 3 weeks
Hotspot Devices (limit 1 per household): 2 weeks, no renewals $2 per day late fee. Hotspot devices must be returned to the circulation desk.
Museum Passes: (limit 1 per household), 2 days, no renewals, $2 per day late fee. Museum passes may be returned to the media drop or the circulation desk.
Materials have two renewals unless listed above.
Materials can be renewed online or over the phone with your library card number. Materials will automatically renew if no one is waiting for them. Materials cannot be renewed if another patron has a hold on them.
Patrons are responsible for any fines on their accounts.
Damaged or lost materials and fines can be paid at the library or with a credit card through your Lion online account.
We do not charge fines for any day we are closed.
Patrons must be 16 years or older to check out hotspots, lawn games and museum passes.
We have a drive-up book drop in the Community Center parking lot and two book drops located outside the double doors of the building. One drop is for books and one drop is for media items. Please return all materials to the book and media drops. They are open 24/7.
Lost or Damaged Items
Patrons are responsible for the care of the materials that they check out. If an item is lost or damaged it must be paid for in full, no partial payments. We no longer accept replacement copies. The full cost of the item is due along with a two dollar fee for a new barcode. There are no refunds for paid items. If the item has been borrowed from another library the patron can pay with a check made out to the owning library or online through their account.
Miscellaneous Fees
Fax Service: $1.00 per page to send or receive
Computer and Photocopier Printing Costs: .20 cents per page for Black & White, .25 cents per page for Color
There is no cost to use the computers, scanner, or WIFI