Services

 

REFERENCE SERVICES

Reference librarians are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00. We welcome walk-ins as well as telephone and e-mail requests. (See contact information)

We are happy to help residents of Maine locate legal or governmental information generally. If you live outside Maine, we are happy to assist you in locating any Maine-related information. Please note that we are not attorneys and cannot interpret statutes or cases or give legal advice or interpretation of language or comment on the legality of specific situations.

FRONT PAGE NEWS FEED

Front Page is a daily selection of news articles for you to read on your computer or mobile device. We hope that this updated service helps you stay in touch with news relevant to developments in and around Maine's State House.

FEES

The Library charges nominal fees for photocopies, printed pages, and for various methods of delivery. Fees and options are as follows:

PHOTOCOPIES

10¢ per page

PRINTOUTS (at the public computers)

10¢ per page, payable at the Circulation Desk (credit cards not accepted)

DELIVERY OPTIONS

Postage costs. For patrons without access to email or who prefer paper copies to be mailed or faxed, the first 50 pages in a calendar month are complimentary. After the complimentary first 50 pages in a month, there is a 10¢ per page fee plus the cost of postage for mailing. Remote patrons desiring this service must pay the invoiced amount before the photocopies will be delivered.

Faxing. In addition to the photocopying charges above, fees for faxing are similar to the fees outlined above in "postage costs." For a patron that desires materials to be mailed or faxed, the first 50 pages are complimentary. After the first 50 pages in a calendar month, there is a 10¢ per page fee for fax. For patrons who desire a combination of fax and mail, the total combined complimentary pages is 50.

FedEx. We will bill your account at your request.

Emailing. No charge.

 

INSTRUCTION AND TOURS

Library staff, upon request, offer tours and  instructional sessions focused on using topic-specific print and electronic materials, the compilation of legislative histories and the overall legislative process. We also occasionally provide training for new or enhanced electronic services that we subscribe to. 

 

LENDING SERVICES

WHO MAY BORROW

Materials are available for loan directly to any resident of Maine. Acceptable photo ID and proof of current residence are required.

Acceptable photo identification:

ID must be current. Examples of acceptable photo ID include:

• Maine driver's license
• Passport
• School ID
• Employee ID

Examples of documents that can be used to verify residence address include:

• Maine driver's license
• Utility bill
• Vehicle registration
• Document with recognizable letterhead or return address

Individuals may request an item via e-mail or by phone (287-1600). We will mail items and a return mailing label to persons who do not live in the Augusta area.  If you live out-of-state and wish to borrow something from us, please see your local librarian to request an ILL transaction. All circulation records are confidential. 

We lend items and supply photocopies via the interlibrary loan service (ILL) directly to other libraries in Maine and elsewhere, as well as participate in patron-initiated requests through URSUS.

 

WHAT MAY NOT BE BORROWED 

Certain materials such as reference works, finding aids, newspaper clipping files, committee files, certain warehouse items, most statutes from other states, and current issues of periodicals do not circulate.  Materials which do not circulate are identified in the catalog as Library Use Only (LUO).

LOAN PERIOD

The general loan period is three weeks. The loan period for reporters is one week. You may renew an item, if no one else is waiting for it, by phoning 287-1600 and asking for the Circulation Desk. Most materials may be renewed twice. 

RESERVING AN ITEM

If an item you wish to use is out on loan you may reserve it. Upon it's return it will be mailed to you or held one week for pick-up.  

OVERDUE, LOST AND DAMAGED  ITEMS

If materials are not returned or renewed within 3 days of the due date, the Library will begin overdue procedures. After two overdue notices, the Library will send a bill for the cost of replacing the material and suspend the patron's borrowing privileges.

Patrons are allowed 30 days to pay any bill. After that time materials are considered lost and replacement processes begin. Patrons receive notification that they must pay an additional processing fee for each lost item and that the Library is suspending the person's privileges to receive photocopies via mail or fax. Once replacement purchases have been made, the patron must pay actual replacement charges and processing fees to reinstate privileges, even if materials are returned.

Patrons will be billed the replacement costs for any substantial damage to a borrowed item.

MAINE RECIPROCAL BORROWING PROGRAM

LLRL participates in the Maine Reciprocal Borrowing Program (MRBP), which allows people to use their library cards at other libraries. More information, including a list of participating libraries, can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/reciprocal_borrowing/index.shtml. Note that for LLRL patrons, ask the librarian for your LLRL barcode to participate in this program.

 

EBOOKS

The Library also provides remote access to several hundred legal publications through LexisNexis Digital Library. More information on this service can be found here: https://legislature.maine.gov/lawlibrary/ebooks/12433 

Please note the above service is provided to library patrons who have a library card with us. 

OBTAINING ITEMS WE DON'T OWN

If you have borrowing privileges at our library and wish to borrow an item that we do not own, that  is legal or governmental in scope, there are several avenues for doing so.

INTERLIBRARY LOAN

First is the traditional interlibrary loan approach where you make the request of us. We then locate other libraries who own the desired item and ask them to loan it to us for you to use. You may request interlibrary loans at the reference desk.

PATRON-INITIATED REQUEST

If you find an item in the URSUS or MaineCat catalogs that you want to borrow you may request it directly via the online request function built into those systems. The "Request" option shows up after you have displayed a record for an individual title. You will need your patron card number in order to make a request. Since we do not issue actual borrowing cards, our Circulation Desk staff can tell you what your number is.  The time periods for loans and fines for overdue materials borrowed via ILL and the requestor feature will vary according to the policies of the lending libraries.

 

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Persons who are hard of hearing may access our services by dialing 7-1-1 to to use Maine Relay Services or by completing our online Ask A Law Librarian form. A lift in the Law Library provides access to the periodicals and government documents collections located on the mezzanine.

 

5/3/2024         A-Z List