E-Commerce

On Monday, March 5, we will be making a change in the software in III through which customers can pay their fines online.  The new software will allow customers to pay their fines online by using PayPal in addition to the credit cards currently used: Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.  At the same time, a minimum payment of $1.00 will be required to pay fines online.  This information is already listed on the HPL website at http://www.houstonlibrary.org/pay-online.  In addition, anyone who has gone online to pay fines in the last few weeks has also seen this information displayed. 

There will be a temporary disruption in the ability to pay fines online on March 5.  We do not know how long it will take to make the transition.  It may be an hour or it may take most of the day.  A banner will be displayed on the HPL homepage that day explaining the change to our customers.  The Telecheck system is totally separate and there will be no changes or impact on that service.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

New Laptop Procedure

Effective immediately, no customer who has any fines on their record will be allowed to check out a laptop.  This practice should be implemented at all locations.  We are working on  changing official policy to reflect this new practice but this directive needs to be followed by all as of this communication.  Staff must make sure that a customer’s account is clear of all fines before checking out a laptop.

In addition, it is crucial that staff check to confirm the name on the library card and the name on the provided identification match when checking out laptops.  If these names do not match, the customer should not be permitted to check out a laptop.  Please ensure that all staff are following this important practice.

Mike Van Campen

Deputy Assistant Director – Public Services

Houston Public Library

Phone: 832.393.1371

Mobile: 713.303.1974