The Santa Clara County Library District (SCCLD) Homebound Services program is a free library materials delivery service to SCCLD residents of all ages who are unable to visit a library because of temporary or long-term illness, injury, impairment, medical condition or disability.
Eligibility:
To qualify for homebound services, an individual must:
- Live in the SCCLD service area, including the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Monte Sereno and Saratoga, as well as the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County; and
- Possess a valid SCCLD library card; and
- Be unable to visit a library on their own because of temporary or long-term illness, injury, impairment, medical condition or disability
Independent medical certification of homebound status is not required.
Starting Homebound Services:
To initiate service, an individual must complete a SCCLD Application for Homebound Services.
- The homebound individual must have a valid SCCLD library card
Homebound Borrowing Policies:
- SCCLD provides a wide variety of library materials, including books, DVDs, music, audiobooks, and large type books
- A homebound patron may borrow items consistent with SCCLD borrowing guidelines
- Overdue fines will not be assessed for homebound services
- Fees will be charged for lost or damaged library material consistent with SCCLD guidelines
- SCCLD reserves the right to restrict titles and formats requested for homebound service based on their availability
Privacy:
- To comply with state law and library policy, staff may only release registration information, borrowing records, and reading interests to the SCCLD cardholder
Delivery of Materials:
- Library materials will be delivered monthly as resources and staff availability allow
- If home delivery is not an option, library materials will be sent by U.S. mail at no charge to the homebound patron, with return postage paid
Termination of Homebound Services:
- An individual may terminate homebound service at any time
- SCCLD staff will review homebound service eligibility requirements on a periodic, case-by-case basis to confirm, modify, extend or terminate homebound service.SCCLD reserves the right to terminate homebound service for any individual covered with medical condition
Library Designated Borrower
A homebound person may also specify a designee who can register them for a library card, as well as checkout and deliver materials in place of staff.
Eligibility for Library Designated Borrower:
To qualify to have a library designated borrower, an individual must:
- Live in the Santa Clara County Library District
- Possess, or be eligible for, a valid SCCLD library card; and
- Be unable to visit the library due to a temporary or long-term illness, injury, impairment, medical condition or disability
Starting Library Designee Borrower Services:
- An individual must complete a SCCLD Application for a Library Designated Borrower
- Both the homebound individual and designee will need to provide ID and address verification during the application process
- Standard borrowing policies will apply
Privacy:
- To comply with state law and library policy, as an opt-in option to be selected by the homebound applicant, staff may release registration information, borrowing records, and reading interests to the SCCLD cardholder or their designee
- Designee contact information will be included in the homebound patron’s Horizon account only for the duration of the homebound status
- If the homebound person authorizes a designee, they may specify on the application that SCCLD staff may share information about materials they have borrowed. The homebound person will need to inform SCCLD staff if they wish to remove permission for the designee to access account information or check out materials on their behalf
Termination of Library Designated Borrower:
- An individual may revoke designee privileges at any time by notifying their local library directly or contacting the Circulation office at 800-286-1991 or circ@sccl.org
Santa Clara County Library District Policy #17.3
