***Update July 1, 2024*** Limited Minerva requesting is available amongst the "Mini-ME" libraries: Baxter Memorial, Falmouth Memorial, Gray Public, McArthur, Scarborough Public, South Portland Public, Thomas Memorial, Walker Memorial, and Windham Public. If your desired material is owned by one of these libraries, your request will go through although delivery times may be slower.
Also, the Maine State Library prevailed in its legal dispute and is now negotiating with the winning bidder to resume statewide delivery services as soon as possible.
As you may have already heard, borrowing between libraries has been temporarily suspended due to extended contract negotiations at the state level for van delivery service. It now appears that ILL delivery will be interrupted through at least mid-August. Over 200 Maine libraries and their patrons are impacted. This is a mutually frustrating disruption. We receive updates daily and will continue to share them with you as we receive them. Please know that while out of our control, the situation will eventually resolve, and some ideas to ease the impact are being explored.
So, what does this mean for you?
- Libraries have recalled their items in order to get them back to their home locations.
- On June 15, all ILL items remaining on the hold shelf will be returned to their home library.
- All ILL items are due back to Scarborough Public Library NO LATER than June 17. This will give us enough time to make sure all ILL items return to their home libraries before delivery stops.
- ILL items cannot be renewed at this time.
- We are unable to do any form of ILL at this time.
- Existing holds for items at other libraries should stay in the system and will move through the system once ILL service resumes. If Scarborough Public Library has a copy of the item, your hold will be fulfilled from our collection. There may be glitches; please monitor your holds and reach out with any issues.
What are your options for finding the materials you want and need?
- We still have books, DVDs, magazines, and more right here in our building ready to be checked out.
- You can place a hold on any item we own.
- Residents of Cumberland County are eligible for a FREE Portland Public Library card.
- Our online resources remain unaffected, so if you read on a smartphone, tablet, Kindle, or computer, you can still access and use cloudLibrary, Libby, Flipster, and all our databases.
- For patrons who are willing to travel, we offer reciprocal borrowing with many Maine libraries. See the full list of participating libraries here: Libraries Participating in Maine Reciprocal Lending Program: Maine State Library You will have to return materials checked out from other libraries to the home library—Scarborough Public Library will be unable to transport books for you.
We know this is a huge disappointment, especially with the beginning of summer reading.
You can contact the Maine State library and view daily status updates here.
We thank our community of readers for your patience and patronage.
How can we turn this negative into a positive library experience?
- Discover the treasures in your own home library! We have an extensive collection of curated titles, Books that are here in our Fiction collection, for example, are those that have circulated widely and continue to be popular enough to hold onto.
- Check out our book displays and our staff picks for new-to-you titles.
- Explore our online offerings on cloudLibrary and Libby.
- Ask a librarian for recommendations.
- Check out our Adult Summer Learning bingo sheet (available June 20) for some ideas of different things to read.
- If you see a book is available at a different library, go for a road trip! (Check to make sure we have borrowing privileges there first! And plan your return visit to return the book.) This can be a fun time to check out a story time or a movie or a speaker at another library too.
- Did you know that Scarborough is full of Little Free Libraries? Find them on the map here: Little Free Library
- Did you buy a book that is super popular? Consider donating it to the library or to the Friends’ little shop in our lobby when you are done with it!
Chip Schrader
Library Director