Services

Most of the material in the collection is available for loan to members of the Institute. Regular members can borrow up to 8 items (3 videos maximum) for the following time periods:

Books, CDs and audiocassettes - 14 days
Videocassettes / DVDs (movies) - 7 days

Educators with valid identification can borrow up to 12 items ( 3 videos maximum) for a period of 15 days.

Loans to members outside the New York area

Loan service by mail is offered to meet the needs of members who cannot visit the library in person. This service is offered (only within the United States) at the following rates:

Ground - $6.00
2nd day delivery and Next day delivery - Rates vary by region. Please contact library for details.

Renewals and reserves

Material on loan, except for videos and DVDs, can be renewed twice, as long as there are no reserves on the same items. Reserves can be placed on items which are on loan to other members.

Requests for renewals and reserves can be made by phone: 212.308.7720 , e-mail bibny@cervantes.org or from the on-line catalog.

Interlibrary loan and document delivery

The library responds to requests for loans made by other libraries in the United States with the exception of audiovisual materials. Members may also request the loan of materials from Spanish libraries which are not available in the U.S. these types of loans will be billed at the following rates:
- $5.00 minimum charge for members
- $10.00 minimum charge for libraries.

The lending library may add additional charges for processing and shipping of the material. For more information regarding costs and conditions please contact the library staff.

The charges for photocopies sent by mail will be the following:
- Copy (per page) $0.50
- Shipping $3.00
- Copies sent by fax will be billed at the rate of $1.00 per page.
- Material printed from library databases or CD-ROMs will be billed at the same rate as photocopies.
  A self-service photocopy machine is available.

Reference and information services

The library responds to requests for information on subjects relating to Spain and Spanish America in general, the Spanish language and literature in Spanish. Requests can be made by regular mail, phone, fax, e-mail or in person.

Access to electronic library

The library offers users access to more than 70 information resources including audiobooks (opens in new window), databases, yearbooks, bibliographies, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, the online periodicals ABC (opens in new window) and El Mundo (opens in new window), in a variety of electronic formats, CD-ROM/DVD and on-line.

Internet services

The library offers internet access for research in resources related to Spanish and Spanish American language and culture.

Rules governing use:

Use of library computers is limited to 30 minutes.
Use of library computers for e-mail or other personal communications is not permitted.
Users may not download files, attempt to reconfigure systems or software, or interfere with current system or network set-up and services.
Users may use Instituto Cervantes's network, services and computers only for lawful purposes.
The complete "Acceptable Use Policy" is posted in the library.

Wireless Internet Access (Wi-Fi)

Wireless service is available without charge to members of Instituto Cervantes.
In order to connect to the wireless service users must have SERVICE PACK 2 installed on a computer using the Windows XP operating system.
Members can request a password for wireless access after signing the "Acceptable Use Policy" in the Library.
Members can request a password for wireless access after signing the "Acceptable Use Policy" in the Library.

Library Tours

The library offers the possibility of guided tours for interested groups of users such as teachers or students from schools or universities. Please contact us at bibny@cervantes.org to make arrangements.

Audiovisual materials and CDs

The library is equipped with multisystem televisions for viewing videocassettes and DVDs in various formats. Compact discs and audiocassette players are also available.

Computers available for consulting the library catalog can also be used for CD-ROMs in the library collections.