Circulation Services
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Library Card: All residents of Polk County are eligible to receive a free card at the Winter Haven Public Library. Residents must have a valid form of identification with current street address to receive a card. Cards can be used at any public library in Polk County. Residents who reside outside of Polk County must pay $35 per year, per household.

Reciprocal Borrowing privileges are available in the following county library systems: Lake County Library System, Orange County Library System, Osceola County Library System and the Tampa Bay Library Cooperative.

Renewals may be made as follows:

• In person at any library in Polk County

• Via telephone at 863-291-5880

• Online at http://hip.pclc.lib.fl.us and selecting the Account Information tab

Fine Policies: Library materials are due on the date printed on your circulation receipt. If you cannot return them on time, you can renew materials online from the library catalog, follow the links or call the library at 291-5880 and renew them over the telephone. Overdue items are $.10 per day, per item.

Fines and fees may be paid by:

• cash

• check

• debit card

• credit card.

New $5 Fine Threshold - Effective April 6, 2009
In an effort to provide and maintain a rich variety of materials for our community to access and enjoy, the Winter Haven Public Library will be reducing the fine threshold to $5 per card holder.  This means that Library card holders must keep fines under $5 to utilize checkout and computer privileges.  Once the $5 limit has been reached, it must be paid in full.  If you have any questions, please see Library staff or call 863-291-5880.  Thank you.

Interlibrary Loan: Interlibrary Loan (ILL) offers Library patrons the opportunity to request and receive books that are not owned by the Winter Haven Public Library. Through ILL, you have access to the circulating book collections of all the library systems in Florida, as well as universities and public library systems throughout the United States.  Click here for policies.

Collection Development
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Library Collection Development is defined as the process of planning and acquiring a balanced collection of library materials of many formats, including books, periodicals, online resources and audiovisual materials. 
Click here for more information on:

• Purpose of Policy

• Authority & Responsibility

• Formats

• Chronological Coverage

• Languages

• Funding

• Gifts

• Memorials & Endowments

• Library Bill of Rights

• Weeding the Library Collection

• The Weeding Process

Fax Machine
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The Library offers a self-service fax machine
for sending faxes (cannot receive faxes).
Only Debit/Credit cards are accepted.
Click here for details.

Email Notification
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Winter Haven Public Library can email you when:

•   Your items are overdue (Overdue notice)

•   You owe $5.00 or more in fines and fees (Billing notice)

•   Your checked out materials are about to reach their due
date (Courtesy notice) (Available soon)

•   Your requested items are ready for pickup (Hold notice) (Available soon)

NOTE: When fees accumulate $5.00 or more, they must be paid in full before material can be checked out.

Click here for instructions on how to enable this feature.

Library Policies
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• Behavior Policy
• Circulation Loan Policy
• Computer Use Policy
• Exam Proctoring
• Interlibrary Loan Policy
• Internet Policy
• Meeting Room Policy
• Study Room Policy

Magnifier for the Visually Impaired
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The Eclipse viewer enlarges the pages of books, magazines, newspapers and other reading material for those who are visually impaired.  It is located midway along the left wall as you enter the library.

Meeting & Study Rooms
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The Library offers Meeting and Study Rooms for public use.  Click below for details:
     Meeting Room
     Study Rooms

Polk County Library Cooperative Services Chart

Click here for a chart of libraries in Polk County and the services provided by each.

Reference Services
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Study Rooms
The Reference Staff monitors the 3 study rooms at the library. If you would like to reserve a study room contact the library at 291-5880.  Click here for details.

Exam Proctoring
The Winter Haven Library offers an exam proctoring service.  There is a charge for proctoring as you must schedule a time with the librarian.   Click here for details.

Public Computers for Adults
Twenty-two computers are located in the Reference Department for adult (18 years old or older) public use as well as three in the Circulation Department.   Computer usage is governed by Internet and Computer Use policies.

All computers provide access to:

• Internet Explorer
• Ancestry Plus (only available inside the library)
• Microsoft Office 2003 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access and InfoPath)
• NOT compatible with Microsoft Office 2007

All computers are equipped with

• a read-only CD-ROM drive
• two USB ports 
• NO floppy disk drive
• NO read/write CD-ROM drive.

Youth Services
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The Children’s Department is pleased to offer many services to our youngest patrons. We have a section for pre-school children, school aged children, and a young adult department. We also have 8 computers with educational software games.

Class Visits - Contact the Children's Librarian to schedule class visits.  See below for contact information.

Computers for Children - There are 8 computers for use by children 12 and under.

Computers for Young Adults - There are 8 computers for use by young adults ages 13-17.

Excellence in Reading is a very successful program at the library. Children read specific books and are tested on a computer. There are a set number of books to read and incentives awarded along the way. EIR Reading lists are available here: Beginning Readers, Intermediate Readers, Advanced Readers

Florida Library Youth Program is a State Library of Florida sponsored program. This program is conducted throughout the summer for children of all ages. Activities include: puppet shows, performers, storytellers, reading logs and arts and crafts.

Outreach—The local elementary schools, grades 3-4, are invited to the library in the spring each year to bring their students and introduce them to what their public library has to offer.

Pre-school story hour is held on Tuesday & Wednesday mornings at 10 am from September through April. Story hour consists of reading stories, puppet shows, and sing-a-longs.


For more information about these services contact the Library at 291-5880 or email the Children’s Librarian at E-mail: dcouture@mywinterhaven.com.

Did you know you can renew your books using the online catalog? Just click the Catalog link below.