180 S. Sherwood Ave, Plainwell, MI 49080 Mon-Thu 10-9 | Fri-Sat 10-5 | Sun 1-5
Ransom District Library
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Ransom District Library
Phone: (269) 685-8024
Fax: (269) 685-2266
Email: Click Here
Facebook: Ransom District Library
Twitter: twitter.com / RansomLibrary
Website: Contact Us Form
For all online library services, your username and password are BOTH your library card number. Enter your library card number in both fields. Hoopla, however, requires different information. Contact us for assistance.
All library accounts “expire” when staff needs to verify that your contact information is correct. Logins also will not work if your fines are over $10. Contact us or stop by and staff will assist you in getting your account up to date.
For inter-library loan (MEL) emails, please watch carefully for senders and subject lines indicating a “MeLCat Notice.” Please also check your spam box/junk mail. For Ransom Library notices, please contact the library to ensure we have your most current email listed and spelled correctly. You may also submit a Contact Us form and we can update your account.
If you have lost or damaged library materials, contact us or come to the help desk at the library.
You can obtain a Ransom Library card if you live in our library district. Our library district is:
(Please note that people who live within the Parchment School District in Cooper Township are also in the Parchment Library District.)
When applying for a card you must present valid identification. Acceptable forms of ID include:
Please see Reciprocal Borrowing.
Come to the library and staff will issue you a new one.
If you have a library card, the User ID is your library card number. No password is required, so leave the password field blank/empty.
If you do not have a library card, see the front desk and they will issue a guest pass. You will enter all eight numbers into the user-ID and leave the password field blank/empty. A guest pass is good for a single use. You may use the computer as a guest as often as necessary. Computer sessions last one hour. You may ask at the front desk for an extension, but please do so before your session ends. Extensions may be refused if people are waiting to use a computer.
Black and white prints on letter or legal sized paper are $0.10 per page. Black and white prints on large (11 by 17) inch paper are $0.25 per page. Color prints are $1.00 per page.
Yes, wifi is available, and extends throughout the building, around the perimeter, and into the parking lot.
Check out a list of our services here.
Please check our hours. For weather-related closing updates, check with News Channel 3 or our Facebook page.
You may register in person at the library, or by using any of our methods of contact. Occasionally events will have specific registration requirements. These will be specified in the publicity for the event.
There are numerous meeting spaces that can be reserved in the new facility:
Please read our Meeting Room Policy before filling out the Meeting Room Form.
Please see our Services Page.
Yes. Please see our Services Page.
Yes. Please see Notary Information.
Yes, we have digitized versions of the Union Enterprise on patron computers. Come into the library to search them. They are not available online to be accessed from your home. (We do not have the Kalamazoo Gazette.)
Yes. Tax forms are available in the library lobby and at the drive-up window until the end of April. There is no charge for tax forms. Availability of tax forms is dependent on when the government ships them; they have usually arrived by the end of January. Printed instruction booklets are no longer available from the IRS. Instructions and lesser used forms are available on the internet, and staff can print them for you, free of charge.
Useful Numbers: Tax Forms & Publications 1-800-829-3676 and Tax Help 1-800-829-1040 and Hearing Impaired 1-800-829-4059. Additional assistance can be found on the IRS help page. Information as of 1/2021.
Find the item that interests you by using the search bar on the library home page. Click on the “Hold” button (6th column from the left.) You will be asked for your library card number. After you enter it, you will be asked to select a specific item or mark the “Reserve Any Items” box. If there are no items available, it is best to mark “Reserve Any Items.” Now press the “Place Hold(s)” button at the bottom of the screen. When the item becomes available, the library will notify you by email or phone.
Yes! Find the item that interests you by using the search bar on the library home page. Click on the “Hold” button (6th column from the left.) You will be asked for your library card number. After you enter it, you will be asked to select a specific item or mark the “Reserve Any Items” box. If there is an available copy, it is best to select that item. This will trigger a notice to staff that you are requesting a book that is already available. The item will be located and set aside for you. When the item becomes available, the library will notify you by email or phone. This process usually takes less than one day. If you need an available item immediately, please call the library directly and ask staff to help you.
If the library does not have a book or other item which you need, then it is possible to contact another library who owns it and request a copy. MelCat, the Michigan Electronic Library Catalog, connects you with more than 170 libraries statewide, increasing your access to millions of books, CDs, DVDs and other materials.
Go mel.org and search for the title or author. When you have found the item you need, click on “Get This Item From Mel.” You will need your library card number to request a copy.
You can typically expect an item to arrive at Ransom in 5-10 days, depending on which library the item comes from and how many libraries own it. We will notify you by email or phone when your item is ready to be picked up. If you haven’t heard anything from us after about a week, contact us and we can give you more specific information.
If you have logged into your MyMel account and your item says In Transit, it means that the item in question is either on its way to (or from) Ransom via courier.
If an item is listed as Mel Received, the item is ready to be picked up. You can verify this by contacting the library.
Most items are renewable once. To renew your inter-library loan, go to MyMel, log in to your account and click on Checkouts. Click to renew the book. A updated due date will appear. If your account will not allow you to renew your item, please contact the library.
The inter-library loan system is connected to your Ransom Library card. If you cannot log in, contact us. To change information like address, email, etc. please contact us. Changing contact information in MyMel is not permanent and will not update your account correctly. It must be done by library staff.
We are not currently hiring. However, you may still ask for a job application at the front desk.
The Friends of the Library are always looking for volunteers! Please see the Friends Page for more information.
We accept a wide variety of materials for children, teens, and adults such as: hardcover and paperback books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks. We do not accept textbooks, old encyclopedia sets, or magazines. If you have a small amount of donations you may bring them through the front door. If you have a car full of donations, please call or come inside to request assistance.
We have a collection of materials for sale during library hours in the Friends of the Library Room, on the east side of the library.