Library Cards

City of Canton Residents

Any resident or property owner in the City of Canton is eligible for a Parlin-Ingersoll Public Library card. These cards are valid for three years. Applicants must present two forms of identification:

1.) A proof-of-identification document, such as an unexpired driver’s license, a current State of Illinois photographic I.D., FOID card, or passport;

2.) A proof-of-residency document, which provides the applicant’s current address. Examples of proof-of-residency documents include, but are not limited to, a current phone, water, cable or power bill, dated within the last month.

Note:  Property owners are encouraged to get a library card in their existing residential district.  However, they are eligible for a resident card upon presentation of their property tax bill and the other identification above.

Canton School District Residents and Others Living in Unserved Areas

As a general rule, any resident of the Canton school district who lives outside the Canton city limits may obtain a library non-resident card, which is valid for one year.  The current cost of a non-resident card is $50 per household.  However, per state law, an exemption to this fee is made for veterans with a 70% disability who are exempt from all property taxes.  In addition, per state law, and as approved in June 2022 by the Library Board of Trustees, the Library will issue free non-resident cards to all children under the age of 18 years.  These non-residents must be living in an area not served by an existing library or library district.  For more information, please contact the library at 309-647-0328.

Canton School District students who live in Dunfermline are members of the Lewistown public library district. They must obtain their cards from Lewistown’s library. Non-resident card holders have the same privileges as resident card holders. Resident and non-resident card holders may use their Canton library card at other participating public libraries throughout Illinois.

Reciprocal Borrowers

Individuals who live in an existing library district should obtain a resident card from their home library or a non-resident card from their nearest authorized public library. These cards are honored at the Parlin-Ingersoll Public Library.

Individuals wishing to use the Canton library on a reciprocal basis must present their unexpired resident or non-resident library card, plus a valid proof-of-residency document and photo identification as listed above, when applying for borrowing privileges at the Parlin-Ingersoll Public Library.

For more information see the Circulation Policies.

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Computer Policies

Anyone 9th grade and above may use library computers after first presenting a valid library card. Any individual without a library card may use the Internet as a guest, preferably upon presentation of a some form of identification.   As a general rule, residents of Fulton County will be required to obtain a library card at their home library if they intend to use the Internet on a regular basis. All users must abide by the library’s Internet Use Agreement.

The library offers free wi-fi access during library hours.

All library internet access is filtered.  Ask staff for more details.

Besides offering Internet access, the library’s public access computers provide a number of productivity tools, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher. Printers and a scanner are available for public use. All black and white prints will cost $0.15 cents per sheet. All color prints will cost $0.30 cents per sheet.

Individuals may use the computer up to one hour per day. Users may schedule the computers up to one week in advance over the telephone or on a walk-in basis.

For more information, please see the Computer and Internet Access Policy.

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General Circulation Policies

Checkout Limits

On the first day an individual applies for a library card, whether resident, non-resident or reciprocal, they are limited to three items, only one of which may be non-print. Afterwards, the following loan limits apply:

Reserves and Renewals

Individuals may place reserves on most items in the collection.  Individuals are encouraged to place their own reserves and renewals either over the Internet or through one of the library’s public access terminals. Library staff members are available to assist individuals in placing their reserves and renewals as well. Most items can be renewed twice (DVDs may be renewed once) unless another individual has already placed a reserve on the item.

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Local History and Genealogy

The library houses the collection of the Fulton County Historical Society. This collection contains unique local history documents as well as family histories and genealogy research materials. None of these materials are cataloged, and they are available for use only at the library. The library has a substantial local history collection for in-house use or circulation, as well.

A microfilm reader-printer located in the “Genealogy” section is available for individuals wishing to use the large collection of Canton and Fulton County newspapers and state census records, which are available on microfilm.

The library does accept genealogy requests by postal mail or e-mail to parlin@parliningersoll.org. Requests for obituaries must include an exact death date and place of death. There is a charge of $10.00 for every search. Please send your payment with your request. For more information please contact the library.

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