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Announcement The Herring Run Branch will reopen with limited hours on Monday, December 23.

Location Closure The Forest Park, Washington Village, Herring Run, & Brooklyn branches are closed for renovations. Learn more here.

Holiday Closing All Pratt Library locations will be closed early Tuesday, December 24 at 5 pm, and closed Wednesday, December 25 in observance of Christmas Day.

Checkout Limits & Renewals

You may check out 30 items per library card at a time.

The library now provides automatic renewal for your materials. Most materials will renew up to three times as long as they are not on request for another customer. See our list of frequently asked questions on automatic renewals to learn more.

Lucky Day materials are currently available for checkout at select branches. These items are non-renewable, non-holdable, and have shortened loan periods.

All materials except interlibrary loans can be returned to any public library in Maryland.

checkout desk at the library, books being scanned

Renewal Limits & Restrictions

Books

30 item limit, 3 week load period, may be renewed

Books (Lucky Day)

30 item limit, 14 day loan period, may not be renewed

Downloadable or streaming materials

Hoopla: 5 items per month as of December 2024. Learn more about the service update here.

Kanopy: 30 tickets per month. The amount of tickets required varies by title.

Libby/Overdrive: 10 checkouts at a time. Customers may choose a 7, 14, or 21 day loan period for non-Lucky Day items, which are checked out for 14 days with no renewals. 

Digital magazines are unlimited and do not count against the borrowing limit.

Mobile Hotspots & Tablets

Mobile hotspots can only be checked out by people 13 years and older.

Mobile hotspots are limited to one device each per account. There is a 3 week loan period, and they may be auto-renewed up to 3 times if there are no holds.

Chromebooks

3 week loan period, the device will automatically renew once if there are no holds

Teen Library of Things

3 week loan period, will automatically renew up to three 3 times if there are no holds

STEAM to GO Kits

3 item limit, 3 week loan period, may be renewed

CDs

10 item limit, 3 week load period, may be renewed

DVDs / Videos

10 item limit, 1 week loan period, may be renewed

DVDs (Lucky Day)

3 item limit, 5 day loan period, may not be renewed

Blu-rays

10 item limit, 1 week loan period, may be renewed

Video games

2 item limit, 3 week loan period, may be renewed

Audio books (Books on Tape / CD)

10 item limit, 3 week loan period, may be renewed

Playaways

10 item limit, 3 week loan period, may be renewed

Playaway Launchpad

1 item limit, 3 week loan period, may be renewed

16mm films

10 item limit, 3 week loan period, may be renewed

LP records (vinyl)

10 item limit, 3 week loan period, may be renewed

35mm slides

10 item limit, 3 week loan period, may be renewed

Maps

30 item limit, 3 week loan period, must be renewed in person

Magazines (except for Central Library)

30 item limit, 3 week loan period, must be renewed in person

Marina items

30 item limit, 3 week loan period, may only be renewed twice

OCLC items

30 item limit, loan period varies by lending library, may not be renewed

Overdue Materials & Fees

The Pratt Library does not charge fines for overdue items. The Library strives to provide equal access to information, services, and opportunities, and fines are a barrier to that access. Eliminating that barrier opens doors to all in our community to utilize the resources the Library offers.

Materials that remain overdue after 14 days will be assumed lost and the library account will be referred to a collection agency if the account balance is $100 or more. Fees will be removed once items are returned in good condition.

While all Pratt-owned materials will no longer have overdue fines, materials that are obtained through Inter-library Loan are borrowed from other libraries (noted as Marina and OCLC on a white band on the book) are still subject to fines. The charges are as follows:

  • Interlibrary Loan Items on Adult Cards: 20 cents per day per item; maximum fine $6.00 per item
  • Interlibrary Loan Items on Children's and Young Adult Cards: 10 cents per day per item; maximum fine $3.00 per item

Lost & Damaged Materials

If materials are lost, a replacement with an exact, new copy of a lost library item plus a $6.00 processing fee may be accepted, provided it meets library standards. For example, if the damaged/lost item is a hard cover then the replacement must be a hard cover as well.

If materials are damaged, the following fees apply:

  • Books that can be repaired: $10.00
  • Books lost or damaged beyond repair: Full replacement cost of item, plus $6.00 processing fee
  • Audio and Video/DVD: Full replacement cost of item, plus $6.00 processing fee (this fee also applies to lost or damaged items/sets)

Additional fees apply for the following items:

  • Lost Library Card: $2.00
  • Media Case: $10.00
  • Best & Next Shipping Case: $2.00
  • Lost or damaged Chromebooks (all pieces plus processing fee): $405.99
  • Chromebook and power adapter/cord: $379.99
  • Chromebook carrying bag: $20
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