FAQs

If your library card becomes lost or stolen, you should immediately notify any of our library branches so that we can block any further use of the lost or missing card. You will be issued a replacement card which costs $.50 each.

Please note: Library card owners are still responsible for all items checked out on their card, unless they notify the library system and block access as soon as their card becomes lost or missing. Please do not allow anyone else to borrow or use your library card, as you, the owner, are still responsible for any fines and fees incurred by anyone else who borrows or uses your library card. Parents are responsible for materials checked out on their children’s or teen’s card.

In cases of identity theft, library patrons must bring a police report referencing the identity theft incident with dates matching the theft of the items on the library card. Please contact the library administration offices at 601-968-5825 to make an appointment to present the police report and discuss how the stolen items can be removed from your card.

• Print, audio or CD books have a checkout period of 3 weeks.
• Lease books have a checkout period of 2 weeks.
• DVDs have a checkout of 7 days.

All items can be renewed for an additional checkout period, not to exceed to the item’s checkout length. However, an item cannot be renewed once it has reached the renewal limit. At that time, the item can be checked out again by bringing it to any open branch within the Jackson/Hinds Library System. If it does not have a hold on it for another user, then the item can be checked out again.

Printing: You can print from one of our public computers for 20 cents per black and white page or 50 cents per color page. Retrieve and pay for your prints at the circulation desk. If you are printing from a file, we recommend emailing it to yourself first or saving it to a cloud service such as Google Drive for easy access after logging into your account. Otherwise, you can bring a portable USB drive. (If you are using a laptop, you can print for free with your wireless connection. Look for the web page called Wireless Printing for Laptops for more information.)

Copying: You can use one of our commercial copiers for 20 cents per black and white page or 50 cents per color page. The copier menu has options for two-sided printing, stapling, making copies of an ID card and more. You can pay at the coin receptacle located next to the copier, which accepts $1.00 and $5.00 bills, and gives change.

Faxes: Ask a library staff member to fax a document for you, and the cover sheet you will receive for the fax is not included in the total cost. Faxes are $1.00 per page. You will receive confirmation from the library staff member that the fax was sent successfully.

Feel free to ask a library staff member for assistance with any of these services.

The Jackson/Hinds Library System uses Unique Management, a collection agency that works only with libraries, to collect unpaid balances over $25.00 that remain after 60 days on our system.

Before being referred to collections, library customers typically will have received 3 courtesy notices about their overdue balances via a automated phone call, an email or text message. Each account sent to Unique Management is automatically assessed a $10.00 collection fee to cover the cost of their services. At no time is a customer’s information shared with any credit reporting agency and other business, and having a library fine should not affect your credit rating, as overdue fees are not reported to any credit bureau.

To avoid being sent to the collection agency, please pay your overdue fines or other fee balances at your local library branch or on our online payment portal.

Payment Portal

Once your payment is received, you should not receive any further notices regarding the balance either from our library automated notice system or from Unique Management.

If you believe that your account was sent to collections in error, please contact the library administrative offices at 601-968-5825. Please have your name, address, phone number and library card number available to give to the person taking the message so that your account can be found and reviewed. You will receive a call back from a member of the library administrative staff as soon as your account is reviewed.

New DVD rentals that have been out for less than 3 months are $1.00 for a one week checkout. DVDs that are older than 3 months are free to rent.

Overdue fees for all DVDs are $1.00 per day.

Please stop by any open branch within the library system to show proof that you live in Hinds County and provide updated information on your address and phone numbers.

Library cards must be renewed once a year.

Your library card is always valid, as long as you visit one of our libraries at least once per year. Any card can be renewed by verifying address and telephone numbers on or around the time the card is set to expire.

You can return your books, CD books, DVDs and all other library items to any of the open locations of the Jackson/Hinds Library System. Use our convenient book drops to make sure your books are checked in promptly.

DVDs and AV items must be returned at a circulation desk, not put into the book drop.

Most of our branches have a book return slot or an outside book drop for returning books after our normal hours of operation.

Any books returned to these boxes will be credited to your account on the library’s next operational day.

All library card holders may check out as many materials as they would like up to a total of 25 items.

Those borrowing DVDs can check out 5 DVDs at one time, within the 25 items total.

Those borrowing CDs and/or audiobooks are allowed to have 5 items out at one time, within the 25 items total.

Placing holds: Up to five items can be placed on hold for pickup. Each set of holds picked up counts against the 25-item checkout limit.

Yes! To renew your checked-out items, please log into the JHLS online catalog from the home screen with the library card number found on the back of your library card. You must also enter your PIN number. The system will allow you to renew any items available for renewal on your card. Don’t know your PIN? Please call your local library circulation desk and ask them to help you enter one.

If a book, CD or DVD has been requested by another patron, it cannot be renewed.

You can also renew your items by calling any of our library branch locations.

Your child must be at least six years old. Proof of residency within Hinds County will be requested when applying for a card.

A parent or guardian must be willing to provide a signature acknowledging full responsibility of the child’s card. By signing, the parent or guardian assumes all liability for lost or damaged materials checked out or returned on the child’s library card.

Yes, teens aged 13 to 17 are encouraged to sign up for a free library card. Parents must be willing to assume liability for any lost, damaged or overdue items and show proof that they live in Hinds County.

We now have a Fine Free Teen’s Card for ages 12-17. Teens can check out up to 3 books each visit, as long as the books borrowed are returned within three weeks. The card will not accumulate any overdue fees at any time. Ask a library staff member for details.

A PIN is automatically assigned to you when you a receive a library card. With this PIN, you can access your account information, renew materials, and access other online services. You can ask a staff member to give you your PIN number at any time. Simply visit your local library branch or give us a call during regular library hours.

You can rent a library meeting room by contacting any of the libraries with active meeting rooms either in person or over the phone.

Libraries with actively available meeting rooms are:

• Eudora Welty Library
• Quisenberry Library of Clinton
• Margaret Walker Alexander Library
• Bolden/Moore Library
• Medgar Evers Library
• Richard Wright Library
• Willie Morris Library
• Raymond Public Library
• Lois A. Flagg Library of Edwards

Reservation fees for renting the meeting rooms in any library are: $25.00 for 4 hours and $50.00 for 8 hours.

By Mississippi law, commercial businesses cannot rent any public building including public libraries.

Nonprofit organizations, such as 501(c)(3) foundations, civic organizations and general interest clubs and educational organizations may be eligible to rent the meeting rooms in our library system. Please check our meeting room policy to see if your organization is eligible to rent our meeting rooms. All meetings held in our libraries must be fully open to the public at all times.

Commercial businesses cannot use library public meeting rooms because all of our library facilities are owned or funded by either the City of Jackson or Hinds County and are considered public buildings.

Under two Attorney General opinions issued in 1992, the issue of meeting room use in public buildings was very clearly addressed. The first opinion stated, “Organizations or individuals cannot use public facilities for commercial ventures” and the second one affirms the first policy by saying that, “a municipality may not provide use of public buildings to individuals, businesses or corporations for activities for profit.”

The JHLS meeting room policy clearly states that the meeting rooms of the Jackson/Hinds Library System may be used for public gatherings of an informational, civic, cultural and educational nature. This precludes their use for private business meetings of any kind including staff training, sales meetings or any other kind of meeting of a commercial nature.