Frequently Asked Questions

We loan books, board games, passes to local attractions, garden tools, and "Other Things" for three (3) weeks, unless another person has requested them. Items from these categories that have been requested by another person must be returned after one (1) week.

DVDs are loaned for one (1) week, unless another patron has requested them. If there are requests for the item, the loan period is three (3) days. DVD series sets have a three (3) week loan period. If these items are requested by another person, the loan period is one (1) week.

Be sure to return your items on time so other members of our community can enjoy them as well!

The titles you saved were not lost. You can import all the items from your wish list onto your For Later shelf. Just go to your For Later shelf, and then click the Import button to import your wish lists from the old catalog. This is a one-time process, and then you can move items to other shelves or lists as needed.  

Registration is required to take advantage of all of the features of the site, including the ability to manage your renewals and holds, contribute ratings and reviews, and follow others to see what they’re enjoying.

When you register, you'll create an easy-to-remember username you can use to log in, so you don’t have to type your barcode every time you want to check your account.  

Registration also allows you to get personalized recommendations and contribute ratings and reviews.  

Visit the Transparent Language website for a full list of languages you can learn and the language courses in which you can learn English as a Second Language.

eServices are not free for everyone. To use Thunder Bay Public Library's eServices, you must hold a valid Library Card by:

• being a resident of Thunder Bay
• being a non-resident covered by a service agreement through your municipal government, or
• purchasing a Library Card on an annual basis.

Residents of the City of Thunder Bay pay for Public Library service in their property taxes; Membership is free of charge.

Non-residents not covered by a service agreement may purchase Library Cards on an annual basis.  

Through service agreements with other municipal governments, Cards are also free for residents of certain communities; visit our Get a Card page for details.

TBPL has turned on automatic renewals! If a book you have signed out isn't required by another person it will automatically renew up to 2 times. 

Extended borrowing periods may be arranged for special circumstances such as hospital stays or vacations. Please contact your library branch for more information on extended borrowing periods. 

No, you don’t have to.  If you don’t, BiblioCommons will assume you are a minor, and some features will be unavailable to you. 

Once you’ve created your account and chosen a username, it’s up to you whether you use it to log in or keep using your library card number. You can use either one.

The reason we require all users to select a unique username is because the new catalogue has additional optional functionality, like commenting on books and keeping track of your reading on shelves. To support this, we need all users to create a username.   

Don't panic!  There's a Forgot your Password? link under the login fields.  When you click this link, you'll need to enter the barcode number from your Library Card.  The system will send the email address on file a reset email to get you set up with a new 4-digit PIN.

If you don't have an email address on file with us, you can call us at 807-345-8275 for help in resetting.  Please have your Library Card and your ID on hand to verify your identity.

Yes! Check out Kidspeak™, created specially for kids aged six and up.

1. Log in to your account.
2. On the menu, click For Later Shelf, Completed Shelf, or In Progress Shelf.

You can move between shelves using the links below your username.

By default, titles are sorted by the date you added them, most recent first. By clicking the Sort by dropdown list at the top of the page, you can sort by date added, title, or author. You can also sort your Completed and In Progress shelves by rating.

Most items can be returned to any TBPL branch.  After-hour drops are available at all locations. 

Exceptions:

• Books from Interlibrary Loan must be returned in person to a branch during open hours.
• Most items from the Library of Things need to be returned in-person to an open branch. 

BiblioCommons is an online catalogue that Thunder Bay Public Library uses that makes it easier to track your holds and renewals and find the titles you are looking for in our collection.

BiblioCommons also allows you to share ratings and commentary about the titles you find at your library, and to connect with other library users. 

Visit our Digital Library to learn about our online collections, including

• eBooks, eNews, eMagazines & eAudiobooks
• eComics & digital graphic novels
• streaming video
• streaming classical music
• databases
• research tools
• local history indexes

No, we eliminated Overdue Fines for everyone at the beginning of 2020. We have also cleared all Library accounts of overdue fees and charges as of May 31, 2021.

However, Lost Item Fines will be charged for items when they are 50 days overdue. You will be charged for the replacement of the item and will need to pay the fine or return the item before taking out more Library materials.  If you are able to return the item, the charge will be removed.

