Services

Library Card
- Checkout and Fines - In-Library Use - Inter-Library Loans/Open Access
Public Computer Access
Computer Classes - Information Services - Basic Services
Library Card:
To use the services of the Independence Public Library, you must have a library card.  Anyone who lives in Buchanan County who is five years old or older may fill out an application at the library to get their own card.  Those five years-old and may use the library with a parent or guardian.

Checkout and Fines:          
We have materials in the following formats:  Books, Magazines, Audiobooks, DVDs, Videos, ABC Kits, Children's Software.  Our checkout period for everything except DVDs and videos is three weeks.  The checkout period for DVDs and Videos is one week.  Fines for DVDs and videos are $1.00 per day.  Fines for other materials are $.10 per day. 

In-Library Use:                   
Use our newspapers and reference books in the library.  We carry The Independence Bulletin-Journal, The Shopper's Reminder, The Waterloo Courier, The Cedar Rapids Gazette, The Winthrop News,  The USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Cappers, The Iowa Sierran, and The Farm Bureau Spokesman.  We have over 70  magazine subscriptions.  Browse the current issues at the library and check out earlier issues.

Inter-Library Loans/Open Access:                                         
Access materials from other Iowa libraries through the Independence Public Library.  Typically, it takes a week to ten days to acquire an item.  There is a $1.00 charge per item when we inter-library loan materials.  This helps to cover the cost of processing.  Open Access means that you can borrow materials from another Iowa public library and return them to the Independence Library.  Or, somebody outside of our area could check out materials from the Independence Library and return them to another Iowa library.

Public Computer Access:
The programs that we have available on our computers are:  Internet, Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, FrontPage, Encarta Reference Library, MapPoint, and several Magic School Bus Children’s Programs.  Our computers are available to anybody who has a library card with us and who has signed an Internet Permission Form.  If under 18, a child's parents also need to sign the permission form.  Visitors from out of town are also welcome to use our computers. 
Patrons may check out a computer for one hour.  The library has seven public access computers, five of which were new in July of 2003.
The cost of printing a grayscale copy from a library computer is $.10.  Printing a color copy costs $1.00.

Computer Classes:
Beginning computer classes and sessions highlighting specific software will be offered as needed.  Please inquire if there is a computer class that you would like to see offered at the library.   When classes are scheduled they will be posted on the library door and in the Independence Bulletin-Journal.

Information Services:            
We will be happy to help you with your reference questions.  You may come to the library or call us.  We have a collection of reference books and can also assist you in doing research on the computer.   We have several  programs which can help to find the needed information...EBSCOhost which includes full-text magazines, journals, encyclopedias, and newspapers; MapPoint which will assist with maps and directions; and the Encarta Reference Library which includes an encyclopedia, literature guides, homework center, dictionary, atlas, and other resources.  Internet access is also available.

Basic Services:                        
Request materials for purchase
Reserve materials and we will call you when the item is in and you are next on the list.
Renew items in person or over phone
Photocopy library materials at $.10 a page and other materials at $.25 a page
Fax pages at a cost of $2.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each subsequent page
Typewriter available for free use - bring your own paper or purchase each sheet for $.10 a page
Income tax forms available during tax season

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