A. Library cards are free to residents of Martin County and to Martin County property owners. All that is required to obtain a library card is proof of residency such as a driver's license with a local address, voter's registration card, Florida state identification card or a Martin County tax bill. Nonresidents can purchase a one year card for $50.
The charge for replacement of any library card is $1.00.
Children under 16 require parental signature to obtain a library card.
Temporary Card:
Created for people getting established in the county, if their ID does not yet show a Martin County address. This gives them 30 days to present ID showing a local address or proof of residency (a utility or phone bill, checks with their name and a Martin County address, or lease aggreement). There is a limit of 5 items that can be checked out.
A. There is a limit of 30 items that can be checked out. An item can be renewed up to five (5) times as long as there are no holds on the item.
A. The checkout time on books, audiotapes, and compact discs is two weeks. The checkout time on videos, video games and DVD's is one week.
Overdue fines are charged for materials returned after the due date. Overdue items will cost $.25 per item per day to the maximum of $10.00 per item. No fines are charged for holiday closings, or days the libraries are closed.
Overdue interlibrary loan material will cost $1.00 per day per item with a $10.00 maximum per item. Library users are responsible for the replacement cost of lost, damaged or never returned materials.
A. Yes - books can be returned to any branch within the Martin County Library System.
A. St. Lucie County residents, as well as all other users residing outside Martin County, will need to purchase a non-resident card to borrow materials or use the computer.
Services available from home
A. The library has a number of services available to those patrons who have a home computer with internet access. The library catalog can be accessed from outside the library by either going to the library's homepage at http://www.library.martin.fl.us and clicking on the "Library Catalog" icon or by going directly to the catalog at http://www.lib.martin.fl.us. Besides the ability to search the catalog for books and other materials, patrons have the ability to reserve materials, renew materials, place interlibrary loan requests, check their accounts and offer suggestions to the library staff. Steps detailing how to access these services are explained below.
The library also offers access to several databases through the library's homepage. To access these databases select "Research It" from the menu, then click on Databases. To access any of the databases, select a database by clicking on its icon and enter your library card number. The database will open in a new window.
A. Patrons who have computers with internet access can reserve materials from home by following these steps:
- Access the library's catalog through this homepage at http://www.library.martin.fl.us.
- Select Library Catalog from the menu..
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Find the item you are looking for in the catalog by entering title, author, etc. If more than one item is displayed you will need to click on the "Details" link to the left of the call number for the item you want, this will display the full record and show whether the item is available.
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If the item is checked out, you can place a hold on the item by clicking on the "Place Hold" link on the left. Put your library card number in on the next screen, select which branch you want to pick the item up at, and click "place hold." You will then get a screen showing your name and the title of the item placed on hold - click "OK" to confirm the information. Your hold has now been placed and you will be called when the item you requested is available.
A. To check your account, go into the library catalog (either at the library or at home by going to http://www.library.martin.fl.us) and select "My Account" from the menu. Click on "Review My Account" and enter your library card number. You can now view information on your library account such as which books you have checked out and when they are due, holds you have placed, any fines you may have accumulated, etc.
A. In most cases, yes. The library does provide interlibrary loan service for borrowing items not held within the Martin County Library System. Items held by other branches within the MCLS can be requested by placing a hold on the item. Patrons can request materials through interlibrary loan at the Blake Reference Desk. The limit is three interlibrary loans at a time. We will try to obtain materials from other libraries but the decision whether or not to lend the material is up to the lending library and some materials such as reference books, items from special collections such as genealogy, audiotapes, videotapes, and loose-leaf materials, will not be lent ever. Books published within the last year also cannot be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Interlibrary loans will normally take 4 weeks, sometimes longer, to arrive so please be patient. We will notify you when your interlibrary loan arrives.
A. Patrons with a home computer and access to the internet can renew items electronically by going to the library web site (http://www.library.martin.fl.us), and selecting "My Account" from the menu. Click on "Renew My Materials" and enter your library card number (WITHOUT ANY SPACES OR DASHES). You will see a list of which items you have checked out and the date they are due. To renew individual items, check the box next to the item(s) and click "Renew Selected Items" - the due date will be extended two weeks from the present date (or one week for videos). To renew all items, click "Renew All" - the due date will be extended two weeks from the present date (or one week for videos). Items which have holds waiting cannot be renewed.
A. Purchase recommendations can be made either at the library by submitting a suggestion form or from home for those patrons with a computer and internet access. Go to the library catalog (http://www.lib.martin.fl.us), click on the "Can't Find It..." link at the top of the screen. Type in the author, title and any other information you have on the item you are recommending for purchase and click "Submit". The library's collection development committee will review your suggestion.
Computer Resource
A. All branches provide access to:
- iBistro, the library's online catalog
- Internet access (Internet Explorer browser)
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, PhotoEditor)
- InfoTrac databases (includes business, general magazine, health, national phone directory, etc.)
- Reference USA (business database), AncestryPlus, Palm Beach Post Final Edition (full-text of Palm Beach Post articles), First Search databases, NetLibrary (e-books)
In addition to these databases, the Blake library only provides access to the Mitchell On Demand automotive database.
A. A Martin County library card is required to use the library's internet computers. Martin County residents can obtain a library card at any branch. These computers receive heavy use and therefore there is a 45-minute time limit on them if others are waiting.
