Library user regulations

User Regulations from 17 November 2021

The municipality has the right to make up Library User Regulations to promote internal orderliness, safety and comfort of use of the library (Public Libraries Act 1492/2016 § 14).

RIGHT TO USE THE LIBRARY

Lumme libraries have a joint library system, for which a customer gets one library card. You can get a library card by presenting an ID card with photo and personal identity number, giving your address in Finland, and consenting to follow the User Regulations of Lumme libraries. Library card application can be printed from this link.

By registering you agree to follow the Library User Regulations and loan periods in force at the time. The User Regulations are given to you upon registration. Your registration makes up the city’s copy of a concluded agreement. The library card constitutes the customer’s copy of the agreement.

Children under 15 years of age must have consent from an adult guardian or other legal representative. The guardian is responsible for any materials borrowed with a library card of a child under 15 years of age.

The customer is responsible to give correct address, name, phone number and e-mail address. Any changes to these can be notified for example via the library website. A lost library card must be reported to the library immediately. The card owner or guardian is responsible for any materials borrowed before the report of loss has been made. The library will suspend the borrowing privileges of the lost card.

A library card can be granted to a daycare centre, school, other institution or organisation with a written consent of an adult liaison person. The liaison person is responsible for any materials borrowed with the institution’s or organisation’s library card.

The liaison person cannot be a person whose borrowing privileges have been suspended due to invoicing or debt collection.

The first library card is free of charge.

You can add a PIN code to your library card for reserving materials, following your customer data and renewing your loans independently.

The library is not liable for any misuse of internet connections.

CUSTOMER REGISTER

The customer has, upon proving their identity, the right to know what personal data has been saved about them in the library register. A liaison person or a guardian has the right to inspect the data regarding an institution or organisation or a child under 15 years of age. The register description can be seen in the libraries and on the library website kirjasto.mikkeli.fi

BORROWING AND RETURNING

You can borrow materials with your library card. The card is personal, and as card owner you are responsible for any materials borrowed with the card until it has been returned to the library. You can get a receipt upon request of materials returned at the check-in machine.

Some libraries have so-called return hatches. If you return materials through the hatch outside library opening hours, you cannot get a receipt because the hatch does not log the materials in the system as returned. The staff will log the materials left in the hatch as returned on the next opening day of the library. Materials left in the hatch collect overdue payments until they are logged in the system as returned. If you return materials through the return hatch, it is at your own risk.

LOAN LIMITS AND PERIODS

One customer can have a maximum of 100 loans at a time, 20 of which can be and 5 of each kind of visual materials (DVDs or ).

Normal loan periods are 28, 14 or 7 days.

You can get a reminder of the due date to your e-mail 1 to 7 days before the due date if you have activated the service and you have a functioning e-mail address in the library customer register. Technical or connection disturbances in the due date reminder system do not limit the customer’s liability to pay overdue fees.

Age limits as regulated by the National Board of Film Censors are followed for visual materials, and age limits as recommended by the National Board of Film Censors and the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) are followed for console games.

RENEWALS AND RESERVATIONS

You can renew your loans 8 times unless the materials have been reserved. Renewals can be made at the library in person, by phone, or in the online library. To renew loans in the online library, you need a PIN code that you can get at the library. The library is not liable for any damages due to failed renewals caused by technical or connection disturbances.

Materials that are present at and absent from the library can both be reserved. Reservations can also be made either in the online library or by visiting the library in person. Reservations are free of charge.

INTERLIBRARY LOANS

You can request for an interlibrary loan from elsewhere in Finland if your materials are not available in the collections of Mikkeli Regional Library or other Lumme libraries. You can request for an interlibrary loan from abroad of such materials that are not available in the collections of Finnish scientific libraries or special libraries. The library processes interlibrary loans according to regulations and fees currently in force.

PAYMENTS AND COLLECTION

Any materials returned or renewed after the due date are subject to overdue fees. Overdue fees accrue every day after the due date until the maximum limit is reached. Children’s and youth department materials are only subject to an overdue reminder fee. In addition, any materials transferred to debt collection are subject to charges due to collection costs.
Unretrieved reservations are subject to fees.

The main fees collected by the library are listed in the brochure Fees and charges in the library.

You must pay for any materials that are lost or damaged. Instructions for such payments can be found in the Fees and charges annex of the User Regulations.

If your materials are overdue, the first reminder is sent 14 days after the due date, the second reminder 28 days after the due date, and an invoice is sent 56 days after the due date.

The library uses a collection agency for debt collection. The payments are transferred from the library system to the collection agency. Debt collection also concerns materials borrowed by under-18-year-olds and materials from the children’s and youth departments.

The guardian is responsible for materials borrowed with the library card of a child under 15 years of age.

BORROWING PRIVILEGES

Your borrowing privileges may be suspended due to:

– unpaid fees and charges over a limit defined by the library

– fees accrued during the previous year if they have not been paid by the end of January of the year following the accrual year

You can get back your borrowing privileges by:

– paying your accrued fees and charges

– returning the invoiced materials

– paying for the lost or damaged materials

Any disputes over payments are handled in the district court relevant to the city of Mikkeli.

SUSPENDING THE RIGHT OF USE

One must behave in an orderly manner in a library (Public Order Act 612/2003).

The staff may order a disruptive customer to leave the library premises.

If a customer behaves disruptively towards the staff or another customer despite of being told not to, their right of use may be temporarily suspended (Public Libraries Act 1492/2016, 15 §). The right of use may also be suspended due to damaging library property.

A written order for suspending the right of use is given by the Library Director or a staff member authorised by the Director. The customer must be heard before issuing the suspension. An office-holders decision with right of appeal is made on the suspension (Local Government Act 410/2015, 134 §). The maximum period of suspension is 30 days.