To use curbside service, place your requests through your online borrower's account or by telephoning the Library during open hours. We strongly encourage you to place requests online. If you do not know your account password, call the Library and we can assist you.
Once your request is placed, a Library staff member will call you to arrange a pick up time.
Pickup times:
Because of limited staffing, curbside service will be available for the following time periods only:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm. - 4:00 pm.
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, 3:00 pm. - 4:00 pm, and 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Please call 908-454-3712 or text 908-387-7056 immediately before your arrival, so the staff can be ready to serve you. If you are driving, please let us know the make, model and color of your car.
Procedures for drivers:
If you plan on driving to the Library, pull up to the front sidewalk after having called or texted the Library to announce your arrival. Open your trunk and get back inside your car. A Library employee will place a plastic bag with your items inside your trunk. Once the employee returns inside the Library, you may close your trunk and drive away. The books will already be checked out to you.
Procedures for walkers and users of public transit:
Call or text the Library immediately before your arrival. Just before you arrive, a Library employee will put your materials in a plastic bag on the bench just outside the front door.The bag will be labeled with your surname or with the last four digits of your Library card number, whichever you prefer. They will already be checked out to you.
Borrowing limits
Because of staffing limitations, patrons will be limited to requesting 10 books, 10 audio books, and 5 DVDs per visit. These limits are per card, not per household. Our online catalog does not automatically block excess requests, but if you do submit more than the per-visit maximum, we will retrieve first 10 and print out the titles that we could not retrieve.
Picking up material for another person
If you will be picking up materials for someone in your household with a different Library card number, have that person let us know ahead of time. We will put a flag on their account noting that they have given permission for their Library material to be picked up by a third party.
Other curbside services
Our curbside service is intended for circulation of materials, but we can offer limited services in other areas.
Do you need tax forms? Tell us the number of the form you need, and we will deliver it to you curbside using the same procedure as for books.You must provide the exact form number.
Do you need something printed? Email your document to reference_staff@pburglib.org, and we will print up to 10 pages and deliver it to your car. To minimize contact, these printouts will be provided at no charge.
Return of Materials
You may return materials in our outdoor book drops at any time. Please put DVDs and audio books in the green receptacle specifically for audiovisual materials.
For everyone's safety, returned materials will be quarantined for 72 hours before being checked in, so do not expect to see the items removed from your account before that time. We will not disallow borrowing due to having too many items on your account, so having your returned items quarantined will not be a barrier to checking out new material.
F.A.Q. (Updated!)
When will the public be invited back into the building?
The Governor's office just announced on June 24 that libraries will be allowed to open to the public on July 2, at 25% of capacity and subject to compliance with health and safety procedures. We will not open on that date. However, we do anticipate opening on a limited, appointment-only basis sometime in July, once all our protective equipment has been installed. Please watch this space for details on hours and services offered.
How much do I owe for overdue materials?
Not to worry! We are not charging late fees at this time, and certainly not for materials you were prevented from returning by our closure. Once we have processed the backlog of returned items, we will be enforcing the return of long-overdue material, and at that time if you have lost or damaged an item, you will be charged a replacement fee, but you will not be charged simply because the item was returned late.
Is the Library accepting donations of books?
Not at this time, for reasons of staffing limitations and to minimize staff handling of materials.
Do you need volunteers to help?
During this time, for everyone's safety, only employees can be allowed in the building.
Phillipsburg Free Public Library 200 Broubalow Way Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865 908-454-3712http://www.pburglib.org/