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About the Library

Join the Library - it’s free

• Joining Christchurch City Libraries
• Conditions of membership
• Membership Categories
• Membership policy (pdf)
• Your Library Card
• Your PIN
• My account
• Your Pharos account

Joining the Library

To speed the joining process you can print off a copy of the membership form and have it ready before you arrive at the library if you wish.

• Application for Membership Form (pdf)

Membership Categories

If you do not live or pay rates within the Christchurch City Council area you can join as a non-city member.

• Adult
• Youth
• Concession
• Reciprocal
• Corporate
• Non-City

To join the library you need:

• Either your passport or two forms of ID, preferably one with a photo-ID.
• The name and address of a contact person (we may need to find you if you change address and forget to tell us).
• Proof of address (no more than 30 days old). This can be a letter from your bank, school, power or telephone company. If you do not have proof of address you can borrow 2 items.

The above information in Arabic, Chinese, Persian, Japanese, Korean, Samoan, Spanish, and Russian.

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Conditions of membership

1. You are responsible for items borrowed with your card. This includes any items borrowed by other people using the card.
2. Most items can be borrowed for 28 days. Beyond that, overdue fines will be payable when the item is returned.
3. You will be unable to borrow if you:
   • don’t return items within 27 days of their due date;
   • have unpaid fines or debts totalling $10.00 or more;
   • have not paid fines or debts that have been outstanding for over a month.
4. You must notify Christchurch City Libraries immediately your card is lost or stolen. You are responsible for items borrowed with the card up to the time of notification.
5. To apply for Membership you must supply the following forms of identification:
   • proof of identity (passport or two other forms of identification with one preferably being a photo ID)
   • proof of address (power account, telephone account, or bank statement no more than 30 days old).
6. If you are under 16 years of age at the time of joining, a parent or legal guardian must also sign your Application for Membership.Any communication regarding your membership will be with your parent or legal guardian who, by signing your Application, agrees to be responsible for the use of your card, including any outstanding fines and debts incurred by you.
7. Christchurch City Libraries is not responsible for the choice of items borrowed with your card.
8. These Conditions of Membership may change.The revised Conditions will be displayed on the Library website. You are deemed to have had notice of such changes and agreed to be bound by the amended Conditions whilst you are a member.

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Membership Categories

Membership is free for residents and ratepayers of the Christchurch City Council area. In addition, other privileges are available to the following customer groups residing within the CCC boundaries.

• Youth
• Concession
• Reciprocal
• Corporate
• Non-City

Youth

Youth membership is available to anyone aged under 19.

This membership category enables customers to :

• Place holds on items free of charge,
• Return items late without being charged (with the exception of bestsellers),
• Borrow most items free of charge.There are charges for borrowing bestsellers, CDs, DVDs and tapes from the adult collection.

Youth living in adjacent district council areas may be subsidised to receive the same borrowing privileges as CCC youth members, subject to funding. Gammack Trust funding has been available to subsidise borrowing for Youth residing in the Waimakariri, Selwyn and Hurunui Council areas in some financial years, but this is reviewed regularly.

Concession

Concession membership is available to customers who have a condition that restricts their use of the library.A medical certificate, letter from a specialist or other verification of the condition may be required in order to obtain this membership category.

As a concession member you will be able to:

• Borrow books, magazines, talking books, videos, tapes, DVDs and CDs from the general collection free of charge,
• Borrow most items for up to six weeks,
• Reserve items free of charge,
• Return items late without being charged (with the exception of Bestsellers),
• You will pay to borrow items from the Bestseller collections and for interloans.

Concession membership is also available to groups such as rest homes, prisons, preschools and special needs units where the items borrowed are for the use of the residents, inmates or children.

Reciprocal

Reciprocal membership is available to visitors from other areas of New Zealand and who will be in Christchurch for up to three months.

Visitors who can present their membership card from their home public library can borrow items and access services as per Christchurch City Council residents and ratepayers. If visitors are not able to provide a home public library card, there will be a per item charge and service charge according to the Non-City charges schedule.

Corporate

Corporate membership is available to companies, businesses and organisations who have a business within the Christchurch City Council boundaries.The membership entitles corporate customers to borrow items for the purpose of the business but excludes the borrowing of items for any other purpose.

To qualify for this membership, applicants must provide proof of business identity, have signed authorisation from the finance manager, head manager or sole trader. Membership is arranged by contacting the Library Information Specialist (Business) at Central Library.

Non-City Membership

Non-City membership is available to people who live outside the Christchurch City Council boundaries.

Membership is free, however, there are charges for accessing some services and for borrowing items from the collections these charges are outlined in the charges schedule.

There are two options for non-city membership:

• Pay per item you borrow
• Pay either an annual or six-monthly subscription which provides the same borrowing privileges as a Christchurch City Council member

These charges are in addition to any standard charges for CDs, DVDs and tapes from the adult collection, interloans and items from the Bestseller Collection. There are fines on overdue items.