Loan Periods & Fees

Borrowing Information

Library cards are free for adults and children who live within AHML district boundaries of incorporated Arlington Heights.

Check to see if your address is within AHML district boundaries or call the library at (847) 392-0100.

 

Cards for Kids Act

Under the Illinois Cards for Kids Act, minors under 18 years of age who reside in an unincorporated area of Arlington Heights or an unincorporated area where Arlington Heights is their closest library, qualify for a full-service library card valid for one year at no cost.

Fine Free

On January 2, 2021, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library became fine free. If you had library fines on your account in the past, they were waived on January 2.

Customers are responsible for returning or paying replacement costs for overdue library items, as borrowing privileges will be suspended when an item is 14 days overdue.

You will not be able to use your library card to check out library items or access online library resources until overdue items are returned. As soon as overdue items are checked in upon return, your account will become active once again. If overdue items aren’t returned, you will receive another reminder overdue notice one week later. Your account will be billed for the item if it is not returned within 35 days of the due date. If it is still not returned within 45 days of the due date, the account will be referred to a material recovery agency. Customers are responsible for any fees charged for material recovery. Items checked out through interlibrary loans will not accrue fines, although customers will remain responsible for any replacement costs the other library charges.

Borrowing Limits

Arlington Heights cardholders may have up to 100 items checked out at one time (not counting eBooks and eAudiobooks).

If you are using a registered card from another Illinois library, you may have up to 40 items checked out on your card. Some items are limited to Arlington Heights cardholders.

Certain material types have restrictions on the number that can be borrowed:

  • eBooks/eAudiobooks (cloudLibrary) – five at a time (10 holds)
  • eBooks/eAudiobooks/eComics (hoopla) – 10 per month (all formats)
  • eReaders – one of each type
  • Music Albums (hoopla) – 10 per month (all formats)
  • eVideos (hoopla and Kanopy) – 10 per month

Due Dates

Items are due by closing time on the due date. If eligible, materials will be automatically renewed on the due date. Items with holds or those that have already reached their max renewals are not eligible for automatic renewal, and will continue to be due on the original due date. 

Avoid Blocked Accounts

To remind you about return dates and help you avoid blocked accounts due to long overdue materials, you can sign up for email notifications. Simply add your email address under the "Borrowing Notifications Email" section on your account page.

Loan Periods

One Week in a calendar

One Week

Two weeks in a calendar

Two Weeks

Three weeks in a calendar

Three Weeks

4 Weeks in a calendar

Four Weeks

Other Calendar

Other

  • Blu-rays
  • DVDs
  • Library of Things
  • Magazines
  • Music downloads (hoopla)
  • Studio Equipment
  • Video Games
  • Kid's World holiday books, Cd's, Blu-rays & DVD's
  • Seasonal Items - bike locks, snow brushes, umbrellas
  • Books - New & Popular 
  • DVDs (4+ discs & TV)
  • eReaders
  • Music CDs
  • Kid's World - toys, games, stem kits
  • eBooks (cloudLibrary & hoopla) 
  • eMagazines (Libby)    
  • eAudiobooks (cloudLibrary & hoopla)
  • eComics (hoopla)
  • Audiobooks
  • Books - non-New & Popular
  • Books over 500 pages 
  • Shopping baskets
  • Laptops/iPad (in-library only - 2 hours)
  • eVideos (hoopla & Kanopy, 2-3 days)
  • Book discussion sets - 6 weeks 
  • eMagazines - Flipster (2 days/varies)

Paying Replacement Charges and Fees

Replacement charges and fees may be paid online or in-person at the library and on the bookmobile. 

Online:

  • Log in to your account.
  • Click the amount owed by "Late Charges" on the right-hand side.
  • Follow the instructions to complete your payment (all major credit cards accepted).

In-person at the library:

  • Payments accepted at the Checkout Desk or at the Self-Checkout Stations.
  • Cash, personal check and all major credit cards accepted.

In-person on the bookmobile:

  • Cash or personal check accepted.

* Senior Center in-person payments are only accepted at the Self-Checkout Station 

Renewing Items

  • Most items without holds may be renewed up to four times.
  • New and Popular items and Library of Things items without holds may be renewed once.
  • Hot Picks items are not renewable.
  • Interlibrary Loans (ILLs) borrowed from other libraries are not automatically renewed

Eligible items will automatically renew on the date they are due, and the new due date will be noted within the My Account page on the website. Items with holds or those that have already reached their max renewals are not eligible for automatic renewal, and will continue to be due on the original due date. Interlibrary loans (ILLs) are not automatically renewed, and renewals can continue to be requested via the ILL page on the website. 

Book & Media Drops / Donations

Returning materials
Library items may be returned at the library, the bookmobile or at our book and media drops at Camelot Park, Frontier Park or the Arlington Heights Senior Center. Library items are picked up from the book and media drops on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Donating books to the Friends of the Library
Donations are currently only accepted at the main library building. The collection box is located inside the core entrance to the left of the stairs. The Friends of the Library are accepting book and media donations at the following times:

Monday: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

If you have a larger donation or need alternate times, appointments are recommended. For donations by appointment, please call the Friends at 847-506-2663 and leave a message.

The Arlington Heights Senior Center location is not able to accept donations.