The Liberty Library participates in the MILS (Maine InfoNet Library System for Maine’s Small Libraries) consortium, a shared library system of smaller libraries from across the state.
MILS and MaineCat statewide borrowing is available for requesting online, and items are delivered by the statewide van delivery service, a service where a courier delivers library materials throughout the state of Maine. Delivery is one day a week. Items usually arrive in 1-2 weeks. You will be notified by email when your item is available for pick-up at the library.
If you are uncomfortable with the online system or are having difficulty, please ask for assistance from someone at the library. The volunteer will do their best to help you or refer the request to the director, if needed. Or you can contact the director directly.
Please start your online search at the MILS catalog. The easiest way is to go to ‘SEARCH THE CATALOG‘ at the top right of this webpage. See MILS HELP for directions and get MILS Help Sheet about how to search and request an item.
If you do not find what you are looking for in MILS, at the bottom of the search page is a link to MaineCat, a Statewide Catalog that combines and links library collections across Maine, and members can request items be sent to Liberty Library. A single search scans more than 3 million unique titles and nearly 8 million items.
Interlibrary Loan is free for library members. Requestors must have a valid Liberty Library membership and the account must be in good standing, i.e. not expired or no overdue or owed items. The due date of items varies according to the lending libraries. The Liberty Library does not charge overdue fees but the sending library may have an overdue fee that the patron will be responsible to pay, if applicable.
If an item cannot be located in MILS or MaineCat, patrons may contact the Library Director to see if their request can be fulfilled elsewhere. Please provide the correct information about title, author, ISBN, etc. so that your request can be fulfilled accurately. These items often come via USPS from out-of-state and will likely take longer to arrive. The postage to return items will be paid by the library.
Patrons with a library card from the Liberty Library may also do an interlibrary loan through Maine Reciprocal Borrowing Program which allows patrons from participating libraries to visit other libraries in the program and check out books in person. Anyone with a valid library card from one of the participating libraries can visit any of the other participating libraries and check out materials. It is referred to as “walk-in” borrowing because it essentially turns your local library card into a “statewide” library card! This is a form of interlibrary loan on your Liberty Library account and not borrowing from the loaning library. You may return the borrowed item to the Liberty Library or to any of the participating libraries.
Liberty Library does not normally give out library cards, but you can request one so that you can take advantage of reciprocal borrowing. Stop by the library or call 589-3161 during open hours to get one. We will work on having one made as quickly as possible. You will be contacted by email when your card is ready to be picked up in person.
Revised January 2023