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The library is open DURING CONSTRUCTION. parking is limited; use the route 59 lot, reachable via southbound route 59, or use street parking on illinois street and other side streets. 
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Today's Hours: 9 AM – 9 PM

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Borrow › Borrowing & Text Notices

Library shelves

Borrowing Items From the Library

Checkout limits, renewals and fines vary by item type.  Currently, the Library is fine-free, which means there are no overdue fines.  This does not apply to lost or damaged items, or to items in the GoGo Gadget collection, for which fines are $1.00 per day.  Fees for lost or damaged items are the cost of the item.  If you have questions about specific fines, fees, or other borrowing related questions, contact the Check Out Desk at 815.436.6639 or by email at bws@papl.info.

Paying Fines or Fees Online

You can pay fees and fines via the Library’s catalog:

  1. Go to My Account.
  2. From the My Account menu at the top, choose Fines and Fees.
  3. When prompted, type in your library card # and PIN.
  4. Click the checkbox next to the fines you’d like to pay, then click Pay Fines Now.
  5. You will be redirected to the Illinois State Treasurer’s office E-Pay site. From here, you can choose your payment method: Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover, and follow the simple steps.
ITEM DUE  DATE CHECK OUT RULES
Books, Magazines, Music, Video Games, TV and Movies 21 days
  • No checkout limit
  • Renewable twice (if no holds)
  • No overdue fines

eBooks & Streaming
(OverDrive/Libby, Hoopla, Kanopy)

 7, 14 or 21 days
  • Checkout limits and renewals vary by platform
  • No overdue fines
GoGo Gadgets: Rokus, Kindles, & Hotspots 21 days
  • Limited to one checkout per item type
  • Renewable once (if no holds)
  • $1.00/day fines
GoGo Gadgets: all other items  7 days
  • Limited to one checkout per item type
  • Renewable once (if no holds)
  • $1.00/day fines
Hot Flicks 5 days
  • No checkout limit
  • No renewals
  • No overdue fines
Hot Picks 7 days
  • No checkout limit
  • No renewals
  • No overdue fines
New DVDs/Blu-Rays 7 days
  • No checkout limit
  • Renewable twice (if no holds)
  • No overdue fines

Picking Up Items On Hold

When your reserved items become available, you will be notified by phone, email or text notification, depending on how you selected to be notified in your account. You will have five days to pick up your items.  Hold can be picked up on the hold shelves across from the Check Out Desk, or by using one of our contactless options like Curbside Pickup and the Grab & Go Lockers.

Learn more about Contactless Pickup here: papl.info/about/contactless-pickup

If you are picking up holds for another family member, a note must be added to all family accounts so staff can check out the material(s) requested when picking up available holds.  Contact the Check Out Desk for more information.

Renew Material

  • Eligible items will automatically renew 3 days before they are due unless there is a hold on the item or you have reached the renewal limit. 
  • Items may still be renewed manually using one of the following methods: 
    • Online: go to My Account to log in and choose Items Out/Renewals
    • By phone:  815.436.6639 during business hours 
    • Email: sign up for email notifications or you can send an email to: bws@papl.info
    • Text: sign up for text notifications (see below) or by texting a librarian at 833.208.8877
    • In-person

Book Return

The outside book return is located on the west side of the building entrance. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Items may be returned at the book returns inside the Library at the top of the stairs on the left. 

Text Notices

Text Notices

Keep up-to-date with your library account by signing up for text alerts.  With this text messaging service, you can use your phone to:

  • Receive text notices about holds that are available, items due soon, overdue items and fines.
  • Send a text to renew items (when available).
  • Check the status of all your library items.
  • And more…

PLEASE NOTE: The library does not charge a fee for this service, but your cell phone plan’s regular text-messaging rates apply.  

Signing up for text alerts is easy! Use one of the two methods below.  

Method 1 – Sign up using your phone Method 2 – Sign up using this form

To get started, text the message:

SIGNUP+yourlibrarycard to 844.213.5644

Note: the “+” is important and there should be no spaces.  (Ex. SIGNUP+21907001258061)

You’ll receive a message from Shoutbomb to confirm your PIN.

Once registration is completed, you will automatically get text notices about your library account.

Opt In or Out of Any Shoutbomb Features

TEXT the highlighted keywords shown below to 844.213.5644 to set up additional text alerts.

Shoutbomb Text Alerts
Features TEXT this keyword: Description of Features
HOLDS & CHECKOUTS MYBOOKS get the status of all your library items
HOLDS HOLDS
HL		 opt-in or out
get a list of your available items
OVERDUE OVERDUE
OL
OA		 opt-in or out
view a list of overdue items
renew all overdue items
COURTESY/RENEW RENEW
RL
RA		 opt-in or out
view a list of items due soon
renew all items due soon
RESEND RESEND resend last message from Shoutbomb
NOTICES NOTICES view status of all the opt-in/out notices
ADDCARD ADDCARD+librarycard receive text alerts for another family card
DROPCARD DROPCARD end text alerts for a specific library card
MYCARDS MYCARDS view all family cards
IOWEU IOWEU view current total fee/fines
FEES FEES opt-in or out for notices about fines and fees
HELP HELP get info about all Shoutbomb commands
NEWPASS NEWPASS+yourlibrarycard update account with new PIN number
(only when PIN is changed)
SWITCHPHONE  SWITCHPHONE switch to a different phone
 STOP  STOP quit the service