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Borrowing Basics

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Library Cards

A standard library card grants you immediate access to everything RPL has to offer, including programs and digital services, materials like books, movies, music, and so much more!

You'll receive this card if:

  • You are a Regina resident,
  • You are 18 years or older,
  • You have not had a public library card in Saskatchewan before, and
  • You want long-term access to a wide variety of library services.

Your address and personal information will go through an online verification process (not a credit check) to confirm your identity, and that you are a Regina resident.

Once you’ve registered successfully, we’ll email you an RPL barcode that you can use to log in to digital services, and as a digital card that’s accessible on your smartphone or tablet. 

  • If you’d like a physical library card, visit any of our branches during regular business hours and we'll print one for you.

Prefer to sign up in person? No problem! Staff members at any RPL location would be happy to assist you.

Disclaimer: The borrower is responsible for all material checked out on their Regina Public Library card and will be required to pay for the cost of repairing or replacing material lost or damaged while on loan to the borrower. Regina Public Library is not responsible for any damage or loss to persons, property or equipment sustained as a result of using or consulting Regina Public Library material.

Short term library cards give you fast, short-term access to some basic library services, so you can place a few items on hold to borrow, register for programsreserve a meeting room or book resources in our Digital Media Studio.

You'll receive this card if:

  • You are a Regina resident,
  • You have not had a public library card in Saskatchewan before,
  • Your registration for a standard library account was not successful.

Once you've registered successfully, we’ll email you a temporary barcode that you can use immediately. Your barcode will expire after 30 days if it isn't upgraded by completing our in-person verification process. Visit any RPL location within 30 days to confirm your identity and that you are a Regina resident. Be sure to bring: 

  • A piece of photo identification, and
  • A document that shows proof of Regina residency, like a utility or phone bill with your name and Regina address on it.

Prefer to sign up in person? No problem! Staff members at any RPL location would be happy to assist you.

Disclaimer: The borrower is responsible for all material checked out on their Regina Public Library card and will be required to pay for the cost of repairing or replacing material lost or damaged while on loan to the borrower. Regina Public Library is not responsible for any damage or loss to persons, property or equipment sustained as a result of using or consulting Regina Public Library material.

We also offer library cards for children (anyone under the age of 14), and cards for teachers, people living with print disabilities, and other community members who require access to specialty library services.

If you would like to register your children for a library card of their own, or learn more about specialty library cards, please visit a branch, email us or call 306-777-6000 for assistance during regular business hours.

Note: parents/guardians are responsible for all materials borrowed against their child's account and any monetary charges resulting from their child's use of the library.

Disclaimer: The borrower is responsible for all material checked out on their Regina Public Library card and will be required to pay for the cost of repairing or replacing material lost or damaged while on loan to the borrower. Regina Public Library is not responsible for any damage or loss to persons, property or equipment sustained as a result of using or consulting Regina Public Library material.

If you don’t live in Regina, please contact your local Saskatchewan public library for assistance with getting a library card.

We have community library cards for customers who have no proof of address. You're welcome to borrow up to 4 items from any Regina Public Library location.

If you would like to receive a community library card, or learn more about community library cards, please visit a branch, email us or call 306-777-6000 for assistance during regular business hours. 

Disclaimer: The borrower is responsible for all material checked out on their Regina Public Library card and will be required to pay for the cost of repairing or replacing material lost or damaged while on loan to the borrower. Regina Public Library is not responsible for any damage or loss to persons, property or equipment sustained as a result of using or consulting Regina Public Library material.

Let us know that your card has been lost or stolen as soon as possible. Visit a branch, call 306-777-6000, or send us an email.

Library cards expire every three years. If you have an email address or a phone number that can receive text messages on file with us, you will receive a notice alerting you that your library card is about to expire so you can renew it before your service is interrupted. 

If your card is expired or you need your PIN reset, we’re happy to help! Call our hotline at 306-777-6000, email us, or visit us at any of our locations. It's important to note that some specialty cards must be renewed in person.

If you already have a library card from any public library in Saskatchewan, you don’t need to register for another one. Yours will work at any public library in the province!

Loans

A library loan is a fixed period of time that a customer can borrow a physical or digital item so they may read, listen to or view it outside of the library.

A few things to remember when borrowing materials:

  • When possible, we'll give you a receipt that shows what you checked out and when it’s due. If a receipt isn't available, you can always sign into your account online to see what you have out. 
  • You’ll have to pay the cost of repairing or replacing materials that are lost or damaged while checked out on your library card.
  • Regina Public Library is not responsible for any damage or loss to persons, property, or equipment sustained as a result of using or consulting RPL materials

Loan periods are different, depending on what type of materials you’re borrowing. The chart below tells you how many days an item can be borrowed for before they are due back.

Item Loan (days)
Art Rental 42
Bike locks 1 (in person only)
Bike repair kits 21
Birding kits 28
Books 21
Book Club in a Bag 42
CDs 21
Children's materials 21
CO2 monitors 7
DVDs/Blu-Rays 14
Interlibrary loans 21
Literacy materials 21
Magazines 7
Musical instruments 21
Popular picks - books 21
Popular picks - DVDs 7
Radon kits 21
RPG kits 42
Spoken words 21
Toys 21
Video games 28

RPL subscribes to a number of digital resources, some of which have their own borrowing limits and loan periods.

