TEXSHARE CARD FAQ FOR LIBRARIANS
1.What will a TexShare Card provide my patrons?
A TexShare card will provide your patrons
the opportunity to borrow materials from participating TexShare
libraries throughout the State of Texas. The goal of the
TexShare Program is to improve library service to Texans.
2. How can my library sign up for the TexShare Card
Program?
Steps to participation:
When the form is received you will be sent your initial
supply of TexShare cards and brochures from the TexShare
Coordinator
3. When may my library begin participating in the card
program?
Libraries may begin participating once the
participation agreement form has been signed and their
lending policies are available on the TexShare web.
4. What should I consider when preparing my library lending
policy for the Card Program?
The agreement encourages that lending
policies for TexShare borrowers should be as close as
possible to the borrowing privileges the lending library
extends to its own borrowers. Each library establishes
its own lending policies for TexShare borrowers; lending
policies may vary depending on TexShare borrower type
(Staff, Faculty, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student,
Public). These are the types that will be indicated
by libraries on the "borrower type" line on
the TexShare card. Although only one type, "public,"
will be indicated on the card itself, lending libraries
may distinguish in their lending policies between youth
and adult borrowers. Because libraries use different
ages to define youth borrowers, the definition of youth
for lending purposes is determined by the lending library.
The lending policy you have on the TexShare web site
should indicate those definitions and distinctions (if
any).
In addition, some participating libraries place a restriction
on the number of items a TexShare borrower may check
out at a time. Some libraries may require that a patron
have had a library card in good standing before being
issued a TexShare Card. It may be helpful to view the
current lending policies of other participating libraries.
5. Where will I get the necessary cards and brochures?
The TexShare Coordinator
will send you an initial supply of TexShare cards and brochures
upon receipt of the signed agreement and lending policy template.
You will let her know how many you need. Additional supplies
are provided free-of-charge as needed.
6. How do I issue a TexShare card?
The applicant must be a registered patron
or staff member at your library. Do not issue cards
to patrons with outstanding fines or fees. You may want
to consider requiring a minimum period of regular library
use such as six months before a TexShare card is issued.
The TexShare card must include an expiration date, which
cannot exceed one year from the date of issuance but
could be for a shorter period. You are only responsible
for the use of the card by the TexShare borrower for
this period. These decisions are internal policy decisions
of the issuing library. The TexShare card is designed
as a service to offer your patrons, not as a card to
be distributed automatically to all registered users.
7. What should I tell my patrons who apply for TexShare
cards from my library about their responsibilities
within the Program?
A patron who uses a TexShare Card to obtain library
privileges from another library will be required to
observe all the regulations of the lending library
and to abide by the library’s TexShare lending
policy located on the TexShare web site. Policies
at the lending library may be quite different from
those the patron is accustomed to at his or her home
library. Failure to abide by library policies may
result in revocation of library privileges.
The terms of the TexShare Agreement require the home
library to guarantee the payment of lost book charges,
if a lending library cannot obtain such payment directly
from the patron. Home libraries may require an applicant
for a TexShare Card to be in good standing at the
home library, and to have demonstrated compliance
with the home library’s borrowing policies.
For example, a library may impose a waiting period
between a person’s initial registration as a
borrower and his or her being issued a TexShare card,
to give the borrower an opportunity to establish a
record of observing library policies. Or a library
may refuse to issue a TexShare Card to a borrower
who has unpaid fines and charges. If a lending library
reports that a borrower has lost books or failed to
pay fines, the home library may take appropriate action,
including suspension of borrowing privileges at the
home library and revocation of the TexShare Card,
as an incentive for the borrower to resolve delinquencies
at another library.
8. How will my library check out a book on a TexShare
card?
The user must present the TexShare card from
their home library and a photo ID (driver's license,
Texas ID, college ID, etc). Check the expiration date
on the card. Most libraries will then issue one of their
own library cards with a TexShare borrower designation
or validate the TexShare card with a barcode and enter
information on the user into the computer.
9. What kind of statistics must I keep for the TexShare
card program?
The card program requires that you keep
the statistics identified in the card agreement indicating
amount of use, number of borrowers and number and value
of lost items. This information is critical to evaluating
the program statewide. Most libraries using automated
systems set up a TexShare user category that helps track
borrowers and use.
Annually, by the second week of September,
these statistics must be reported to the State Library
via the web.
10. What do I do if a TexShare user does
not return one of my books?
Contact the TexShare Card Program liaison
of the library that issued the card and provide the
following information: patron's name, ID number, items
overdue, cost of items, date due.
Advise the liaison of the home library as soon as the
patron returns the books or pays for them. If the item
is not returned or paid for after six months, your library
may bill the library that issued the card for the cost
of the book.
11. What do I do when a TexShare library reports
that one of my TexShare borrowers has not returned
a book?
Notify the borrower of the items overdue,
cost of the items, date due and that borrowing privileges
have been suspended until the situation is resolved
either through return of the items or payment for them.
The lending library will notify the home library if
the items are returned or payment received. If the items
still have not been returned or paid for after six months,
the home library must pay the lending library for the
lost items and may pursue collection from the borrower.
12. What if I have further questions or comments?
If you have further questions about the TexShare
Card Program contact the TexShare Coordinator, phone
512-463-0188, texshare@tsl.state.tx.us
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