Fran Lowman Memorial Lending Library
Mission
To inform, inspire, educate, stimulate, and motivate the members of Wild Ones with knowledge of native plants of the Midwest and the rich biodiversity they support.
The lending library contains over 170 volumes, all of which are available only to members of the Wild Ones Rock River Valley Chapter. Books are available at every monthly meeting. You may request books from the library between meetings by contacting the library Coordinator to arrange to pick up a book from her home.
Library Lending Policy
The RRVC library has come of age. As with other libraries, including the Rockford Public Library, The Fran Lowman Memorial Lending Library finds it necessary to institute a policy of assessing a fine for overdue books to encourage borrowers to return their books in a timely fashion and within the allotted time frame.
Books may be borrowed for a period of one month, from one monthly meeting to the next. Since the library is not brought to the Chapter’s Social in July or the Seed Exchange in November, and there is no meeting in December, there are two periods dung the year when books checked out may be kept for two months without penalty: June to the August meeting and October to the next January meeting. If something unexpected comes up and you are unable to attend that meeting you may return the book(s) to the Library Coordinator at her home before-hand. If that is not possible you will be given a one-week extension in which to return the book to the Library Coordinator at her home (or any other board member’s home, if they live closer to you). After that one-week grace period, fines will be assessed at the rate of $1.00/book/week. In addition, lost or damaged books will generate a replacement cost per book plus $10.00 handling and processing fee. To return a book to the Library Coordinator or another board member’s home please call first to assure someone is home. Do not leave a book unattended. You are responsible for the book until it is received back into the collection by the Library Coordinator or another board member.
Since books may be returned to the library in the weeks between meetings, they may also be checked out between meetings. Contact the Library Coordinator by phone or E-mail to arrange to view the collection and check out the books you wish to read. These books must be returned at the next monthly meeting no matter how soon that is but may be renewed.
Books to be renewed must be returned at the next monthly meeting. If, by the end of the meeting, no one has checked them out they may be renewed by the original reader. Overdue books may not be renewed.
Our library is a valuable membership benefit and resource which must be made available in its entirety to all members. Following the guidelines of the Rockford Public Library and striving to provide access to the full library collection by the greatest possible number of members, we expect this policy will improve accessibility to our large assortment of resource books.