Expanded Services in your Library

[Olcott Library]

You may already be aware of the $25,000 grant awarded to our Library by the Illinois State Library, a Department of the Office of Secretary of State, with funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the federal Library Services and Technology Act.
Because of this grant and the matching funds already donated by many of you, the library has expanded its services, but we are still working to further increase accessibility. You can learn more about what we are doing by clicking here.
When you use the online catalog you can now enter your library identification number and four-digit pin number to access your account, renew items, and place holds. If we have your email address on file we will send courtesy notices electronically prior to an item's due date. Contact us at [e-mail] or visit us online.

[Olcott Library]

Anybody can read our books if they come to the library and read them there. That is for free.

We have more than 20,000 books and recordings to offer, but we had to buy them. The publishing houses don't give their books away for free to libraries (if they did, then they probably could not print books anymore out of lack of money). Besides, we have employees here that will catalog the books, repair them, answer your questions, etc., and we need to pay them, since that is their work.

So you see, though our spirit is one of service, the material world imposes some limitations on us, and we cannot escape from it.
You can see it the other way round also. Thanks to people like you willing to join the Library or the Society, we can offer our services to others. So this is a joint work were everybody gives and receives, and let other people benefit from it also.

Members of the Theosophical Society in America have free library privileges as one of the basic benefits of membership. See http://www.theosophical.org/members/index.php for more information about membership in the Society. People who are not TSA members are welcome to become library patrons by paying the library $30 for local borrowing or $40 for remote borrowing by mail, per year. Go to http://www.theosophical.org/resources/library/index.php to see library policies and a form to register as a library patron.

Also take a look at the free full-text books, articles, and leaflets available in the "Resources" section.

[Nabil Naser]

OK, how do I become a member of TS or the library?

And why not give everyone the right to read your books?

[Olcott Library]

Anybody can use our catalog for free, but if you want to check out a book you have to be either a member of our Library or a member of the TS in America.

[Nabil Naser]

I have a question

Can we do all that for free?