Information you key in must exactly match the information in our computer record. Type in your complete library barcode number, with no spaces. Your password is the last 4 digits of your telephone number as listed in your account profile.

Currently, most customers are notified of items that are 14 days overdue and/or hold items awaiting pick up via automated phone message.  We offer customers the option of receiving email notification in lieu of phone notification.  Those customers who provide their email addresses will also be reminded three days in advance of the due date of their materials.

NOTE: You must set your email account to accept mail from librarynotices@pgcmls.info and polaris@pgcmls.info in order to receive e-mail notifications from us. If you are still experiencing problems, please visit our Email Whitelist Instriuctions.

We do not catalog individual magazine issues or copies.hence we have no method to identify the particular magazine or periodical

Yes. You can choose to save your reading history by logging into your account and changing your account preferences. A new reading history does not include items checked out in the past or items currently checked out. It begins with the next item checked out after your preferences have been changed. The reading history is updated during an overnight process. Please be aware that if you enable your reading history your data may be accessed by law enforcement personnel without your consent.

You must present a state or federally issued photo ID to obtain a library card. Residents of the State of Maryland or anywhere in the greater metropolitan Washington D.C. area may obtain a resident library card free of charge. Proof of residency is required. Non‑residents with proper ID may obtain a Prince George's County library card by paying a non‑refundable annual fee of $50.00.

Yes. Library cards expire three years after the date of issue or after the last update. To renew your library card, you must visit a branch so that staff can verify your address and update the information in your record and renew the card for another 3 years.

Renewing library cards helps the Library ensure that our contact information for our customers is kept current.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The statewide MPower card is valid in Prince George’s County libraries.  Before your first use of the MPower card, you must present it in a Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) branch.  You will be asked to present ID and fill out an application.  You will need a PGCMLS library card number to access some databases offered by PGCMLS.

Yes, PGCMLS offers the statewide MPower card.  The MPower card originating in Prince George’s County can be used throughout the State.

Yes. You may register to use your library card if you have a card from any county library system in Maryland, from the District of Columbia, or from Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church, Loudon County or Prince William Counties in Virginia. A picture ID and proof of residency will be needed and an application must be filled out to enter your card into the PGCMLS system.

It is important to update your library card information when you change your address, phone number, email address or name so that the Library can properly notify you about overdue materials and materials on hold.

Minor changes such as adding an e-mail address or updating contact information can be processed for customers via “Contact Us,” over the phone, or in person at the branch.  You will need to provide your library account number.

Major changes such as name changes or replacing a card must be done in person at the branch.  Photo ID is required.

A card may be reported lost or stolen via any of the above methods.

Report that your card is lost immediately to be sure that you are not held responsible for materials that an unauthorized person may check out using your card. To report your card lost, call or visit any branch library. You are responsible for all materials and charges up to the time you report your card lost or stolen.

No, there is no charge to replace your PGCMLS library card.

There is a "global" borrowing limit of 75 items that can be checked out on a library card at any one time. The 75 item limit may include items of mixed formats, but no more than a total of 75 items may be checked out at any one time. Some formats of materials have lower limits than others. Generally, the limits for the various formats of materials are: Books & Other Printed Material ‑ limit is 75 items; Audio Cassettes ‑ limit is 75 items; CDs ‑ limit is 20 items; Video Cassettes and DVDs ‑ limit is 6 items.

The normal loan period for most print and audio format material is 21 days. The loan period for educational videos is 21 days, and for entertainment videos the loan period is 7 days. Most print and audio materials can be renewed up to 2 additional loan periods if the material is not overdue or on hold for another customer. Educational video materials and Marina reserves can be renewed up to one additional loan period if the material is not overdue or on hold for another customer. Entertainment video materials may not be renewed.  Interlibrary loan materials from outside the Marina system may not be renewed.

You may check out up to the maximum number of items allowed each time you visit the library. You may check out as many items as you want as long as your total checkouts do not exceed the limits set for them in #1 above.

Presently, any adult with a valid Prince George's County library card that is not delinquent may borrow up to 6 videos. Minors under the age of 18 are not allowed to borrow video format materials. Adults may not use a minor's card to borrow video format materials

There are two classes of videos: Educational or Non-fiction and Entertainment. Educational/Non-fiction videos have a 21-day loan period and may be renewed for one additional 21-day loan period. Entertainment videos have a seven-day loan period and are not renewable.

There is no charge to check out video materials.

All of the rules regarding videos also pertain to DVDs. We often refer to videos and DVDs collectively as "video material.”

Overdue fines are charged as follows: Adult and Teen level materials - $0.25 per day per item - maximum is $8.00 per item; Children's level materials - $0.10 per day per item - maximum is $5.00 per item; Video format materials - $1.00 per day per item - maximum is $10.00 per item. Fines are calculated upon the item’s return. Non-returned items 45 days or more past due are considered long overdue and the replacement cost of the item will be billed to the account. Returning the item in good condition to any PGCMLS branch will revert the billed cost to the maximum late return fine for the material.

Payment of fines and fees are due upon an item’s return. We can normally allow small balances to carry over on an account but customers whose records are in delinquent status may be subject to submission to a collection agency if materials are 45 days or more past due or there is a balance on the account of $25.00 or higher.

Yes, as long as your account is not otherwise delinquent, and your accumulated balance is below $5.00. If you owe $5.00 or more in fines or fees, have two or more overdue items, or have one or more items 45 days or more overdue on your record, your account is considered "delinquent," and you may not borrow any additional materials until the delinquency is cleared.