Materials that are labelled “Reference” cannot be borrowed. They are for in-library use only.

A total of 100 items can be checked out on your card at any time.

For some materials, there is a maximum number of items that you can have checked out at any given time:

  • One (1) musical instrument can be checked out at any given time.
  • A combined total of one (1) item from these groups can be checked out at any given time:
  • A maximum of three (3) video games can be checked out at any given time. 
  • A maximum of five (5) items from these groups can be checked out at any given time:
  • A maximum of ten (10) items from Vox Books can be checked out at any given time. 
  • A combined total of 20 items from these groups can be check out an any given time:
    • DVDs or Blu-ray
    • DVD or Blu-ray TV series (set)
    • Videos
  • A combined total of 30 items from these groups can be checked out at any given time:
    • CDs
    • Spoken Word

Holds

A hold is like a virtual queue. When you place a hold from our online catalogue, the item you requested is put on a list. Our staff retrieve the items on the list from our shelves and put them “in transit” to their final destination-your selected pick-up location. Once there, the items will be scanned in. This generates an automatic notice to your phone or email letting you know the item is ready for pick up.

SILS (Saskatchewan Information Library Service Consortium) customers may request to hold almost any item in our catalogue that is currently checked out to another customer or on order.

You may have up to 100 requests on your card at a given time.

  • Log into your RPL account
  • Search the catalogue for the item
  • Click "Place Hold"
  • Select pick up location (any location within the SILS system)
  • Submit
  • You will be notified when the item becomes available for pick up.

You can also place a hold by visiting a library location near you or by calling 306-777-6000.

Holds are not filled in a purely numeric order. They are filled in a way that ensures that customers of a library system get first access to items owned by that library system.  

For example, you may be the seventh person in the queue, but if you are the only RPL customer waiting, and a copy owned by RPL is checked in, you will receive it next. Because of this it is virtually impossible to create an accurate record of where any particular customer is in the queue.

Forget your card? The following can be used as ID to verify yourself for holds pickup:

  • Driver’s License
  • Passport
  • Nexus Card
  • Student Card
  • Military ID
  • Government ID card
  • Indigenous ID (Treaty Card/Metis card)
  • Landed immigrant card
  • Business/Employer photo ID (preferably with identifying number)
  • Log into your library account.
  • You can suspend a hold by logging into your account and reviewing your requests.
  • Items that have a status of 'held for pickup,' ‘ready for pickup’ or ‘shipped’ can't be cancelled and the pickup location cannot be changed without staff assistance.

You can also cancel a hold by visiting a library location near you or by calling 306-777-6000.

Renewals

A renewal means to extend the due date of library materials that you have out on loan. Most library items can be renewed, or checked out again, if you haven’t finished with them.

Note: you won't be able to renew an item if a customer has placed a hold on it. 

There are a few ways to renew your library materials.

  • Log in to your library account and renew your item(s) online. A list of items currently checked out on your card will appear. To renew items, click the renew button adjacent to the title(s) you wish to renew.
  • Present your Library card at any RPL location or Saskatchewan Public Library.
  • Call 306-777-6111 or toll free in Canada at 1-855-980-7457.
  • Call the Hotline at 306-777-6000 or any Saskatchewan Public Library and provide your Library card number.

The chart below tells you how many times an item can be renewed:

Item Renewals
Art Rental 2 in person only
Bike locks 0
Bike repair kits 1
Birding kits 0
Books 2
Book Club in a Bag 0
CDs 2
Children's Materials 2
CO2 monitors 0
DVDs/Blu-Rays 2
Interlibrary Loans At the discretion of the lending library
Literacy materials 2
Magazines 1
Musical instruments 2
Popular Picks - Books 0
Popular Picks - DVDs 0
Radon kits 0
RPG kits 0
Spoken Word 2
Toys 0
Video games 1

Returns

You are responsible for making sure that all the items borrowed on your card are returned by the due date.

  • You can return materials to any public library in Saskatchewan.
  • RPL has 24-hour materials returns at all locations.
  • Toys and art rentals must be returned to Central Library.
  • Musical instruments must be returned to the library they were borrowed from, either Central Library or Sherwood Village Branch.
     

SILS Mobile App

Using the app, you can:

  • Search the catalogue
  • Check to see if you have items ready for pickup, or overdue, and check your fines right on the home screen
  • Renew items out
  • Place new holds
  • View and manage your holds
  • View your reading history
  • View your fines details
  1. Enter your search terms right from the home screen. Don’t see what you’re looking for right away? Use the filters to refine your search and get your hands on the item you want fast.
  2. View an item’s holdings to find out where you can pick up a copy.
  3. Place a hold to have an item sent to your preferred library for pickup once it’s available.

How the app handles your credentials depends on how you exit from the app:

  • If you simply close the app by whatever method works for your device (ex. double-clicking the home button and flicking the app upward on most Apple devices) then the app will remember your barcode and PIN.
  • If you tap Logout from within the app then it will forget your barcode and PIN.

Why the difference? The app assumes that if you tap Logout then you either want higher security for your account or you want to log in to the app with another set of credentials (ex. your child's).

  • Android: 5.1 or higher
  • Apple: iOS 10.2 or higher (works on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad)
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