Borrowing FAQs

  • General Questions

    Strathcona County Library and Fort Saskatchewan Public Library maintain a shared catalogue. Physical items travel back and forth between the two systems quickly and freely. Patrons are welcome to use their home library card at any location, request or pick up items from any location, and to return items to any location showing in the catalogue.

    Yes, in most cases.  When you place the hold, just be sure to choose "Strathcona County Library" as the pickup location.

    If you don’t see the option to select locations, it may be because you have activated single-click holds selection in your account, and set it to a default location. Please see "Account Help" for how to turn off single-click holds.

    Copies listed within the "Bookmobile Browse" collection cannot be transferred to the Central Library.

    Search our collection in our online catalogue, scl.bibliocommons.com. You may also access this catalogue from the top right of any page of this site. You will find an extensive help section there, as well.

    We also offer a collection of online resources, some of which are searchable through the catalogue above. Go to Digital Content to access the the full list of the library's eResources.

  • Loan Periods and Borrowing Limits

    The maximum loan times for digital content vary depending on the service.

    • Libby/OverDrive eBooks, audiobooks: 10 at a time (3 bestsellers)
    • Libby/OverDrive magazines: unlimited
    • hoopla (all formats): 4 per month
    • Freading eBooks: 3 per week

    Others do not have loan limits (LinkedIn Learning, PressReader); you access the content as needed or download and keep.

    Our checkout limits for physical materials are:

    Books/Audiobooks/Magazines
    150 total

    Bestseller Express
    1 each of DVD, children's DVD, audiobook, book

    DVDs
    20 adult/20 child

    Blu-rays
    20 adult/20 child

    CDs
    40 adult/40 child 

    Playaways
    10 adult/10 child

    For digital content, checkout limits vary by the provider.

    Our checkout limits for physical materials are:

    3 weeks
    Books
    Audiobooks
    DVDs and Blu-ray discs without holds
    Magazines
    Storytime kits and language kits
    Playaways
    CDs

    1 week
    Popular title DVDs and Blu-ray discs
    Children's holiday DVDs and Blu-ray discs
    Bestseller Express

    8 weeks
    Book club kits

    The loan periods for eBooks and other digital resources vary by provider.

    Your hoopla checkout limit resets on the first of each month. Please be aware that library staff cannot reset this for you, and if you've reached your limit you'll have to wait until the first of the month.

    The maximum loan times for digital content vary depending on the service.

    • Libby/OverDrive eBooks, audiobooks, magazines: 21 days 
    • hoopla audiobooks, eBooks, comics: 21 days
    • hoopla movies/TV: 3 days
    • hoopla music albums: 7 days
    • Freading eBooks: 14 days

    Others do not have loan limits; you access the content as needed (LinkedIn Learning, PressReader) or download and keep.

  • Renewals

    You can renew items in any of the following ways:

    • Log into "My Account" and go to "Checked Out"
    • Phone the library at 780-410-8600 

    An item cannot be renewed if:

    • It has reached the maximum number of renewals (3)
    • It is requested by another person
    • Your library card has expired
    • It is an Interlibrary Loan (from another library)

  • Holds

    Items are shelved alphabetically by patron last name. Hold slips (pieces of paper) list the first four letters of your last name and the last four numbers of your library card. Staff at the nearby Customer Service Desk are available to assist you with your holds.

    Yes, family members can pick up your items, as long as you have pre-arranged for them to do so. Please contact us at 780-410-8600 and our Customer Service Desk can assist you by adding a note to your account verifying your approval.

    Most holds are available within 1–3 days. However, there are many factors that may affect the timing. For example, there may be a long queue of people waiting for the item or copy you requested, or the item may be on the shelf in the Bookmobile or at Fort Saskatchewan Public Library. Our system will notify you as soon as it becomes available for pickup, or you can check on the status yourself by logging into your library account.

  • Returns

    If you bring a lost item back to us, we will issue a refund for the lost-item fee up to 90 days after payment.

    We no longer charge overdue fines for Strathcona County Library materials. However, if you lose an item, you will be charged the replacement cost and a processing fee. We consider materials to be lost if they're overdue by 31 days, by which time you will have received a series of reminders to return your checked-out items. Accounts owing more than $50 for more than 45 days will be referred to a library materials recovery agency.

    You can pay fines online at My Account or in person at the Central Library, Bookmobile or Fort Saskatchewan Public Library.

     

    You can drop off library materials at any of these locations:

    • Central Library: inside or outside to the right of main doors
    • Parkade of Community Centre: P1 level
    • Bookmobile stops
    • Emerald Hills Leisure Centre: to the right inside the front door
    • Millennium Place: East entrance near teen area
    • Bethel Transit Centre: Southwest corner
    • Ardrossan Recreation Centre: West side near curling rink
    • Fort Saskatchewan Public Library (except interlibrary loans; please only return these to the above locations)

    You are able to return Libby titles early to refresh your checkout limit and allow others to check them out. If downloaded to the Libby app, hold your finger down on the title in your bookshelf. If downloaded to Adobe Digital Editions, right click on the title in your bookshelf.

    You can also change your default lending period in your Libby/OverDrive account settings.

  • Kits

    To reserve a kit, please contact bookclubkits@sclibrary.ca to arrange or check on your kit booking.

    Or, visit us at the second floor information desk to browse kits and check them out in person.

    Children's Book Club Kits can be placed on hold through the library catalogue.

  • Borrowing Without an SCL Card

    You’re welcome to visit the library and use resources in-house without a library card. If you would like to take items home, register the card from your home library through ME Libraries (Alberta-wide borrowing). You must have an email on file with your home library to complete the online registration. This service does not allow you to check out digital content like eBooks.

    If you would like to register with ME Libraries for someone who is under 18, please visit the Central Library or Bookmobile in person.

  • Your Privacy

    Your library account lists your name, address, phone number, email address, and birth year (to help determine whether the card is for an adult, teen or child). As a privacy measure, we no longer include your birth month or year; a "dummy" date has been added for all patrons, as of mid-2024.

    Childrens’ accounts also list the names of parents/guardians as guarantors for materials borrowed.

    The library only keeps track of titles you currently have checked out or on hold, not what you’ve checked out in the past. This information is only ​​used to administer library services and is collected under the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

    If you wish to keep track of your own borrowing history or create reading shelves or wish lists for your convenience, these features are available only to you (and not to library staff) if you choose to activate them within your library catalogue account. 

    When you use the library’s online resources (e.g., eBooks), your current borrowing activity of those digital checkouts is tracked within the third-party system. These companies have their own privacy policies.

    For privacy protection, files are not saved on library computers once a user session is over. Portable storage devices are allowed and available for purchase.