Library Services

Borrowing

With your library card, you can check out most items for up to three weeks. An item will typically renew automatically up to six times, as long as another patron isn’t waiting for it. There are no late fines; however, items that are lost or damaged, as determined by library staff, will be billed to your account. Failure to return items, a pattern of losing or damaging items, and/or a failure to pay for lost/damaged items may result in a loss of borrowing privileges.

• You can check out items from and return them to any public library in Allegheny County. Note: Each library or library system determines its own borrowing policies which apply to all patrons who make use of their resources.
• You can request that items from other libraries in Allegheny County be delivered to your local library. You can search for books and request them through the catalog. You will need the barcode number from your library card and your PIN to log in.
• Items can be renewed through the catalog or by calling 412-622-1895.

If you have any questions about borrowing, please contact library staff.

Library Instruction, Reference, and Readers’ Advisory

Staff are available to assist you in meeting your information needs with library collections and other library resources. Additionally, staff may offer advice for selecting materials according to your preferences or needs.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is the borrowing and lending of materials between libraries to supplement collections. It may be used to borrow materials that are not available within the collections of the eiNetwork’s participating libraries, which include Allegheny County Library Association libraries and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and is frequently used for the purposes of research.

Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians (LAMP)

The Library of Accessible Media for Pennsylvanians offers people who cannot access the printed word a way to restore their love of reading by shipping free materials in accessible formats like braille, audio, described movies and large print directly to patrons across Pennsylvania. In addition to physical content, LAMP also provides digital access to downloadable audio or braille to hundreds of thousands of titles. If you cannot read standard print due to blindness, a visual disability or because you can’t hold a book or turn pages or, if you have a reading disability such as dyslexia – then this service is for you. We can assist you with and certify your application at Wilkinsburg Public Library.