Library Cards
- Library cards are free of charge to residents of St. Tammany Parish.
- Children must be at least 5 years old to obtain a library card.
- A picture ID and proof of address must be shown to obtain a library card. (Children under 16 excluded.)
- A child's parent or legal guardian must be present to obtain a library card if a child is 17 years of age or younger.
- A St. Tammany Parish Library card may be used at any of our branches.
- Non-residents of St. Tammany Parish may purchase an out of parish library card for an annual fee of $30.00.
- Lost library cards can be replaced for $3.00.
Borrowing
- No one may check out library materials without a library card in hand.
- There are no limits to the number of items borrowed at one time.
- Anyone with fines in excess of $5.00 may not borrow any additional items until the fines have been paid or the items returned.
- Children under the age of 17 may not borrow NC-17 and R rated videos without their parent or legal guardian's consent.
- Items can be returned to any branch.
Loan Periods
- Books- 28 days
- DVDs-7 days
- Audiobooks- 28 days
- CDs- 28 days
InterLibrary Loan
If the St. Tammany Parish Library does not own a particular item, we can attempt to borrow it from another library system through InterLibrary Loan.
- Items that can be borrowed include books, audiobooks, videos and microfilm.
- Photocopies of magazine and newspaper articles may also be requested.
- We do not borrow genealogy materials through ILL. However, the Covington Branch is a Family History Center and microfilm may be borrowed from the Family History Library in Utah for a fee.
- Items may take several weeks to be delivered.
- There is a limit of 5 open ILL requests and 10 ILL items on loan at any one time.
- There is a $1.00 per day fine for InterLibrary Loan items returned late.
Hold Requests for Physical Items
- Hold requests can be placed on any item in the St. Tammany Parish Library's collection, with the exception of non-circulating materials.
- Hold requests may be placed at the library, by telephone or by using the online catalog.
Renewals for Physical Items
- Any circulating item can be renewed once, as long as no one else had requested the item.
- Renewals may be completed in person, by telephone or through the online catalog.
- InterLibrary Loan materials may be renewed at the discretion of the lending library.
Late Fines
The St. Tammany Parish Library does not charge late fines, however, if an item is not returned for more than 45 (forty-five) days past the due date, a replacement cost of the material(s) will be billed to the patron's account.
- Parents or legal guardians are responsible for all assessed library replacement fees for minor children.
- Patron accounts will return to good standing upon return of all overdue items.
- Any patron having billed materials shall be prohibited from checking out additional materials until the total replacement fees accrued for overdue materials is less than $5.00 or all materials are returned.
- Partial payments may be made on replacement fees.
- Patrons may check out additional materials when the total of fees is below $5.00.
- Materials loaned via ILL to St. Tammany Parish Library for use by local borrowers fall under St. Tammany Parish Library overdue policies. However, borrowers will be held responsible for all special assessments placed by lending institutions.