Policy 01Lending terms
Anyone in the United States may borrow up to three books at a time, free of charge — no library card, no membership, no sign-up. Each loan runs 21 days from the day your books are delivered, and every loan comes with one free renewal of another 21 days — just ask before the due date.
To check out, you need a name, an email address, a US mailing address, and a valid credit or debit card placed on file as collateral (see Policy 02). There is no fee, no deposit, and no income or credit requirement.
Policy 02Your card on file
We lend books on trust, and the card on file is what makes that trust scale. When you check out, Stripe securely saves a payment card. Here's what that does and doesn't mean:
Your card is stored by Stripe, our payment processor — never by us. We can't see your card number, and it never touches our website, our forms, or our records. We only see that a card is on file.
Placing a card on file is not a charge, a hold, or a deposit. Nothing is billed at checkout, for shipping, at return, or ever — unless a book is lost or damaged beyond use, under the exact conditions in Policies 04 and 05, and only after we've contacted you.
When you have no books checked out, you may ask us to remove your payment card at any time and we'll delete it from Stripe within 5 business days.
Policy 03Shipping & returns
Shipping is free both ways. We mail your books within 1–2 business days of checkout and email you tracking. Every package includes a prepaid return label: when you're done, repack the books, attach the label, and drop the package off with the carrier.
Your loan is checked in within 2 business days of the package reaching us, and you'll get an email confirming the books are back. Your return's tracking number is your proof of return — hold on to the receipt until we confirm.
There are no late fees. Ever. Fines don't bring books back — reminders do. We'll email you 3 days before your due date, on the due date, and weekly after that.
A book only stops being "late" and starts being "lost" when it's 30 days past due and we haven't heard from you despite our reminders. At that point the lost-book process in Policy 05 begins — and even then, mailing the book back stops everything.
Policy 04Damage & loss
Books are meant to be read, and reading leaves traces. You will never be charged for normal wear. Our full fee schedule:
| Condition on return | What it looks like | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Normal wear | Softened corners, creased spine, light pencil notes — signs of a book that's been read and loved. | $0 |
| Repairable damage | A torn (but present) page, detached cover, water ripple on a few pages, ink marks. The book can be repaired and lent again. | $5 flat |
| Unusable | Missing pages, mold, soaking, pet damage, or anything that means the book can't go back on the shelf. | Replacement cost |
| Lost / not returned | 30+ days past due with no contact (see Policy 03), or reported lost by you. | Replacement cost |
"Replacement cost" means the actual price of a new or good-condition used copy of the same title, capped at $30 per book. We'll always show you the listing we based the cost on.
Problems in the mail aren't your fault. If a package arrives to you damaged, tell us within 3 days of delivery and we'll replace it. If your return is lost or damaged by the carrier after you shipped it with our label, your tracking proves it — you won't be charged.
Prefer to replace it yourself? You can mail us a new or like-new copy of the same title instead of paying — that clears the fee entirely.
Policy 05How charges work
We treat charging a card as a last resort, and it always follows the same steps, in order:
1. Notice. We email you describing the damage or loss, the fee from the schedule above, and a photo of the damage or the replacement listing. Nothing is charged at this step.
2. A 14-day window. You have 14 days to respond — to dispute the assessment, mail the book back, replace it yourself, or arrange a payment plan if the fee is a hardship.
3. The charge. Only after the 14 days pass without resolution do we charge the card on file, for the exact amount in the notice and never more than the $30 cap. You'll receive an itemized receipt by email.
4. Refunds. If a book charged as lost comes back to us within 90 days of the charge, we refund the full amount.
A card charge never happens without steps 1 and 2 first. If you ever see a charge from us you don't recognize, contact us immediately.
Policy 06Privacy
Your reading is your business. We keep records of what's currently checked out to you, and your mailing address for shipping, only as long as needed to run the library. We don't sell, share, or publish borrowing histories or addresses, and we don't use them for advertising.
Payment card details are held exclusively by Stripe under their security and PCI compliance standards. Our records contain only your name, email, mailing address, current loans, and whether a card is on file.
Policy 07Questions
Something unclear? A situation these policies don't cover? Email us — a person reads it, and we'll always choose the interpretation that keeps books moving and readers reading.
These policies are a template for the Fin Lit Library concept and are not legal advice. Before operating, have an attorney review them for your state — especially the card-on-file, charging, and consent language.