J. Lewis Crozer Library offers at-home delivery of library materials to eligible residents who are unable to visit the library in person. The service is intended to expand equitable access to the library’s collections while protecting the privacy, dignity, and safety of users and the library team.
Service Area
At-home delivery is available to eligible residents of:
- Chester
- Lower and Upper Chichester
- Trainer
- Upland
Eligibility
At-home delivery is available to residents who:
- Live within the service area.
- Are unable to visit the library in person because of a disability, illness, injury, age-related need, mobility-related access need, or another circumstance that makes traveling to the library difficult or unsafe.
- Have a valid Delaware County Libraries card or are eligible to obtain one.
Eligibility may be temporary or ongoing. Medical documentation is not required.
A caregiver, family member, or other authorized representative may request or receive materials on behalf of an eligible user.
Residents who do not have a library card may contact the library for assistance. A library account must be established before materials can be checked out or delivered.
Available Materials
Users may request circulating library materials, including:
- Books and large-print books
- Audiobooks
- DVDs and other circulating media
- Circulating materials available through the Delaware County Libraries catalog
All materials are subject to availability, loan periods, borrowing limits, and the policies of the library that owns the item.
The library may limit the number or type of materials included in a delivery based on availability, size, weight, transportation requirements, demand, and library capacity.
How to Request At-Home Delivery
At-home delivery must be requested directly from the library by telephone or email. Submitting a hold through the online catalog does not automatically request delivery.
To request service, contact:
Phone: 610-494-3454
Email: crasst@delcolibraries.org
Please be prepared to provide:
- Your name
- Library card number
- Delivery address
- Telephone number or preferred contact method
- The materials you would like to receive or information about your reading and viewing preferences
- Any delivery instructions needed to complete a safe exterior handoff
Library team members can help identify materials or select items based on preferred authors, subjects, formats, reading levels, or interests.
Users should notify the library of any changes to their address, telephone number, eligibility, or delivery needs.
How Delivery Works
- A library team member will review the request and confirm eligibility and library account information.
- Requested materials will be located, placed on hold when necessary, and checked out to the user’s library account.
- The library will contact the user to arrange a delivery date, approximate delivery window, and handoff location. Exact delivery times cannot be guaranteed.
- Materials will ordinarily be handed directly to the user or to an adult caregiver or authorized representative identified in advance.
- Library team members will remain outside the residence or in a designated lobby, reception area, or other common space. Team members will not enter a user’s home or private living area.
- Materials will not be left unattended unless the library has approved a secure delivery location in advance.
Deliveries are scheduled based on library operations, team availability, transportation capacity, and weather conditions. Deliveries may be postponed when conditions make travel or delivery unsafe.
Renewals
Most eligible items may be renewed up to three times.
Eligible materials will automatically renew three days before their due date. Users may also renew materials through their online account at www.delcolibraries.org. A library card number is required to access the account.
An item may not renew when:
- Another library user has requested it.
- It is overdue or not eligible for renewal.
- It has already been renewed the maximum number of times.
- It was obtained from outside Delaware County through Interlibrary Loan.
- The user’s account has billed items or fines totaling $20 or more.
Users may check their current due dates through their online account. When an email address is included on the account, a courtesy email will be sent three days before the original due date and will identify any updated due dates.
Users who cannot access their online account may contact the library for assistance confirming due dates or renewing eligible items.
Returns
Materials may be:
- Collected during the user’s next scheduled delivery.
- Returned to the library by an authorized representative.
- Returned through another arrangement approved by the library.
Users should contact the library if materials need to be collected before the next scheduled delivery.
Users are responsible for materials checked out to their accounts. Lost or damaged materials will be handled according to applicable Delaware County Libraries borrowing policies.
Missed Deliveries
Users should notify the library as soon as possible if they will not be available for a scheduled delivery.
When a delivery cannot be completed, the materials will be returned to the library and the user will be contacted to reschedule.
Repeated missed deliveries may result in a temporary pause in service.
Safety
The safety of users and the library team is a priority.
Users must:
- Secure pets before the delivery.
- Provide a reasonably safe and accessible entrance or handoff location.
- Treat library team members respectfully and follow the library’s Patron Conduct Policy during communications and deliveries.
Library team members may leave or decline to complete a delivery if they encounter threatening behavior, an unsecured animal, an inaccessible entrance, hazardous weather, or another unsafe condition.
Library team members cannot transport users, enter private living areas, complete personal errands, or provide caregiving, medical, legal, or social-service assistance.
Privacy
Information collected for this service will be used only to arrange and administer at-home delivery.
The library will collect only the information necessary to provide the service. Users are not required to disclose a medical diagnosis.
Contact information, addresses, borrowing records, and delivery information will be handled in accordance with library privacy practices and applicable law.
Suspension or Discontinuation
The library may temporarily pause or discontinue service when:
- The user no longer lives within the service area.
- The user no longer meets the eligibility requirements or no longer wishes to receive the service.
- The library is repeatedly unable to contact the user or complete deliveries.
- Materials are repeatedly lost, damaged, or not returned.
- The user’s account is blocked under applicable borrowing policies.
- Unsafe conditions, threatening behavior, harassment, or repeated policy violations occur.
- Staffing, transportation, funding, weather, or operational limitations prevent the library from safely providing the service.
Whenever possible, the library will contact the user before service is suspended and explain what is needed for the service to resume.
Users may discontinue at-home delivery at any time by contacting the library.
Accessibility and Accommodations
The library will make reasonable efforts to provide at-home delivery in an accessible and respectful manner.
Users may contact the library to discuss communication preferences, delivery arrangements, or reasonable accommodations related to the service.