Pocono Mountain Public Library became a Fine Free library in September 2020 as a way to better serve our local patrons and busy families.  There are no longer daily overdue charges for items patrons borrow that belong to PMPL.  All prior overdue fines for items that belong to PMPL are being forgiven and cleared away.  If for some reason there is a long-overdue fine still on your card, we can clear that off.  Only charges for lost items that were never returned remain on patron cards.  Patrons will still be billed for items that are never returned or are damaged.  If you never return an item, that's called library theft.   Lost item or damage fees for PMPL items can only be paid at PMPL.  The library works because we all share!   We normally only buy one copy of a book or movie, so if patrons don't bring an item back, no one else gets to use it. 

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PMPL cannot waive fines for items that belong to other libraries.  Fines for items that belong to other libraries must be paid to the owning library.  If a patron loses or never returns an item that belongs to another library, the patron must reconcile any fines or fees with the owning library.  

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PMPL items circulated at PMPL are automatically fine free no matter where you return it.  Items from other libraries that are put on hold and checked out at PMPL will still have fines from the owning library if they are returned late to the owning library.  Please double check with our staff or at other county libraries for their policy as fine free is not applicable at all the libraries.  Patrons can return PMPL items at any library in Monroe County and it will go into transit and get returned to PMPL in a few days.   All the libraries in Monroe County (EMPL, Clymer, BPFL, and WPCL) now share the PaILS Spark cooperative system, so all cards and accounts can be used at the other libraries, and managed from any location for check-outs, holds, and returns.  Patrons can return items for any Monroe County library at PMPL and it will be returned to the owning library through our District Delivery.  

 

PMPL CANNOT WAIVE FINES OR FEES ON OVERDUE OR LOST OR DAMAGED ITEMS THAT BELONG TO OTHER LIBRARIES. This includes items that belong to any other library that was obtained by a patron through hold requests or ILL requests and was subsequently borrowed using a PMPL card.  Overdue fines accrued on items that belong to any other library that are checked out on a PMPL card are still binding and must be paid to that owning library. If a patron returns an item that belongs to any other library at PMPL, the patron will have to pay any overdue fines or lost  or damage fees on those items at the owning library if that library charges fines.  More and more libraries are going fine free every year, so you should always check with the owning library if you have a question about fines.  

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Books, magazines, music CDs, audiobooks, and VHS all circulate for 3 weeks with 2 automatic renewals.  Popular DVD movies circulate for 7 days with no renewals.   All items must be returned to the library by their system due date.  Items that are not returned to PMPL by the due date will be considered lost at 21 days and will be billed to the patron account.  You will receive emails from our Spark system reminding you when things are due, so make sure your email is current with us. 

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Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots circulate for 2 weeks with no renewals, and have an immediate non-returned fee of $30 per day, which is removed as soon as the item is returned. Until the Chromebook or Wi-Fi hotspot and it's parts are returned, the patron card will remain blocked.  Please ask with any questions.  Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots at PMPL can only be checked out by residents of Coolbaugh Township and Mount Pocono Borough, and can only be picked up and returned at PMPL.  

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Please let us know if you have any questions about overdue fines from the past or returning long overdue items.  We want everyone to get their cards cleared up so they can use all our collections! 

Call 570-894-8860 x 2 for questions and help.