While the available material in each language varies, all languages generally include enough material to reach the Novice High (Advanced Beginner) level on the ACTFL scale. Many languages include material that will be very useful to a learner in reaching the Intermediate Mid level. In major languages, material that is designed to support learners into the Intermediate High and Advanced levels is provided.

Full-service Cards for Adults, Youth, and Juvenile accounts can borrow up to 50 physical items.  This number (50) includes a maximum of 15 adult DVDs and 10 children's DVDs.  They also give full access to our digital collections.

Limit cards for Adult, Youth, and Juvenile accounts can borrow a maximum of 7 physical items. This Card type also has full access to our digital collections.

eService Cards offer digital access only. They provide access to the public computers at all locations in addition to our databases and online collections. This Card type does not provide for borrowing of physical items.

More information on Library Card types can be found in the Get A Card Section of our website. 

BiblioCommons shares user contributions from libraries across the world. Usernames are shared across all BiblioCommons libraries. 

The new website is easier to use on different devices and easy to search and browse, with a navigation menu that helps you discover more of what Thunder Bay Public Library has to offer.  New landing pages bring together information on programs, collections and services based on your interests.

Your Library's new catalogue system has better searching, provides the option for users to keep track of their reading and allows users to discover titles in new ways. Read more about what we love!

You will receive your hold pick up notification via email or telephone.

Once you have received a phone call or email about your hold, you can pick up at the confirmed location during hours of operation. Look for signage and directional information at all locations; you'll find your hold under your name on our hold shelf at your branch. 

Take your holds to a self-check kiosk or to staff at any service point. Self-check kiosks require a Library Card to use; if you forgot your library card but have another piece of identification, you can check out your hold with staff at the desk.

You can place a hold on items which are currently unavailable, to reserve an available item at its current location or to have items available within the system sent to a Library branch of your choice for pickup.  

If an item is unavailable when you place your hold, you'll be placed on a waiting list.  

When the item you've requested is ready for pickup, we will phone or email you.

You can hold up to 50 items at one time. 

Transparent Language Online includes a variety of culture resources including:

• Culture videos
• Vocabulary culture comments
• Authentic conversation videos (filmed in country)
• Cultural activities in major language courses
• Language and culture are connected in the course content development approach, whereby all items are chosen and phrased in a culturally appropriate way.
• Culture is intertwined into the learning process in the form of comments/hints on vocabulary materials. An "About" reference file can also be found in each language, giving the user a background in the language they are learning.

This is a unique feature of BiblioCommons and allows you to see all the options available for a specific item. The grouping feature is automatically clicked on for all accounts, but if you would like to see items listed instead of grouped you can turn this feature off by clicking on the list view option (farthest left option) to the left of the total number of results at the top of the search page.   

No, an email address is optional. It will be used if you forget your PIN and request a reset. We may also use your email address to send you notifications of items ready for pickup, coming due or overdue. 

Yes, please bring all of your family members' Library Cards or identification with you when doing the pick up to ensure the items are checked out to the right cards.

After you’ve been notified that the hold is available, we will keep the item reserved for pick up for six days. After six days, the item(s) will be returned to the shelf or will be offered to the next person who has it on hold.

Yes, native speaker pronunciation is included throughout the program for all words and phrases. Every word and phrase in the program is recorded at natural speed by a native speaker, which learners can listen to as often as they like. The SlowSound feature lets the learner slow the pronunciation to hear the nuances of the native speaker's pronunciation.

The Library doesn’t review any of the comments that are added. Rather, there is a community moderation model in place.  

If you see something inappropriate, you can click the Report this link. When 3 separate users report something, the comment is automatically removed and reviewed against the Terms of Use of the catalogue.  

There is a low incidence rate of inappropriate comments being added to BiblioCommons catalogues, as all content that users add is associated with their Library Card - there is no opportunity for anonymous posting. 

Yes, the speech activities in Transparent Language Online are powered by EveryVoice™ technology. EveryVoice is a technology that analyzes and matches learner utterances to native speaker utterances with accuracy in any language. It allows for a variety of speech-enabled interactions, which builds speaker confidence and ability

Interlibrary Loan (ILLO) is a service which allows Thunder Bay Public Library card holders to borrow items not found in our collection from another library.

