Good Morning! Attached (and below) are the responses I received pertaining to Library Card Applications. Thank you to everyone who provided some insight on this question! *Library Card Application Responses* *Does your library take paper library card applications? Have you transitioned to online?* *Are paper copies kept on file? How long do you keep them on file?* 1. Houghton Lake Public Library - We do not use applications. We ask for ID and enter the patron directly into the system. Additionally, we offer online registration through our ILS. 2. James White Library - *Does your library take paper library card applications? Have you transitioned to online? *Yes. Not yet, but we have a lot of procedures in transition right now. *Are paper copies kept on file? How long do you keep them on file?* Yes. 1-year current, plus 1 year previous (I believe). I think we also keep expired delinquent patrons on file. Of course, we are an academic library, and the bulk (probably more than 90%) of our patrons do not have to apply for cards. They are automatically uploaded into our patron load upon registration/employment. We require local ID, and issue them within a 100-mile radius. 3. Eau Claire District Library - We do still use paper application cards. Our staff enters the information online while the patron is standing there, so if they have any questions (or can't read the writing) they can get the correct information. We do keep the cards and file them at the circulation desk. We usually keep them forever. If we know that someone has moved, died or no longer is able to use the library, we will pull them. That being said, we probably should go through them and weed out people that haven't used the library in the past 10 years. 4. Dickinson County Library - At Dickinson we require a paper application be completed in person at the library. For children under 18 we require the parent/guardian also sign the application in person. We have the capability to allow patrons to sign up online but we have not begun using that option. We keep the paper copies on file unless the account is removed from the system. Users with no activity for 3 years and no fees over $5 are removed annually. That list is used to purge the paper files. Otherwise, we keep the applications indefinitely. 5. T.A. Cutler Memorial Library - We still require a paper library card application. We do not issue any cards online at this time. We keep paper copies on file until the patron record is deleted from the system (approximately 4 to 5 years of inactivity on the account). 6. Elk Rapids District Library - We have a 3x5 registration card people fill out. We keep them until three years after their card expires and then they are deleted from the system and the card is shredded. We have to see a Drivers License or State ID to issue a card so I can't figure out how that would work online. 7. Farmington Community Library - We do both at this library. We have a Polaris ILS and are able to have online registration in our PAC which is transferred into our production server. Those patrons have two weeks to bring in current picture identification. If they have not down so by that time, their record is deleted. Patrons that walk into the library fill out a paper application which is entered right then. If they have current ID, they are issue a card immediately. If not, they get a temporary card that expires in one month. Always, *Shauna Quick* Circulation Manager Brandon Township Public Library 304 South St. Ortonville, MI 48642 (248)627-1472 squick@brandonlibrary.org On Wed, Apr 18, 2018 at 3:54 PM, Shauna Quick <squick@brandonlibrary.org> wrote:
Hello collective mind!
Does your library take paper library card applications? Have you transitioned to online?
Are paper copies kept on file? How long do you keep them on file?
These are a few questions I am seeking answers to, in order to streamline our "getting a library card application" workflow for the staff side of our ILS.
Please email me off-list and I will be happy to put together a compilation of responses.
Thank you!
*Shauna Quick* Circulation Manager
Brandon Township Public Library 304 South St. Ortonville, MI 48642 (248)627-1472 squick@brandonlibrary.org