Fines, damages, and payments
Materials kept past the due date will accrue fines at a rate of 20 cents per day per item to a maximum $6.00 per item per each checkout or renewal.
Persons with more than more than $10.00 in charges and fees will have their library privileges suspended.
Patrons will be assessed a fee for any damaged item that cannot be returned to the collection. Items will be considered lost when they are 45 days overdue at which time the lost item fee is added to the patron record and a bill is mailed to the patron. East Central Regional Library does not accept replacement copies of items.
Make a cash or check payment at any library location.
Checking out materials, renewing, and returning
In accordance with Minnesota Library Reciprocal Borrowing Compact, residents of participating library systems may register and use their public library card at East Central Regional Library. Apply for library service from East Central Regional Library by presenting at any branch library or outreach location your current library card in good standing from an affiliated Minnesota public library and providing the information on the Reciprocal Borrower Registration Form.
Residents of other states or those served by libraries unaffiliated with a Minnesota Regional Public Library system may purchase a East Central Regional Library library card at a cost of $11.25/quarter ($45 annually). Applicants must present valid identification.
Reciprocal Borrowers and Non-Resident borrowers may be limited to borrowing physical items only, in accordance with the Minnesota Library Reciprocal Borrowing Compact and licensing agreements.
Most library materials may be renewed two times for an additional 3 weeks per time. Materials requested by other borrowers, interlibrary loan items, and reference materials cannot be renewed.
Start by visiting the catalog and clicking on My Account. You will be asked for your Library Card Number or Username and Password/PIN to proceed. Within My Account you can go to the Items Checked Out section and renew your materials.
An East Central Regional Library card allows you to have up to 50 physical items checked out at one time and up to 10 items each from OverDrive and RBdigital.
You can return your library materials to any of East Central Regional Library’s 14 branch libraries or outreach locations. Book drops are available 24/7 for items returned when the library is closed. Please note, large and delicate items such as board games, activity kits, and Wi-Fi hotspots should only be returned inside of the library during open hours to avoid damage.
East Central Regional Library materials returned to other Minnesota libraries will not be considered returned until and unless they actually come back to an East Central Regional Library. Most Minnesota libraries participate in the courtesy return process if they are on the Minitex Delivery System, but the items may incur fines during that time.
Physical and digital materials may be borrowed for 3 weeks. Exceptions include a 6 week loan period for Book Club Kits, 1 week loan period for Storytime Kits, 2 weeks for hotspots, and a 3 calendar day loan period for items from the Reference Collection.
Holds are available for seven calendar days, including the day they arrive in the library.
An East Central Regional Library card allows you to have up to 25 active hold requests at one time and up to 10 holds requests each from OverDrive and RBdigital. In addition, A patron may have up to 20 active interlibrary loan requests at one time.
If the item you want is checked out or located at a different East Central Regional Library branch, you may request to have it sent to your selected library for pickup. You may do this by selecting the title from the catalog, clicking on the “Place Hold” link, and selecting your pickup location. You will be asked for your Library Card Number or Username and Password/PIN for this.
Once you have searched the catalog and determined that your selection is not owned by East Central Regional Library, you may choose one of several options.
- Fill out the Purchase Suggestion form for items recently published or yet to be published. East Central Regional Library staff will decide to either purchase the item or borrow it from another library. Once the decision is made, the item request will be placed on your account.
- If the item was published at least 6 months ago, you may place an Interlibrary Loan request from another Minnesota library yourself using MNLINK. This statewide service allows you to request material not owned by East Central Regional Library and have it delivered to your East Central Regional Library branch.
Library cards
Library cards are available at all 14 branch libraries and East Central Regional Library’s outreach locations. Any resident of East Central Regional Library’s counties (Aitkin, Chisago*, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Pine) who meets identification requirements may apply for a library card. Apply for a library card by presenting at any branch library or outreach location your completed Patron Registration Form and identification with your current address information.
A library card account is required to borrow materials and access many services from East Central Regional Library. The first library card is free; replacement cards cost $1.00.
Community members can now apply for an East Central Regional Library card from home. This new online application process is very similar to getting a card in our branches. We ask that you click the link below. This will take you to a page in our Online Catalog. From here you will need to enter the following required information: your name, address, date of birth, phone number and e-mail address. After you submit your request, we will process your application within one business day and get back to you via e-mail with your barcode number and the PIN will be the last 4 digits of the phone number you entered.
Please know that library cards are available to any resident of East Central Regional Library’s counties (Aitkin, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Pine).
Use your card to access our digital library that offers eBooks,eAudiobooks and eMagazines that you can access right from your home.
*We will mail physical cards to all who sign up when normal operations resume.
In accordance with Minnesota Library Reciprocal Borrowing Compact, residents of participating library systems may register and use their public library card at East Central Regional Library. Apply for library service from East Central Regional Library by presenting at any branch library or outreach location your current library card in good standing from an affiliated Minnesota public library and providing the information on the Reciprocal Borrower Registration Form.
Residents of other states or those served by libraries unaffiliated with a Minnesota Regional Public Library system may purchase a East Central Regional Library library card at a cost of $11.25/quarter ($45 annually). Applicants must present valid identification.
Reciprocal Borrowers and Non-Resident borrowers may be limited to borrowing physical items only, in accordance with the Minnesota Library Reciprocal Borrowing Compact and licensing agreements.
An East Central Regional Library card may be used at most public libraries in Minnesota as part of Minnesota’s Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement. These libraries must be part of a regional library system. When using your card in another library system, you must abide by its rules.
Library cards need to be renewed every two years. To renew your card, you will need to confirm your card number and valid contact information (phone number, address, email). You can do this in the following ways:
- in-person at any branch
- by phone
- using the contact form
Other common questions
Visit our library locations page to get directions and hours.
Your PIN (also known as password) is used along with your barcode number to give you access to computers, online services, and your account information. Users with an email address associated with their library card account can reset or create a password/PIN using the Forgot My Password link, and entering your library barcode number or username. You will receive an email with instructions at the email address on file for your account. Users may also create or reset a PIN in person at any branch library or by calling 763-689-7390.
An East Central Regional Library card may be used at most public libraries in Minnesota as part of Minnesota’s Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement. These libraries must be part of a regional library system. When using your card in another library system, you must abide by its rules.
Library open hours are unique to each of the library locations in East Central Regional Library. Locate your branch library’s open hours.
Yes, this is a great way to support your library. Bring your items to the circulation desk and staff will determine if the material will be added to the shared library collection, recycled, or sold in a book sale to benefit the library. For additional information, view East Central Regional Library’s Collection Development Policy.
Still have questions?
Use the Ask a Librarian service or give us a call at 763-689-7390.