You should check with the Circulation staff at the branch library where you returned the item and ask them to assist you.

Exact replacements may be accepted to replace a lost item. The branch manager of the branch that owns the missing material has the discretion whether or not to accept a replacement item. Replacement materials must be the same or more recent edition and the same format as the material you borrowed and be in unused condition. All audio and video format materials must follow these same guidelines and must still be in the manufacturer's shrink‑wrap cover to be acceptable.

Under PGCMLS rules, an item is not considered "lost" until a customer declares that he or she is unable to find and return the material. However, when materials become 45 days overdue, they are given "long overdue" status, and the cost of the material is automatically billed to the customer who has the material checked out. Even after the material goes to long overdue status, if the material is returned, all that the customer owes is the maximum overdue fine.

See a Library staff member about replacing or paying for lost components.

Yes, you can renew items online via the Library’s Catalog. Click on the Your Account button and log into your account. Once you are in your account, you can list the items checked out to you, and you will see the Renew option on that screen. You can either renew all items checked out to you or renew only selected ones. Note: Mac Users will only be able to renew all items. The “renew selected items” feature does not work on Macs. However, we have received feedback from our customers that you can renew selected items using the Firefox Browser on Macs.

Your card may have expired, the item you are trying to renew may not be a renewable item (e.g. an entertainment video), the item may already have been renewed the maximum number of times, or another customer may have placed a hold on the item.

One of the most common reasons that you will get a - Consult Library Staff -response when you attempt to renew, is because your record has been stopped due to an email notification to you that has bounced.  Verify your email address in your account and make sure that your email server will accept messages from the us.

You may now renew items that are up to three days overdue.  Any late fines will be charged to your account.

Entertainment videos and DVDs can not be renewed.  Educational/non-fiction videos and DVDs can be renewed for one additional 21-day loan period.

Most PGCMLS materials can be renewed twice. Items borrowed through Marina and education/non-fiction videos and DVDs may be renewed one time. Entertainment video materials and interlibrary loan materials from outside the Marina system may not be renewed. Note: Material that is otherwise eligible for renewal may not be renewed if another customer has placed a reserve for the item.

If your renewal is successful through the Phone‑In Renewal System, a new due date will be indicated by the renewal operator. When you renew materials online via the Library catalog, a new date is indicated on the screen.  It is your responsibility to mark down your new due date. 

You will not be able to renew items if you have fines of $5.00 or more

Yes. When you find the item that you want, click the title to go to the Full Record screen. A Hold Title button will appear on the left side of your screen. Click on this button and follow the steps.

You will be informed when to pick up your holds by telephone or e‑mail. You have 7 days to pick up your items.  If you want email notification and do not currently get it, notify your local branch of your current email address and request that they turn off Phone Notification.

There is no charge to place a hold on an item that is in the PGCMLS collection or that is available from the Marina cooperative network. For materials that are reserved from libraries outside the network through the interlibrary loan process, there is a fee of up to $8.00.

YNo. Call your local library to see if you can change the pickup location of your hold.

Log into your patron record and go to the Holds list. You will see the option to cancel holds on that screen

You can suspend your holds using My Account through the catalog, or with help from Library staff.

If the item is recently released, call a branch to check on the order status of the item. For other items not owned by PGCMLS, try the Marina network. For items you cannot find in Marina, inquire at a branch library about interlibrary loan.

No. When you place a hold, you must wait to be notified that the material is available. If an item shows "on shelf," you can telephone the owning branch to have staff check on the availability of the material. If available, the material can be sent to the library branch most convenient to you.

You may place holds on educational/non-fiction videos and DVDs.  The entertainment videos and DVDs which are older than 3 months may be placed on hold. New entertainment videos and DVDs (less than 90 days old) may not be placed on hold.

Yes.

Reference books are not available for loan, except in special circumstances, they may not be placed on hold.

The length of time depends on the number of copies available in the Library System and the length of the waiting list, i.e. the number of customers who have also placed a hold on the title. Titles which have copies available on the shelf at the time the hold is placed and no waiting list may be trapped as soon as the next day.  Items with a limited number of copies and/or a long waiting list may take up to several months.

For help on any page, click the Help button on the left of your screen. Review the Lists of Other Help Topics for additional help.

You can either place a hold on an item that is available at another branch and have it delivered to the branch that is most convenient to you, or you can ask one of the information professionals at your library to reserve the item for you or have them ask the owning branch to hold the material for you so you can go to that branch and check out the material there. Likewise, you can call the branch to check on availability.

The Marina system is free of charge and allows you to find and borrow materials from cooperating libraries throughout Maryland.

Materials from out-of-state libraries may be available for a fee. Please see your branch staff about arranging to borrow these materials.

Please check all materials in the Library's catalog before you suggest that we purchase them. It is not necessary to suggest bestselling titles or authors.

If you would like to reserve a title which we do not own, the Information staff at your local branch will suggest it for purchase and a reserve will be placed for you at the time it is ordered for the collection (or you may contact Ask-a-Librarian. If we do not purchase the item for the Library System, your request will be forwarded to the Marina interlibrary loan system.

If you are suggesting a title for purchase, but not placing a hold on the title, your branch Information staff or Ask-a-Librarian will send publishing information to the appropriate selector for consideration.