Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Archives and Special Collections endeavors to balance access and security of collections materials. We take a conservative approach to Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests compared to the rest of the CM Library system. In all instances of confusion or conflict, we defer to the broader CM Library ILL policies and seek the advice of the ILL Librarians.
While Main Library is closed for construction, CML ASC is housed in a temporary location in East Charlotte. Access to our collections, including archival collections, is available by appointment only. Please see the Archives and Special Collections webpage for updated information.
Library cardholders often request materials that another library is willing to lend to CM Library on the condition that the material stays in the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room (i.e. that it is used on-premises and under CML staff supervision rather than checked out to the customer). We are happy to accommodate these types of loans for CM Library customers. You must place the ILL request online and ILL Librarians will reach out to you with any additional information they need to request the item from other libraries. If another library is willing to lend the item, they will send it to CML ILL and the ILL department will send the material to us. We will contact you via email from carolinaroom@cmlibrary.org on the same day that we receive the material to set up an appointment. You must create an appointment and pay any associated fees before coming to our temporary location to review the material. We are not able to accept payments at our current location. Payments can be made via credit card online at any time. Cash payments can be made at any branch location, but not at our current temporary location. We will provide additional information such as directions and access instructions when you make your appointment.
We are able to provide a microfilm/fiche reader in our current location. Customers may bring their own microfilm in for use and request microfilm from other libraries via ILL (and, of course, any film in our collection). Our temporary location is not a public branch, so many amenities of public branches are not available. We are able to provide WiFi, a computer with internet access, a microfilm reader, a document scanner/copier, archival review tools, and a bathroom. Water, vending, soft seating, and other branch amenities are not available. If you would like to borrow materials that are not books, microfilm, or microfiche please contact us at carolinaroom@cmlibrary.org or 704-416-0150 before placing an ILL order. We may be able to accommodate your request, but will need to plan accordingly.
CM Library Archives and Special Collections evaluates requests to lend our materials on a case-by-case basis. If an item is widely available to purchase, we are willing to send the item to the requesting library for in-house use only. Special Collections materials, regardless of how widely available they are, may never be checked out for use outside of the Library. In order to evaluate whether an item is "widely available" we check the following sources:
If the full text of an item is available from HathiTrust or Internet Archive, we will not loan the item. If an item is not available from any of these vendors we are very unlikely to loan the item.
After reviewing these vendors, we consider the cost of replacement, regardless of how easily available the item is. If the cost of a new or like new copy is more than $100, we will not approve the loan. This often means that legal volumes are not available for ILL.
Items that are only available in our Rare Books collection (formerly known as the "Mecklenburg Room") are highly unlikely to be loaned. Even if copies are widely available, there are usually other aspects of the particular copy of an item that make it "rare" (such as an author signature, a valuable provenance, etc.).
Loan decisions are made entirely at the discretion of Archives and Special Collections staff.
If a loan is not approved, we are almost always willing to provide limited copies of material in accordance with the ILL Copying policy below.
At this time, we do not loan microfilm, fiche, maps, serials (including newspapers), or vertical files as these formats are often irreplaceable and/or too difficult to ship. As with the books, CDs, and DVDs above, we are almost always willing to provide limited copies of material in accordance with the ILL Copying policy below.
At this time, we do not loan archival materials as they are irreplaceable. As with the books, CDs, and DVDs above, we are almost always willing to provide limited copies of material in accordance with the ILL Copying policy below.
Loans are made for 6 weeks.
Loans are made on the condition that materials are used in the Library only. Checkouts are not allowed.
Loans are not renewable.
No fees are charged for materials up front. Lost item fees are a minimum of $100. If the cost of replacement is more than $100, the lost item fee will reflect the actual cost of replacement.
We are happy to make limited copies of materials for the personal use of researchers. We do not charge for this service regardless of whether the researcher is a resident of Mecklenburg County or not. If your loan is not approved, please reach out to us at carolinaroom@cmlibrary.org or 704-416-0150 to see if we can provide copies of that item for your use.
We are able to copy up to 35 pages of a book or 1 article per issue of a serial (newspaper, magazine, newsletter, etc.).
We can create copies of map sections within the bounds of our hardware capability. Full rendering of large maps may not be possible, but we will endeavor to provide images of relevant sections.
We can create images from newspaper microfilm if the customer can provide a specific date for the article/page request. We will not conduct original research through microfilm for customers above and beyond our normal Reference & Research Policy.
We cannot provide copies of audio/visual materials.
Love the Carolina Room? Join our Facebook group to ask questions to staff, discover historical photos, learn interesting facts and stories from Charlotte Mecklenburg past and have fun in an online social community with other history lovers in the County. You must have a Facebook account to join our group.
This guide is subject to a CC-BY-NC 4.0 License.
