Borrowing Policies

Loan Periods and Late Fees

For information about late fees, renewal limits and number of items allowed for adult and juvenile cards, please refer to our Table of Loan Periods and Late Fees.

Lost and Damaged Items

Cardholders are responsible for the replacement cost of lost or damaged items. Cardholders will be charged the cost of the item plus a $5 proceessing fee. For children 17 and under a parent or legal guardian is responsible.

Requesting Items

You may place your name on a waiting list for books and other library materials which are currently in circulation. They may be reserved by making the request at the reference desk in person, by telephone, or online in our catalog.

InterLibrary Loan

If a public library within Allegheny County does not own the material you need, we can borrow it from another library through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). This can be done in person, by telephone or by using our Interlibrary Loan Online System. The requested material may be available within several days or within two to three weeks, depending on the source location. Some charges may also apply depending on the Interlibrary Loan policy of the source library.

For other libraries requesting loans from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, please see our InterLibrary Loan Lending Policies to Other Libraries.

Warehouse Requests

Overflow reference materials that belong to the Main location are housed off-site at our Allegheny Regional location in the North Side. You can request that an item be brought to the Main location for you to use by filling out the Warehouse Request Form. Items brought to Main arrive in 2-3 days.

You will be notified when the book or material is available for you to pick up.

PhotoCopy Services

Phone: 412.622.3142
Fax: 412.621.1267

Photocopy orders can be placed by telephone, mail, or FAX.
$1.00 per page (minimum charge of $6.00)
$5.00 handling fee per order, per day
$5.00 FAX charge per order
7 percent local sales tax (if applicable)
postage (determined by weight)

Orders are filled on a same day basis. (Items in storage may take longer.)

Please call 412.622.3142 or FAX: 412.621.1267

Suggest A Purchase

If you would like to suggest that the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh purchase a particular item that it does not have, please fill out the Suggest a Purchase form that is found on the Catalog website under "Search Tips".

Returning Items

Please return materials as soon as you have finished with them as others may be waiting to use them.

Book drops are available in front of the Main Library and at all branch libraries except The Library Center. To avoid damage to audiovisual materials, please return them to the Circulation Desk.

Late Fees

Late fees are charged for overdue adult items at the rate of 25 cents per day for everything except bestsellers (50 cents per day), and videos and DVDs ($1.00 per day). Late fees are not charged for Sundays or days on which the library is closed.

No late fees are charged for overdue Children's Materials borrowed from and returned to Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Locations. Each item borrowed will be issued a "due date" and is expected to be returned by that date. Late notices will continue to be sent when an item is not returned by the due date. Customers will be responsible for replacement costs on items that are lost or damaged. Late fees will continue to be charged on Adult Materials. Click here for more information about Borrowing Limits and Late Fees.

Library cards are not transferable, therefore, you are responsible for all library materials checked out on your card and any late fees charged to your card.

EiNetwork materials may be returned to any Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh location or county library, regardless of where they were checked out.