Material that is not in the Mechanics’ Institute Library’s collection may be borrowed from another library via interlibrary loan. It takes between two to six weeks to fill an interlibrary loan request. The average loan period is three weeks. Members can print out an interlibrary loan form, complete it, and return it to the Library via mail or in person to the third floor information desk. Alternatively, members can contact Cherilyn Chang concerning their 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.