A. You can sign-in to use one of the library's computers through the library's PC Reservation system with your Martin County library card. Each library has a sign-in computer where you can enter your library card number and the PC Reservation system will assign you a computer and a PIN number to unlock the assigned computer. Sessions are for 45 minutes, this time can be extended in 15 minute increments if no one else is waiting for a computer. No sign-in is required to use the library computers with the catalog and library databases.
A. Print jobs cost $.25 per page and are sent to a print release station where they are held in queue until paid for and then released to a networked laser printer.
Printing is available in color for $1.00 per page.
Print jobs will be held in the print queue for two hours before they are purged.
The coin box attached to the print release station will accept nickels, dimes, quarters, $1 bills, and $5 bills and provides change.
A. No, the library doesn't have any software that can be checked out. Licensing restrictions on software will generally preclude such use.
A. The library does not have any audiovisual equipment that can be loaned. There is a company in the yellow pages under "Audio-Visual Equipment - Renting & Leasing" from which A/V equipment can be rented.
Tax Question
A. During tax season the library stocks most of the standard IRS forms. Many federal forms are also available from the reproducible tax forms book the library maintains year-round. Most tax forms can also be obtained from the IRS internet site at:
http://www.irs.gov. Tax forms and publications can also be ordered from the IRS by calling them at 1-800-829-3676 or going to the IRS office in the Century Professional Plaza, 7410 U.S. Hwy. 1 in Port St. Lucie. We do not have tax forms from other state tax agencies although many of these are available on the internet.
A. The volunteer group AARP, provides tax assistance. They will be available at the library from February 1st until April 13th. (Click here for the 2007 schedule) The library staff cannot provide tax advice but can show you where tax guides (such a H&R Block) are kept within the library. The library does not have any tax software such as Turbotax and does not provide a way to file taxes electronically.
Collection
A. The library subscribes to the following newspapers:
- Stuart News - daily & Sunday
- Palm Beach Post - daily & Sunday
- New York Times - daily & Sunday
- Wall Street Journal - daily
- USA Today - daily
- Financial Times
- Fort Pierce Tribune - daily & Sunday
- Investor's Business Daily - daily
- Christian Science Monitor - daily
- Washington Post - Sunday only
- Washington Post national edition - weekly
- Barrons - weekly
A. The library has the NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) price guides, which list values for used cars, at the reference desk. We carry the following guides: Official Used Car Guide (cars 1980 to present, includes trucks and vans), Classic/Collectible/Special Interest, Motorcycle/Snowmobile/ATV/Personal Watercraft, Marine Appraisal, Recreational Vehicle, Manufactured Housing. The library also has the Kelley Blue Book price guide but it is updated much less frequently than the NADA guides.
A. The library has a subscription to Consumer's Reports and has bound volumes of back years of the magazine. Each volume of the magazine has a one-year index to products covered in past issues and the annual buying guide provides an eight- year index. The library also has other consumer publications such as auto and computer buying guides.
A. The library has both the Hill-Donnelly and Polk city directories. These directories allow someone to search for a business or individual by either name, address or phone number. The Hill-Donnely directory includes only Martin County while the Polk directory includes both Martin and St. Lucie counties. These directories are available at the Reference desk for patron use but the library staff cannot provide cross-directory information over the phone. (There is also a reverse directory available on the internet through www.infospace.com/info/reverse.htm).
A. The library has many standard medical books in the Reference section. These include the Physician's Desk Reference, the Merck Manual, the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, medical dictionaries, hospital directories and physician directories. The library also has many books on specific medical conditions in the nonfiction section and subscribes to the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and a number of consumer health newsletters. In addition to these print resources, the library has a Health Reference database on the Infotrac computers which provides access to articles from many magazines and medical journals.
A. The library has the following business sources:
Business Electronic Resources (Blake Library and branches)
Reference USA
This database contains information on a large number of companies. Information provided is company name, address, and phone number, parent company or subsidiaries, sales, number of employees, credit rating and contact person. Searches can be performed by company name, Yellow Pages heading or SIC code, geographically, by business size or a combination of the above criteria.
General Business File ASAP
part of the library's InfoTrac database subscription, this database features company information, investment reports and an index to 700 of the most used business journals. Many of these articles are full-text and can be printed out. This resource can also be reached outside of the library by any patrons with a Martin County Library card through the library's homepage at http://www.library.martin.fl.us. InfoTrac can be accessed by clicking on the "Research It > Just Databases " menus on the homepage, clicking on the "InfoTrac" icon and entering your library card number.
Directories and Papers
(Blake Library has all of these and branches have many of these sources)
National Directories: Brands and Their Companies, Dun & Bradstreet America's Corporate Families, Standard & Poor's Register, Thomas Register of American Manufacturers and others.
State, Regional and Local Directories
Directory of Florida Industries, Florida Business Directory, Florida Manufacturer's Register and others.
Investment/Financial Information
Morningstar Mutual Funds, Standard & Poor's The Outlook, Standard & Poor's Stock Reports, ValueLine Investment Survey and Weiss Ratings guides to brokerage firms, bond and money market mutual funds, stock mutual funds, and commom stocks.
Financial Papers
The Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, Barrons, South Florida Business Journal.
Local Government
Access to the Martin County website is available at http://www.martin.fl.us. This site provides commission agendas and actions, RFPs, positions available, reports, GIS maps, etc. The Florida Administrative Weekly is used to advertise requests for bids and proposals and is available in the Martin County Law Library (located in the Courthouse).
SOURCE:http://www.library.martin.fl.us/info/libinfo_faq2.htm#1
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