Material that is not in the Mechanics’ Institute Library’s collection may be borrowed from another library via interlibrary loan. In addition, while lending libraries as a rule do not loan entire journals or newspaper issues, copies of magazine or newspaper articles can also be requested. It takes between two to six weeks to fill an interlibrary loan request. The average loan period for materials is three weeks.
How to Request
To submit a request you may use any of the following options:
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complete the form below
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contact Cherilyn Banson regarding your request
The Mechanics’ Institute Library does not borrow from institutions located within San Francisco that are freely accessible to the public.
A maximum of five requests will be processed per member per month.
All materials obtained through interlibrary loan are subject to the policies of the lending library and to international copyright laws.
Charges
Members are responsible for paying any borrowing or copy fees set by the lending library plus shipping costs as needed. Members must indicate in the ILL request how much they are willing to pay for this service. Overdue fines for interlibrary loan materials are $.50/day.
Interlibrary Loan for Nonmembers
The Library provides photocopied material from its collection to nonmembers via ILL at a charge of $.25/page up to 30 pages.