North Kingstown Free Library
100 Boone Street, North Kingstown, Rhode Island 02852
Phone 401-294-3306   Fax 401-294-1690

About the Library       

Hours and Holidays

Directions

NKFL Home

Ocean State Libraries
Administration Board of Trustees Display Areas Friends of the Library
History Internet Policy Literacy Meeting Room
Mission Statement Museum Passes Borrowing Policies Your Library Account

Hours

Monday - Thursday 9 AM - 8:30 PM

Friday and Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM

Holiday Closings/Exception Hours

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Mission Statement

The North Kingstown Free Library exists to meet the changing and enduring cultural, educational, informational, recreational, and research needs of its users.

History

The North Kingstown Free Library, established in 1898, is one of the oldest public libraries in Rhode Island. From its early days in the Greek Revival building on Brown Street in Wickford to the contemporary era in the beautiful modern facility that overlooks Academy Cove in Wickford, the library has always been an important resource in the community. Today, after the completion of a 1.75 million dollar renovation and expansion, it is the dynamic center of North Kingstown and one of the busiest public libraries in Rhode Island. With collections, services, and programs for all age groups and interests, the library is a place for everyone in the community.

Borrowing Policies

Getting a Library Card The North Kingstown Free Library belongs to the Ocean State Libraries publib library consortium.

An OSL library card can be used in 73 libraries throughout the state of Rhode Island.

The card is free of charge to Rhode Island residents.

To apply for an OSL card, bring at least one piece of identification that shows your current address to the Circulation Desk.

Children under 14 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian when applying for a card.

Once you have filled out an application and shown identification, you will receive your library card which you can use to borrow materials at any OSL library.

For your protection, report a lost card immediately and do not check out materials on another person's card.

Lost card There is a $1.00 fee to replace a lost card.

Loan Times and Overdue Fees at the North Kingstown Free Library
Item Maximum # Loan Period Overdue Fine
Books Unlimited 3 weeks $.10/day
New Books Unlimited 3 weeks $.10/day
Book Express Unlimited 1 week $.50/day
Magazines Unlimited 3 weeks $.10/day
Audiobooks- CDs or cassettes 6 3 weeks $.10/day
Music CDs 6 3 weeks $.10/day
Videocassettes &DVDs
Feature films & Children's videos		 Total of 6 videos from both collections 1 week $1.00/day
Videocasettes & DVDs
Nonfiction		 3 weeks $1.00/day
CD ROMs 3 3 weeks $1.00/day
There are no renewals on Book Express books, museum passes, or any item that is on reserve for another patron
All other North Kingstown items, including DVDs and videos, can be renewed 1 time
Renew online, by phone at 294-3306 x3, or in the library.
Please rewind videos and audiotapes
Please return all audio-visual materials in their proper cases
Please note: Borrowing policies, including loan periods and renewals, may vary at each OSL library
If you have outstanding overdue materials or overdue fines totaling more than $5.00, you will need to return your overdue material and bring your fines under $5.00 in order to continue borrowing.

 

To see the Ocean State Libraries Homepage and to learn more about other libraries in Rhode Island click here.

Reserves and Inter-library loans You may request any item not on our shelves by registering a hold on the item in the Ocean State Libraries catalog. If you would prefer, library staff would be happy to place the hold for you. You will be notified by email or phone when the item comes in. To request items not available through OSL, please see a staff person in the Reference department.

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Literacy Volunteers

Literacy Volunteers of America, South County Chapter uses the library as a home base.
Anyone interested in being a tutor or a student can contact Iona Gardiner at 225-1068 or email: ionag_2002@yahoo.com

Meeting Room and Conference Room

The library has a community meeting room and a conference room that are available to local nonprofit groups. There is no charge for this service. If your organization is interested in using one of these rooms please contact the library director, Susan Aylward, for details.

Display and Exhibit Area

The Library has space available to local artists and collectors who would like to hang or exhibit in our public areas. We have gallery space and three locked display areas which can be reserved on a monthly basis by contacting the library director, Susan Aylward.

