Webb Wesconnett Regional and Argyle Branch Libraries will be closed for library services Oct 19 - Nov 5 to facilitate voting. Bookdrops remain open. Visit the locations page to find alternate library locations. For election information visit duvalelections.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Book an appointment to visit Special Collections at the Main Library.
The Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service offers customers access to collections beyond what is held in Jacksonville, allowing customers to request items to be sent to their local library. Please check out Interlibrary loan.
Please use this form to suggest a title to be added to the Jacksonville Public Library collection.
To rent space at the Conference Center located at the Main Library in downtown Jacksonville Florida please check out the Conference Center's page here.
Please read the information provided in Marketing Your Book to the Jacksonville Public Library to find out.
Look for the latest book titles at the library here.
Check out the library's E-Services department and fill out their form to request help.
Please use the information on the Get a Library Card page to help you pick the best library card for you.
Most users can bring their wireless-enabled device to the Library and simply turn it on. First time users should:
- Check for broadcasting networks in your device’s wifi settings.
- Select the “LibraryPublic” network.
- Open a browser on your device.
- Terms and Conditions of internet will appear, scroll to the bottom, reviewing if you wish and hit “Continue to the Internet.”
- The browser will connect to the Library’s home page.
Search for and book the meeting room that best meets your needs by clicking on the button below.
Yes. You can contact the Talking Books Library at 904-255-2665 when prompted select option 2 and staff can direct you to staff in the TBKS Library.
Hours M-F 10-6pm
No. Interlibrary Loan is currently unavailable. Stay tuned to our website, emails and social media for updates.
Yes, Materials borrowed via interlibrary loan can be returned to any branch via the bookdrop. If you have questions, please call (904) 255-2665.
At this time the library is not accepting donated materials. Thank you. Stay tuned for updates.
Overdue fines limit access to library materials and services for customers, especially the most vulnerable families and individuals. Any potential benefit to the Library is far outweighed by the greater access and lower administrative costs of removing this barrier.
Funding will be assigned and collected for projects from other sources. There were no specific projects that were significantly impacted by this change.
The processing fee and replacement cost will be removed from your account. No overdue fines will be charged. If it has been longer than 63 days overdue and has been sent to collections, a collection agency fee may apply.
Yes. You will still receive reminders as you always have. If you’re notified by email, you’ll receive an email 3 days before an item is due, and 7 days and 21 days after the due date if the item has not been returned. If the item is not returned after 42 days the replacement cost of the item and a $5 processing fee are added to your account. If you do not receive email notices from us, you will receive an overdue notice in the mail after the item is 21 days overdue and the lost bill after 42 days.
No. The fees collected for lost items are put into the library's collection budget and the fee is cleared from your account. This was approved as part of the Library's Circulation Policy on August 22, 2019 by the Board of Library Trustees.
If an item you had was either lost, damaged or not returned, you may incur fees. Fees have not been waived (only overdue fines) as they are needed to maintain or replace library materials so others can borrow them . If you return the long overdue item before December 31, 2020, no overdue fines will be charged . (All fees already on your account related to lost, damaged or unreturned items will remain in place. Call us at (904) 255-2665 with questions.)
Yes, PLEASE! We would love to recover any materials that you may have been holding onto because of overdue fines. Take advantage of this overdue fine free period and bring anything back before December 31, 2020 no matter how long you've had it. Bring to any Jacksonville Public Library location and put it in the book drop or drop it off inside – no questions asked! (But if you do have a good story, we’d love to hear it!)
Yes. Fine free doesn't waive responsibility. The library is still a place where people share access to a collection of more than 2 million items, so borrowing will still have due dates and renewal limits as always to keep things circulating. Items will be considered lost after the final due date, and the library will use a recovery processes to retrieve the material or its replacement cost, which includes fees associated with the recovery. Libraries that have gone fine free have not seen decreases in circulation due to lack of material returns.
There are no plans at this time to extend this beyond 2020. The Board of Library Trustees will monitor how this measure performs and make decisions as appropriate.
The City of Jacksonville put overdue fine relief into Ordinance 2020-235 designed to help the economy during the COVID 19 pandemic. The Board of Library Trustees saw that as an opportunity to increase people’s access to the Library and on May 21, 2020 extended this relief through the end of 2020.
No. Thanks to Mayor Curry, the City Council and the Board of Library Trustees, all current overdue fines have been waived , and no new overdue fines will be applied through December 31, 2020.
We’re quarantining books, DVDs and CDs for 72 hours after they’re returned (exceeding CDC recommendations) for safe handling of materials. Therefore, books you’ve returned may not be checked back in yet. Please know that you will not receive overdue fines for any materials you return by December 31, 2020.
Returns Book returns Book still showing as checked out
Yes. You can return materials to any one of the library’s 21 locations. They do not have to be returned to the same location you borrowed them from.
There have been no decisions about curbside service in the future. This is a valuable step to return to providing library service while there are safety concerns about the pandemic.
While we are expecting to expand curbside pickup service, there are no dates for additional curbside hold locations. Watch our website, emails and social media for updates.
