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| Use of Collections |
In addition to serving state agencies and their staff members, the library is open to the general public for on-site research. No appointments or letters of introduction are needed. However, only current, permanent employees of Executive or Legislative branches of government in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can borrow materials or request materials through the State Library's inter-library loan service.
Due to the size, age and complexity of the collection, only library staff may access to the State Library stacks.
To request an item from the collection:
- Search the library catalogs
- Fill out a "call slip" with the pertinent information
- Submit it to staff at the reference desk or Special Collections desk.
A library staff member will retrieve the materials from the stacks and place them on the reference desk or Special Collections desk, where you may pick them up. Please return materials to the appropriate desk after you are done using them.
Patrons may ask the reference department to set aside materials on reserve if they expect to return later for further research. |
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| Library Catalogs |
All library materials are represented in one of these two catalogs:
Card Catalog: located in the main reading room, includes materials that were processed by the library prior to 1975.
Online Catalog: includes library materials processed by the library from 1975 on. In general, earlier materials are not included in the online catalog. |
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| Electronic Resources |
In-library use: All resources listed on our electronic resources page, except Lexis, are available for the general public to use.
Remote access: Many resources outlined on our electronic resources page, are available with a valid Massachusetts public library card. Because of licensing restrictions, Loislaw and Proquest require a State Library of Massachusetts Library card to use.
Click here to access the library databases. |
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| Reference Service |
| Reference librarians at the State Library will research and respond to reference questions either in-person, over the phone (617.727.2590), or by email. Email questions should be of the type that can be answered briefly and relate to legislative, legal or governmental information. (For example: "Who were the senators from Massachusetts in 1886?") |
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| Copying Facilities |
| There are photocopy machines in the main reading room (room 341), the
periodicals balcony (room 442), and Special Collections (room 55).
Photocopies are $0.20 a sheet. Reproductions from the microform
machines are $0.25 a sheet. The machines accept coins and $1.00 bills. |
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| Borrowing Materials |
Members of the general public cannot borrow materials directly from the State Library. However, these materials may be borrowed through your local library via interlibrary loan. Please contact your local library's inter-library loan department to make this request and for further assistance.
Our lending guidelines prohibit the loan of local history titles, genealogical items, microforms, newspapers, pre-1930 publications, reference works, videos, or Special Collections holdings. |
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