It can be used by anyone who has a valid Thunder Bay Public Library card in good standing. 

ILLOs can be used to borrow books, select audiovisual items, articles and archival and genealogical microfilm.

To learn more and to use the ILLO service, visit our Interlibrary Loans page.

Yes!  This is called your "For Later" Shelf.

Your For Later shelf is like a wish list, a place to keep track of titles you’d like to borrow at some point. You can make items on this shelf public (visible to others) or private.

► To add a title to your For Later shelf

1. Log in to your account.
2. From any of an item’s details page, search results, awards and bestseller lists, or another patron’s shelves, click the For Later button next to the item.

~or~

1. Log in to your account.
2. On the menu, click For Later Shelf.
3. Click Add a title.
4. Search for the title you want to add.
5. Click the + Add link.
6. Search for additional items if required, and then close the popup window.

You can add as many titles to this page as you like. There is no limit.

Learn more about viewing your Shelves here.

Yes, please call or email any branch to request an item, or head to our Interlibrary Loan page to access the form.

Visit this link to read the Privacy Statement.

We agree with you 100%.

The only information that is shared with others through this new system is information you choose to share.  Read more about how Thunder Bay Public Library and BiblioCommons protect your privacy.

You can call the Library at (807) 345-8275 (choose the location that you want to connect to) during hours of operation to request up to five titles to be placed on hold.

You can also stop into any TBPL branch and staff will be happy to place holds on your behalf. You'll need to bring your library card or a piece of ID with you to complete the hold process.

Email coaches@tbpl.ca for more detailed assistance, or email comments@tbpl.ca for help signing up for a Library card or updating your PIN.

Logging into a public computer with your Library Card gives you 60 minutes of computer usage a day. Extensions of an additional 30 minutes are available by requesting them from a Library staff member if there are no other patrons waiting.

Need to be logged on as a guest? Your initial computer session will give you 60 minutes of computer time, extensions are also available upon request.

**Please note that computers shut down automatically 10 minutes before a Library branch closes.

TBPL has turned on automatic renewals! If a book you have signed out isn't required by another person it will automatically renew up to 2 times. 

Extended borrowing periods may be arranged for special circumstances such as hospital stays or vacations. Please contact your library branch for more information on extended borrowing periods. 

Your Library is committed to helping students succeed.

No matter where you live in the Thunder Bay area, all students attending elementary, secondary and post secondary school are eligible for free Library Cards.

To make the sign up process easier, students no longer need to provide proof of a Thunder Bay address to get a Library card - your home address will be fine!  

Learn more about getting a Library Card here.

An index is what we use to find articles in our collections. Indexes list key information about an article like the paper it appeared, the page number, the headline, and the date as well as subject listings. You can think of it as the basic information for search engines. Our staff currently index newspaper articles into our database, the Gateway to Northwestern Ontario History. 

Indexing newspaper articles goes all the way back to the 1920s when staff at the Fort William Public Library (now the Brodie Library) started indexing local newspaper articles. 

Black and white Printing/Copying - $0.25 per page (single or double-sided)
Colour Printing/Copying - $0.50 per page (single or double-sided)
Faxing Long Distance - $1.00 (no page limit - flat rate)
Scanning - no cost

Where: All locations
When: During hours of operation, ending 10 minutes before branches close

Visit any of the branches during opening hours with your document and staff can scan it to your email address or to your USB stick.

You can email your document to any of the following email addresses, and pick up your printed document when you receive notification that it is ready.

brodie@tbpl.ca for Brodie
cpark@tbpl.ca for County Park
mjlb@tbpl.ca for Mary J L Black
waverley@tbpl.ca for Waverley

Alternatively, you can visit any of the four locations during opening hours with the document you wish to copy, or present a USB stick to staff and tell the staff member the name of the file, and they will print it off for you.

Visit any of the branches during opening hours with your document and the fax number. Staff will fill out a cover sheet and will send your fax to the number provided. You can also email your document with all the relevant information (recipient’s fax number, your phone number, and your name) to the branch you wish to fax from.

