Using the Library

Borrowing Materials

For questions regarding borrowing materials or library accounts, contact the Circulation Department at (864) 596-3503.

Each user may have no more than 50 physical items checked out at any time. This limit does not include Overdrive, Freegal, Zinio or Hoopla materials limits. Please refer to these services directly for loan periods and material limits.

Material Type Loan Period (in days) Limit Per Card
Books 28 Unlimited, up to 50
Magazines 28 Unlimited, up to 50
Recorded/Audio Books - CD, MP3, Playaways 28 Unlimited, up to 50
Recorded/Audio Books - Wonderbooks 28 10
Music CDs 28 Unlimited, up to 50
DVD/Blu-ray 7 10
Video Games 28 2
Book Club Kits 42 2
Kits 28 1
Government Documents 28 Unlimited, up to 50
Interlibrary Loan Indicated on sleeve 4
Downloadable and streaming content Limits vary per service Visit the Downloadables section for more details
Board Games 14 1
Lucky Day Books 14 1

Items that are checked out or located at another branch may be requested and sent to any branch in Spartanburg County for you. Requests may be made online, by telephone, through our mobile app or at any service desk. Patrons will be notified by phone, email or text message when their request is available to pick up. It’s important to have all contact information and notification options updated if any information changes. All notifications are sent via our automated service. Once the notification is sent, patrons have 5 days to pick up their request.

Request Items From Home

Each library card account has a library card number and a PIN (personal identification number) to allow online access. With this access patrons may search the PAC, check their account, place hold requests, access research databases and use our downloadable and streaming services. If you do not know your PIN we can give it to you using your library card number either in person or by telephone. You must have your library card number available to receive the PIN number. For your safety, you may be asked to show picture ID or confirm personal details on your account.

Request Items from other Library Systems

Interlibrary Loan is the process used to obtain materials or photocopies from other libraries when the materials are not available in the Spartanburg County Public Libraries system. We do not accept ILL requests for items held by the Spartanburg County Library unless those items have been lost, withdrawn or will not be available for a long period of time due to being sent out for repair. This includes non-circulating reference and genealogical materials held by Spartanburg County Library system. All local and online sources should be checked before requesting Interlibrary Loan.

  • Who is eligible: Any patron with a Spartanburg County Library card is eligible to request ILL materials with the exception of Juvenile Limited, Juvenile Nonresident, Courtesy, Teen and College Cards. The library card account must be in good standing when making an ILL request and the information on the account needs to be correct. The patron’s library card or picture ID must be present at check out when ILL materials are picked up. The library card number must be the same number under which the request was placed.
  • Limits: Patrons may have up to four active ILL requests at any time. Requests may be placed online, by telephone or at any library branch.
  • Items we will attempt to borrow:
    • Print and most AV materials that are more than 6 months past publication date
    • Microfilm
    • Any item in our collection that is more than 5 week overdue (or lost) with not other copies available
    • Copies of articles from serial publications – the six-month rule does not apply
    • Different formats of what we own (For example, we can request the audiobook version of a title we own in print form)
  • Items we cannot request:
    • Newly published material (publication within the last 6 months)
    • Entire copies of serials
    • Anything held in our Reference or Kennedy Room Collections
    • Video games and Blu-ray format – Blu-ray discs may be sent from the lending library, but we will not request for this specific format
    • Different versions of the same film owned by SCPL (Extended versions, widescreen formats)
    • Rosetta Stone language programs
    • Items that are designed and marketed as pornographic including material that is labeled as Rated X or XXX.

Suggest an Item for Purchase

The Spartanburg County Public Libraries are happy to consider requests for books and other items to add to our collection. Please complete the Suggest an Item for Purchase form at the link below and our librarians will review each request. For further information about our selection policies, please see the Materials Policy Excerpt. If you would like to be placed on hold for the item if it is purchased, please be sure to include your library card number and pickup location. Please only request titles that have already been published.



Items may be renewed for two additional loan periods. Items without holds will automatically renew from the due date for one loan period, up to two renewals. If the item has holds on it, it may not be renewed. The renewal may be requested in person, online, or by phone. Call our automated renewal line 864-596-3515 or call your local branch for assistance. Renewal requests for ILL materials must be made directly through the ILL department by calling 864-285-9037. All ILL renewal requests must be made one week from the item’s due date.

Materials may be renewed by logging in to My Account.

Items may be returned to any branch location in Spartanburg County. All branches have both an inside and outside drop box for returning items. The outside drop at Headquarters is a drive-thru located in the service driveway on the lower level. The service driveway is located off of Kennedy Street. The Boiling Springs library has a drive-thru automated book drop and provides check-in receipts when selected. The Westside Library also has a drive-thru window for returning items and picking up previously requested materials.

The account balance must be at $10 or less in order to check out. Users will be notified of overdue items by their preference for phone, email, or text. Users are expected to return overdue materials and will be charged for items after 16 days overdue.

Damaged Items

Damaged items may be assessed for partial or total damage. Partial damage indicates that the item can still be used. Totally damaged items are no longer able to circulate. Items returned with damages will be billed to the users account based on the extent of the damage. Users will be notified of the damage and items will be held for 5 weeks for the user to view the damage.