Yes. Please call (904) 255-2665 and we’ll cancel it for you.
No. You will not be able to pick up your hold until the library staff prepare it and send the notice (text or email). To ensure that we can provide you and your fellow library cardholders with the best possible experience, please do not attempt to pick up holds before you have been notified that they are ready.
Not unless otherwise invited to do so by the library. You may receive a call from a Jacksonville Public Library staff member or an email inviting you to have your hold relocated to an open curbside location. Otherwise, please plan to pick up your held item at the library listed in your notification.
No, you don’t need an appointment. However—like when visiting a busy restaurant—making a reservation for library curbside pickup will result in a better and faster experience. If you do not have an appointment, follow the “No Appointment” signs in the parking lot and follow the instructions on the sign to retrieve your holds.
You will receive a link and instructions on making appointments in the email notification your receive, or when you receive a phone notification.
The four regional libraries—Highlands, Pablo Creek, Southeast and Webb Wesconnett—offer curbside pickup from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Branch libraries—Argyle, Beaches, Brentwood, Dallas Graham, Mandarin, Regency, South Mandarin, University Park, West and Willowbranch—offer curbside pickup from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday and Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
PLEASE NOTE: Curbside pickup is for picking up holds by notification only. To support the efficiency of this process, we ask you please to check your email or phone for notifications of holds being ready and continue to place holds as you normally would when all locations are open, and not visit curbside locations without notification (except to return materials).
The following library locations have curbside pickup service: Argyle, Beaches, Brentwood, Dallas Graham, Highlands Regional, Regency, University Park, Pablo Creek Regional, Southeast Regional, Mandarin, South Mandarin, Webb Wesconnett Regional, West, and Willowbranch.
At this time branch phone lines are not being answered. Please call (904) 255-2665 if you need assistance.
We do not have any dates for other library services at this time. Watch our website, emails and social media for updates.
There are governmental, budgetary and safety issues that the library is managing. These take time and resources to coordinate and activate. We have a multi-stage plan and are working to restore service at library buildings as efficiently, effectively and safely as is practical.
- When the City of Jacksonville is under a state of emergency city employees that are not deemed essential to handle the emergency---including most library staff---are not cleared to work. During shorter-term emergencies like hurricanes this makes sense, since library staff are rarely tasked with restoring power or clearing debris from streets. This longer-term emergencies like the COVID 19 pandemic are unusual.
- Because any work performed by city or library staff during a declared emergency carries with it additional compensation (in time or dollars), operating any level of library service added expense to the budget. The city and library are trying to preserve funds to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
- This new environment where there are ongoing safety concerns requires us to provide in-person service a little differently. For a large system like Jacksonville Public Library that serves a city of 1,000,000 people across 21 locations, that takes time to coordinate and activate.
The Main Library is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with special considerations made for customer and staff health and safety. Four regional libraries—Highlands, Pablo Creek, Southeast, and Webb Wesconnett—also have inside hours Monday through Thursday, 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Health and safety considerations include, but are not limited to.
- All customers and staff must submit to a touchless temperature check, complete a COVID-19 screening form and wear a mask at all times in the library.
- The first and second floors will be open. Runners will retrieve materials from the third and fourth floors as needed.
- Some public computers---appropriately distanced---are available on the first floor, and socially-distanced seating is in place.
Some libraries are providing curbside pickup. See above for details.
In addition to temperature checks, covd screenings and mask requirement, public computers and furniture has been arranged to allow for social distancing. A telephone support system has been implemented for customers who need assistance on public computers to allow staff to maintain appropriate distance while providing support. Signage has also been placed to guide customer traffic and queues in ways that are aligned with CDC guidelines.
Before entering the building, staff members will complete a COVID-19 screening questionnaire and have their temperature taken. If staff report to work ill or are found to be potentially compromised, they will be sent home. While at work, staff will wear masks, wash and sanitize hands frequently, and practice social distancing. Curbside pickup of holds is a contactless process. Your safety and the safety of our staff is our priority.
No. Items have been carefully handled by staff to avoid any potential contamination. After materials are returned they are being quarantined for 72 hours to allow any potential traces of COVID 19 or other infections agents to expire. (Please note that damage caused to books, dvds or cds by applying cleaning fluids to them may result in damage fees.)
According to the Center for Disease Control, after 24 hours infectious agents including COVID-19 would not remain on materials (Library Journal: IMLS, CDC: On Staff Safety, Handling Paper In COVID-19 Pandemic). Jacksonville Public Library is exceeding those recommendations by quarantining returned items for at least 72 hours.
If it has been three business days or less since you returned your materials, it is most likely that they are still in quarantine. If it becomes significantly longer, please call (904) 255-BOOK (2665) to inquire about your returned items.
Please note that no overdue fines will be applied for materials returned in 2020.
Before entering the building, staff members will complete a COVID-19 screening questionnaire and have their temperature taken. If staff report to work ill or are found to be potentially compromised, they will be sent home. While at work, staff will wear masks, wash and sanitize hands frequently, and practice social distancing. Curbside pickup of holds is a contactless process. Your safety and the safety of our staff is our priority.
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