How many items can I borrow, and for how long?
Loan Periods, Fines, and other Borrowing Parameters
| Type of Material | Loan Period (days) | Fine per day overdue | Number of Renewals | Maximum Items** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Books, Adult (excluding New) | 28 | 15¢ | 2 | - |
| Books, Adult, New | 14 | 15¢ | 2 | - |
| Books, Speed-Read (may not be reserved or held) | 7 | 15¢ | 0 | 2 |
| Books, Adult, Travel | 28 | 15¢ | 0 | - |
| Magazines, Adult (latest issue does not circulate) | 14 | 15¢ | 0 | - |
| Books on CD/Tape | 28 | 15¢ | 2 | - |
| Compact Discs, Adult | 28 | 15¢ | 2 | - |
| Compact Discs, Adult, New | 14 | 15¢ | 2 | - |
| Videos and DVDs, Adult | 7 | 50¢ | 2 | - |
| Videos and DVDs, TV shows | 14 | 50¢ | 2 | - |
| Speed View DVDs (may not be reserved or held) | 7 | 50¢ | 0 | - |
| Children's Books | 28 | 5¢ | 2 | - |
| Children's Books, Holiday | 14 | 5¢ | 0 | varies |
| Children's Magazines | 28 | 5¢ | 0 | 15 |
| Children's Cassettes and CD's, music and spoken word | 28 | 5¢ | 2 | 5 |
| Children's Cassette and Book packages (Kits) | 28 | 5¢ | 0 | 5 |
| Children's Videos and DVDs | 7 | 50¢ | 2 | 5 |
** Additional limits may be imposed because of temporary high demand, especially for school assignments, at the discretion of the librarian.
The above chart is a summary. For full details on Brookline's borrowing parameters for all 50+ Minuteman Library Network-defined material types, please click here
Summer Specials / Vacation Loans
In summer, when the livin' is easy, we have what we call Summer Specials, so you can go on vacation with a pile of beach reading and not worry about getting the books back on time. Starting in mid-June (June 15), the Library allows patrons to borrow most Brookline-owned materials for the entire summer, with a due date in mid-September (September 15). Just ask at checkout for the items as "Summer Specials." Because we have to change the due date manually on these items, all "summer-specials" checkouts must be handled by staff and cannot be done at our self-check stations.
The following materials are not available for summer loan:
- All "new" books (copyrighted the current year or prior year)
- Guidebooks (travel)
- Books on school reading lists
- Magazines
- Books on Tape/CD but multi-part sets may not be split
- Videos, DVDs and VCDs
- Playaways
- New (high demand compact discs)
- Speed Reads and Speed Views
- Any material borrowed from another library
Check with the Children's room for restrictions on Children's materials.