The library also has bulletin board and free materials exhibit space available for community groups and organizations. Posters announcing programs or events sponsored by any local educational, cultural, recreational, governmental, religious, or fraternal organizations may be displayed provided there is room for them. The library director must approve any material that is displayed.

Administration

Susan Aylward is the director of the library and works under the direction of the Board of Trustees.
There are three assistant directors who have a variety of library responsibilities:

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Board of Trustees

The Board is composed of seven members appointed by the Town Council for three year terms. They are by Rhode Island state law "the legal guardians and custodians of the library". They hire the director and staff, fix their salaries, decide on the rules and regulations for the library and the use of the books.

The current members of the Board are as follows:
  • Patricia Carlson, Chair
  • Joan Peet
  • Dave Layman
  • Richard Reid
  • Tom Sgouros
  • Howard Brown
  • Barbara Burgess

Meeting Minutes:
Board of Trustees 2007 Meeting Schedule: Meetings are held in the library's Conference Room at 7:30 P.M.
  • January 14, 2008
  • February 11, 2008
  • March 10, 2008
  • April 14, 2008
  • May 12, 2008 Agenda
  • June 9, 2008
  • July 14, 2008
  • August 18, 2008
  • September 8, 2008
  • October 20, 2008
  • November 10, 2008
  • December 8, 2008
You'll need Adobe Reader software installed on your computer to read the agenda and minutes.  If you do not have the software, click on Adobe Reader to go to the Adobe web site and download it for free.

Friends of the Library treebar.gif
The purpose of the Friends is to maintain an association of persons interested in books and libraries to focus public attention on library services, facilities, and needs; to advocate for public support for library issues; to stimulate gifts and acquisitions; and to raise funds to be used for the improvement of the North Kingstown Free Library, the upkeep of such improvements and the furtherance of the Library's activities beyond those that are supported by the Town. The purposes of the organization shall be limited to charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The organization has 475 members and is very active in our library. Volunteers organize and hold two book sales each year during the last weekend in March and the last weekend in September. They also maintain an ongoing book sale in the library all year. Other volunteers help with book processing and shelf reading.

The Friends pay for most of our adult and children's programming.

They also pay for our monthly newsletter, "Among Friends" that is sent to each member of the Friends group that lists all the library's activities.

Dues start at $10 and membership forms are available at the circulation desk.

The current members of the Executive Board are as follows:

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Museum Passes
Enrich Yourself -Visit a Museum

The North Kingstown Free Library offers free and discount admission passes to several museums. These passes are provided by the Friends of the Library and by the Board of Trustees of the NKFL and are available for patrons to check out on a first-come, first-serve basis. Limitations vary according to each institution.

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Your Library Account

Using the library's online catalog, you can access your library account from home or in the library:

1. Click on My Library Account
3. Type in all 14 digits of your library card # with no spaces between the numbers
4. Hit the <Enter> key or click on the Submit button 

After logging in you can:
1. Check your Due Dates - click on Items Currently Checked Out link to see a list of the titles that are currently checked out on your card and the dates that these items are due
2. Renew materials - from the Items Out screen, click a checkmark into the boxes next to titles that you'd like to renew and click on the Renew Selected button.  If the renewal was successful, you will see a new due date in the Status column.  If it was not successful, the message, "Renew not allowed" will display in the Status column.
3. Check your Holds list - click on the Hold link to see a list of hold requests that you have made.  Look in the Status column to see which holds are ready to be picked up.  Click on the Title link to see how many patrons are on the Holds list for a specific title.
4. Check your Fines - Click on the Unpaid fines and bills link to see the amount of money that you owe for lost items and for fines on items that were overdue when you returned them.  To see a running fine total for overdue items that have not been returned yet, go to the Items Currently Checked Out screen.

For more information about using the catalog to search for items and to place holds, click on Help with Using the Online Catalog

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