Conditions of membership

References below to ‘we’ or ‘us’ is reference to Christchurch City Libraries (a unit of Christchurch City Council), and reference to ‘I’, ‘you’ or ‘your’ is a reference to the member.

I and/or my dependent(s) have joined the library and accept responsibility for any items borrowed.

I agree to:

  • The Conditions of Membership. These may change. Updated conditions will be available on our website.
  • Return all items borrowed from the library by their due date, in good condition.
  • Tell us straight away if your card is lost or stolen or if your contact details change
  • Pay any charges, damages, replacement charges, processing fees and collection fees incurred by this account
  • The use of a debt collection agency to recover unpaid debt.

Privacy statement: Why are we collecting your personal information?

To enable you to access services from Christchurch City Libraries (a unit of Christchurch City Council).

We use your personal information to contact you and for the purpose of managing your library membership, as well as advising you of Council services and events. This information may be given to appropriate Council staff and/or a credit agency if we need to recover outstanding debt. A debt recovery fee will apply.

You can have access to the personal information we hold about you and request changes to it.

If you do not provide the information requested, the library will decline your application for membership.

Information for new library members

  • If you lose your library card or it is stolen, please advise us as soon as possible by phoning 03-941-7923, visiting our website or popping in to your local library. Please let us know if you move house or if any details change by phone or visiting your local library.
  • You can use your library card at any Christchurch City Library. Items can be returned to any library in our network.
  • Most books can be borrowed for 28 days. You can renew your item once unless it is requested by another customer. Borrowing periods vary for other items. Most items in the general collection are free. Bestsellers, talking books, CDs, and most DVDs incur a charge.
  • If you supply your email address, we will send you a reminder 3 days before items are due, and again when items are 7 and 21 days overdue. If items are overdue for more than 28 days, the items will be considered lost, replacement costs and processing fees will be added to your account, and you won’t be able to take out more items or access electronic resources. Once items are returned, the replacement costs and processing fees will be removed, and you will be able to access full services once more.
  • You can use your library card to access the internet (free of charge) on our computers in all our libraries. You can also use your own device in our libraries. Wi-Fi is free and no password is required.

We look forward to you and your family visiting Christchurch City Libraries.

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