Loan Periods

book
All materials check out for 28 days with the following exceptions:

  • New books – 14 days (have a yellow 14 day sticker on the spine)
  • Audiobooks – 14 days
  • Jigsaw Puzzles – 14 days
  • Children’s and Adult kits – 7 days
  • WiFi Hotspots – 7 days
  • DVDs – 7 days (borrowers must be 18 years of age) – limit 5 DVDs per person having a card for longer than one year (3 for new patrons less than a year old).
  • WV Contractor’s books and Study Guides – 7 days (indicated on book spine) WV Contractor’s books, Books located in this section require a deposit that is refunded when the books are returned.

You will be given a receipt at the time of checkout showing when items are due, and may also call or check your account online to see when items are due.  If you wish to be notified about due dates of checked out materials, please provide your current, working email address and update it along with the rest of your contact information when necessary.  Notices about checked out materials are sent on the following schedule:

  • Courtesy notices – sent three days before an item is due – only via email.
  • Overdue notices – sent twice, first one 7 days after an item is due, second one 7 days after the first overdue notice via email.  Items returned to the library during this period will have no charges associated with them.
  • A third notice, notifying patrons of the cost of billed items, will be sent 7 days after the second Overdue notice.  You will be billed the replacement cost of the book at this point.  See Lost or Damaged & Replacement Materials for more information.

Renewals

  • Any item may be renewed two times if another patron has not placed a reserve on the item.
  • Items may be renewed at the circulation desk, online or by phone.

Overdue Fines & Billed Items

As of April 2026, the Upshur County Public Library is fine free with a few exceptions (due to the higher cost of replacement for these items).  The only items that are an exception to this rule are Wi-Fi hotspots, and the adult and children’s backpack kits – these items have a $1.00 per day fee assessed up to a maximum of $10.00. If an item is overdue long enough for us to consider it to be billed, or damaged in some way upon return, you will be charged the cost of replacing an item with the exact same item (see next section).

Patrons with charges totaling $5.00 or more will not be able to check out until after the charges have been reduced below $5.00. 

Lost or Damaged & Replacement Materials
lost or damaged book

Patrons are responsible and accountable for costs, fees, and fines for all library materials checked out on their library card.  Children may receive a library card when they turn four (4) years old. Parents/Legal guardians are responsible for library materials checked out by their children.

If library materials are lost, stolen, or damaged severely enough to require withdrawal from the collection, the patron whose card they were checked out on (or their parent/guardian) are responsible for paying these fees. Patrons will be charged the list price of the material at the time of library purchase as noted in the item(s) record(s), which is based off of the Suggested Retail Price of the item at the time it was entered into our system.

  • Recognizing that the library is a publicly funded institution, this price covers the cost of the material and any other expenses required to return the material to circulation. There will be no refund on lost material if said material is found after payment has been made. 
  • If the material(s) in question has no price in the record or are published more than five years ago, a default price will be billed as follows:
    • Mass market and juvenile/YA paperback books – $5.00
    • Trade paperback books – $10.00
    • Hardcover books – $15.00
    • Large print books – $20.00
    • DVDs – $10.00
    • Audiobooks – $7.99 per disc missing/damaged, or if unable to replace individual discs, $35.00
    • West Virginia local interest/genealogy material – Price to be determined by library administration due to rarity/cost to replace.
    • Kits – price depends on item(s) missing from kit
    • Wi-Fi hotspots – see contract sheet given upon checkout for breakdown of these costs.
  • Items such as DVDs or kits that contain missing or incomplete pieces will remain checked out on a patron’s card until the item is paid for in total or the missing parts are returned.  Library staff will contact the patron via phone or email to request the return of the missing part(s).  Overdue fines and fees will continue to accrue until the item is made whole.
  • Patrons have the option to purchase replacement copies of lost or damaged items to be in lieu of paying for the replacement of the item to the library.  All replacements must be approved by a member of library administration BEFORE the replacement copy is purchased.  The replacement copy must be exactly identical to the damaged item (same ISBN, edition, etc.) and must be in like new or better condition. The replacement copy will be subject to review by our library staff before the fee is waived.