Book and Materials Questions
3 Days: Museum Passes (1 pass per household at a time). No renewals.
1 Week: DVDs (Adult Fiction, Adult Series, all Teen, all Children's), Wonderbooks, and Launchpads
- No renewals: New DVDs (Adult Fiction, Adult Series, All Teen, All Children's), Wonderbooks, and Launchpads
- 2 renewals: Non-New DVDs (Adult Fiction, Adult Series, All Teen, All Children's)
2 Weeks: New Books, Magazines, and Adult Nonfiction DVDs (New and Non-New)
- No renewals: New Adult Nonfiction DVDs
- 2 renewals: New Books, Magazines, Non-New Adult Nonfiction DVDs
3 Weeks: Non-New Books, CDs, and Audiobooks. All can be renewed.
Museum Passes, DVDs, Launchpads, and Wonderbooks may only be checked out onto adult cards.
- DVDs: $1.00 per day overdue, maximum $10.00 per DVD
- Museums Passes & Kindles: $2.00 per day overdue, no maximum
- Wonderbooks and Launchpads: $1.00 per day overdue, no maximum
- Books, CDs, and Audiobooks: no late fines
If you are getting an item through interlibrary loan or sent here from another Bibliomation library, items follow the fine rules of the library you checked them out of, not their owning libraries.
We now have automatic renewal for all eligible items (as long as you have renewals left, no one else has a hold on that item, and you have no blocks on your card), but you can also renew items yourself.
You can renew a material three different ways:
- In person at any circulation desk
- Online with your card number by accessing your account.
- Log in to your account and then click on the menu item “Items Checked Out.” There, you will find a list of the items you currently have checked out, their due dates, and how many renewals they have left. To renew, select the boxes to the left of the titles you would like to renew and click “Go.” If the items renewed successfully, you will see the due date and number of renewals left have been updated accordingly.
- Give us a call at 203-262-0626.
All books, CDs, audiobooks, and non-new DVDs can be renewed as long as no one else has a hold on them for up to 2 renewals. Museum passes, New DVDs, Wonderbooks, and Launchpads cannot be renewed.
If your card is blocked because it has expired, overdue fines, or lost item(s), you will not be able to renew items until the reason for your card block is resolved.
On the morning a renewable item is due back, our computer system will automatically try to renew it. To let you know if the item was able to be renewed or not, you will receive an email with the subject "Items Out Auto-Renewal Notification" from the no reply email southbury.library@biblio.org.
To find out if your item renewed, read through the body of the email and look for the "Status" row under each item. If an item is not renewed, it is usually because someone else has a hold on an item, you are out of renewals, or there is a block on your card because it expired, overdue fines, or lost items.
Please see below for a sample of what an autorenewal attempt email looks like:
Subject: Items Out Auto-Renewal Notification
Dear FIRSTNAME LASTNAME,
An automatic renewal attempt was made for the following items:
Item# 1
Title: BookTitle
Author: Lastname, Firstname
Status: Not Renewed
Reason: Circulation has no more renewals remaining
Due Date: 2024-01-10
Item# 2
Title: BookTitle
Author: Lastname, Firstname
Status: Loan Renewed
New Due Date: 2024-01-31
Library Cards and Accounts Questions
You need to be 5 years or older to get a library card from the Southbury Public Library.
Only Southbury residents can get a library card in Southbury. To get a library card, we need proof of Southbury residency. Proof can be anything with your name and address on it, such as a bill, piece of mail, or lease agreement. For children who don’t have proof of residency, we need proof of residency from one of their parents or legal guardians. If you don’t live in Southbury, you can borrow materials with a valid library from your hometown library. Once you get a card from your home library, you can register it with us.
To apply for a card online, fill out this application.
Absolutely! Anyone is welcome in our programs. Some programs may require you to sign up, but they are open to residents of any town. To borrow things, you would just use your valid hometown Connecticut library card. If your hometown library is not a part of the Bibliomation network, it will just take us a few minutes to add your card to our computer system and then you are all set to check items out.
That depends on the type of material! For more information, visit our eBooks and More page or stop by our Reference Desk in person. For all digital materials, you’ll need to have your library card on hand to access the materials in question. If you need help trying to access our digital resources, please visit our Reference Department and we can help troubleshoot any problems you may be having.
Services Questions
We have public computers and a public printer, copier, and scanner. For more information, visit our Computers Page and our Print-Copy-Scan Page.
Events, Programs, and Meeting Rooms
Our programs are always free for patrons of any town to attend. The costs and fees we may pay to presenters or for materials are usually sponsored by the Friends of the Southbury Public Library; none of our programming budget comes from the town’s tax budget.
For events requiring registration, you can register online through our calendar, in person at the library, or by phone. For adult events, call 203-262-0626 x130. For children’s and teen events, call 203-262-0626 x3.
You can register online here, or you can fill out a paper form in person. To fill out a paper form or check on the status of a room reservation, please visit our Reference Desk. Our meeting rooms can only be reserved by non-profits or community service organizations located in Southbury or serving the Southbury community. Access to the rooms is first come, first served with library programs and the Registrar of Voters taking precedence. No fees can be charged for attendance of programs held in in a library room, and there is no private use of the rooms. For more information, please see our Meeting Room Use Policy.
Donation Opportunities FAQ
On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am-11:30am, donations may be dropped off to the library at the rear, lower level doors of the building (drive around to the rear of the library and look for a set of double doors across from the dumpsters).
Small materials donations (less than two boxes or bags only) can also be brought to the main circulation desk on the first floor.
For larger donations, our Friends of the Southbury Public Library volunteer group is happy to pick them up directly or arrange to meet you at the library. Please contact John at (203) 525-0199 to arrange a pick up. For more information about our Materials Donation Policy, please see here.
Monetary donations enable us to provide and enhance services above and beyond what we can typically offer and are greatly appreciated by the Southbury Public Library staff and board. If you’re interested in making a memorial or honorary contribution, please speak to our Head Librarian Heather Aronson at 203-262-0626 x140 or at haronson@biblio.org.
For adults interested in volunteering, we have individual volunteer opportunities available along with membership in our Friends of the Southbury Public Library group. In addition to funding most of our programing, our wonderful Friends group is also responsible for their annual basement book sale. Find out more about them here.