There will be a charge of $1 for all long-distance faxes.

TBPL is not responsible for faxes not received at the correct destination. TBPL cannot receive faxes on your behalf.

Yes. You can book up to two weeks in advance through the online portal.

Please let the staff know and if there is no one waiting you can use the computer for an additional half-hour session.

You will need your library card and PIN number to log onto one of our computers.
Your computer will log out when your time limit has been reached.
Remember to log out of your session when done.

Yes, you can book a meeting space. There are currently two available on a limited basis.

Mary JL Black Library - Community Programming Room
Email mjlb@tbpl.ca or call 345-8275 (ext 7302)

Waverley Library - Auditorium
Email waverley@tbpl.ca or call 345-8275 (ext 7215)

TBPL offers faxing, copying, printing and scanning services for a small fee as of February 6, 2023.

Head to any TBPL branch to access these services. You can also learn more about our fees on our Technology Services page.

Government of Canada Publications – About Copyright

Canadian Intellectual Property Office - Copyright

Thunder Bay Public Library – Copyright Resources

Internet content is not currently covered by the Copyright Act. Each website or image must be checked to determine if the content can be used under fair dealing purposes. If you obtain permission to use an image or website content, make sure you acknowledge the source in your work.

It is your responsibility to seek out the copyright owner in order to request permission to use a work protected by copyright. Start by looking at the work itself for a © symbol followed by the name of the owner. If the work has no identification, you may wish to contact a copyright collective society to see if one of them represent the copyright owner and are able to provide you with the owner's name and address or tell you whether the owner is dead or living abroad. Other options include using the Internet, contacting publishing houses, libraries, universities, museums and provincial departments of Education. If the author is no longer alive, try to find out who inherited the copyright or who administered the estate.

The Copyright Board of Canada is responsible for the issuance of licenses when owners cannot be located. If you wish to use a published work that is protected by copyright and if you satisfy the Board that you have made reasonable efforts to locate the copyright owner and the owner cannot be located, the Board can issue a non-exclusive license authorizing you to do what you wish to do.

Fair dealing is an element of the Copyright Act to allow users to access copyright protected works without infringing on copyright. Fair dealing allows you to copy an insignificant portion of a work for the purposes of research, private study, education, parody, satire, criticism or review*, or news reporting* (*requires the source to be acknowledged). The Supreme Court of Canada has established six factors in determining what is “fair”:

Purpose of the dealing – does it fall within the stated purposes?
Character of the dealing – how many copies are being made and for how many people?
Amount of the dealing – how much is copied in relation to the work as a whole?
Alternatives to the dealing – could your work be completed without copying the item?
Nature of the work – is the work published and/or confidential?
Effect of the dealing on the [market for the] work – will copies result in an economic loss to the copyright owner?

Public domain refers to works that belong to the public and are not protected by copyright. When copyright expires, the work is then in the public domain and can be used with no restrictions. Works can be in the public domain for a variety of reasons (copyright has expired, the work is not eligible for copyright protection, or the author has waived copyright). The majority of material found on the Internet is not in the public domain, even though it is publicly accessible.

Yes – The Copyright Act allows for “fair dealing” (see "fair dealing" above), which allows you to copy an insignificant portion of a work for the purposes of research, personal study, education, parody, satire, criticism or review*, or news reporting*.

(*requires the source to be acknowledged).

The general rule is that copyright lasts for the life of the author of the work to the end of the year in which they die, plus another 70 years. (e.g. John Smith dies in August 1996, his works will be protected under copyright until December 31, 2066). Specific terms and/or restrictions may apply to certain works and other subject matter. Please note that the length of copyright is different in other countries.

Everything written, photographed, digitized, recorded or broadcast, created is protected by copyright in Canada. For example, copyright protects your personal journal, family photos, newspaper articles, and the latest bestseller.

As one aspect of the broader Intellectual Property Law, copyright is the exclusive legal right to reproduce, or copy, a work. As a general rule (with the exceptions provided under ‘fair dealing’ – see "fair dealing" FAQ above) only the copyright owner is allowed to make copies or permit others to make copies of that work.

Canadian copyright is governed by the Copyright Board of Canada and the Copyright Act.