Policy 01Lending terms
Anyone 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 you pick the book up, and every loan comes with one free renewal of another 21 days — just ask before the due date.
To check out a book you need just three things: a name, an email 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, credit, or residency requirement.
Policy 02Your card on file
We lend books on trust, and the card on file is what makes that trust scale. Before your first checkout, we'll email you a secure link to save 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, 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. You'll just need to add one again before your next checkout.
Policy 03Returns & renewals
Return books the way you got them: in person during open hours, or in the return drop box anytime. Books are checked in within 2 business days of return, and you'll get an email confirming the book is checked back in.
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. If life happens and a book comes back late, all we'll say is thanks.
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, returning the book 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, general 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. Most of our collection replaces for $12–25. We'll always show you the listing we based the cost on.
Prefer to replace it yourself? You can always hand us a new or like-new copy of the same title (same or newer edition) instead of paying — that's our favorite outcome, and it 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, return the book, replace it yourself, or arrange a payment plan if the fee is a hardship. We're humans; talk to us.
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 turns up and comes back to us within 90 days of the charge, we refund the full amount, no questions asked.
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 and we'll make it right.
Policy 06Privacy
Your reading is your business. We keep records of what's currently checked out to you, and we keep them only as long as needed to run the library. We don't sell, share, or publish borrowing histories, 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, current loans, and whether a card is on file.
Policy 07Questions
Something unclear? A situation these policies don't cover? Email us — a person, not a robot, reads it, and we'll always choose the interpretation that keeps books moving and readers reading.
These policies are provided as 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, which is regulated and varies by jurisdiction. Your checkout form should require borrowers to affirmatively accept these terms.