Borrowing rules for the San Francisco Law Library

Who can borrow materials

• Members of the State Bar of California in good standing who live in San Francisco or have an office in San Francisco
• Judges of courts located in San Francisco
• Members of municipal, state, or federal agencies located in San Francisco

How long you can keep items

• Most Law Library materials: 2 weeks
• High-demand materials: 1 week
• Programs for Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE): 1 week

Items marked "library use only" do not circulate.

How much you can borrow at one time

• 10 books
• 5 CDs
• 5 MCLE programs

Accessing your account 

To log in: 

1. Go to the catalog.
2. Select "My Library Account."
3. Enter name and last nine digits of library card barcode.

You can renew items online, unless they are overdue.

Call us if you need help accessing your borrowing account at 415-554-1772.

Due date reminders

When you're checking out materials, you can request an email that lists the items you've borrowed and their due dates.

You will also be sent a due date reminder notice by email before an item is due. 

Renewing materials

As long as there are no holds on the item, you can renew materials once for an additional week at the end of the checkout period.

After an item has been renewed once: You must return it by the new due date.

If an item you borrowed has a hold on it: You must return it by the due date.

Items overdue for more than 7 days:

Cannot be renewed. The timely renewal period has lapsed.

Items overdue for less than 7 days:

• Can be renewed for the remainder of the 1-week renewal period.
• Must be renewed by phone. Call 415-554-1772.

Putting items on hold

Place a hold on an item currently checked out by calling the library at 415-554-1772.

We will notify you when the item becomes available.

After you're notified, we'll hold the requested item for 3 days.

Checking out items you've recently returned

After you return an item, you cannot check it out again for 48 hours.

After 48 hours, you can check out the item again or call to request a hold.

Fines or penalties for overdue, lost, or damaged materials

Items 2 weeks overdue:

• Borrowing privileges are suspended.
• No additional items may be borrowed until you return overdue the overdue materials.

Items 1 month overdue, damaged, or lost: 

• You are responsible for the cost of the materials deemed lost, plus processing fees for each overdue item.
• You may get borrowing privileges back after you pay all applicable fees.
• Fine for overdue MCLE programs is $1 per day, including weekends and holidays.

Download the SFLL's Borrowing Rules

Please view the Law Library’s Borrowing Rules for detailed borrowing policy information.