Circulation privileges are limited to Hamilton County officials and to Hamilton County Law Library subscribers. Other people are welcome to use materials on the premises.
Circulation Policy
The Hamilton County Law Library provides print materials for the use of appointed and elected officials and its subscriber lawyers and law firms. Non-members may use materials in the Library but may not check out any materials.
Borrowing Materials
Circulating materials may be checked out for a period of two weeks. They may be renewed for two additional two-week periods by telephoning the Library. Materials may be renewed a third time, but the materials must be presented at the Library on the third renewal.
Subscribers may continue to keep materials by renewing them every two weeks, and presenting them for renewal every third renewal, unless they are recalled by Law Library staff.
All renewals will be subject to a pending request for the same materials. In other words, if someone else needs the item after your initial loan period, staff will recall it from you.
What Doesn't Circulate?
Some materials are kept in the Law Library to ensure access. They include reference materials and extra copies of highly utilized practice materials.
Overdue Fines
Overdue fines will begin to accrue on the day following the due date at the rate of $1 per business day until the fine reaches the replacement cost of the item. Fines are not levied on weekends or on Library holidays. Circulation privileges are suspended for any subscriber or firm, when a subscriber or members of the firm collectively owe fines of the following amounts or more:
Revocation of Privileges
All library subscriber privileges will be revoked for any subscriber or firm that fails to pay an invoice for library fines and fees within sixty days of the date of the invoice. Unresolved matters will be referred to the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney for action.
Damaged and Lost Items
Patrons will be billed for the cost of replacing any library materials that are lost or are returned damaged. Circulation privileges will be suspended until the replacement cost is paid.
Recall of Materials
Any circulating materials checked out of the Law Library may be recalled, at the discretion of the library director, usually when another patron needs the item after your initial loan period. Items recalled must be returned within two business days. Fines begin to accrue on recalled items if they are not returned within those two business days at a rate of $2 per day.
Overdue and Recall Communication
All subscribers and county officials will be telephoned the day before any item is due back to the Law Library, and will be advised that an item is due back and that fines will begin to accrue on the following day. Patrons may renew the materials on the phone as described by this policy. Additional communications may be made to remind patrons of accumulating fines.
Returning Materials
Materials borrowed from the Law Library may be returned at the circulation desk during regular library business hours or dropped in the book return outside the main doors of the library, next to the sixth floor elevator and in the foyer at the other end of the Law Library.
If the Hamilton County Law Library does not have a book you need, we will attempt to borrow it from another library. This is a service we provide at no charge to our subscribers and county officials. If the lending library charges for the loan, though, we do need to pass that cost on to our patron.