Tours & Group Visits at Main Library

What We Offer

During your tour or group visit we can provide:

• stories, booktalks and activities for younger children
• a tour of the building, highlighting departments of interest
• catalog training
• an overview of print resources in a subject area
• an overview of electronic resources in a subject area
• reference support to older students or adult learners working on independent projects
• registration for library accounts

Please remember: students and group members will need valid library cards to check out materials or use computers.

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Policies

• We can only provide tours or group visits during open hours, excluding evenings and weekends.
• We require at least two weeks advance notice for tours or group visits. If you are a teacher registering your students for library cards, we require at least three weeks. Please see our section on library cards for more details.
• We can accommodate up to 60 students or group members per tour or group visit. For student groups, at least one chaperone must be present for each 15 students for grades six and up. For preschool through fifth grade, one chaperone must be present for every 10 students.
• We can only accommodate one tour or group visit per day. In order to provide the best service possible to all groups, the library can also only accommodate scheduled tours and group visits. Unannounced group visits cannot be served.
• You will receive confirmation from library staff 3-5 days after you schedule your tour or group visit. If you do not receive this confirmation, your tour or group visit has not been scheduled. Please call 412.622.3121.
• Please check in with our main security desk, located in the front hallway, upon your arrival.
• Please notify the library at least 24 hours in advance if you need to cancel the tour or group visit. You may call 412.622.3121.

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Library Card

Valid library cards are required to check out materials and access the Internet. Please determine if your students will be:

1. Using computers to access the internet or research databases.
2. Checking out books or any other materials.

If so, your students will need to register in advance for library cards. We require three weeks advance notice for this process. Please read below for more information about registering your students for library cards, as well as important information your students should know in advance regarding their library cards.

1. As part of your tour application, you will be asked how many students will need to register for library cards. You must determine that before registering for your tour. Please take note of the following when deciding how many of your students to register:
   • A card from any library within Allegheny County is honored at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
   • Please ensure that students who already have library cards bring them for the tour. New cards will not be issued to students with existing accounts, nor will numbers be given out. This is for our customers' privacy and protection.
   • Students whose library cards are expired or have any fines will need to resolve these issues before their cards are updated or replaced. Students may view their accounts under the "My Account" feature.
   • For students from outside Allegheny County, a library card from their home library (if it has a PA Access sticker) allows for a Carnegie account to be opened. Students are required to fill out a new application and must present their home library card with the sticker.
   • Students may not share library cards to use computers or check out materials. Students must register for their own cards.
   
   
2. Provide the count of students needing applications with your tour request. You will also be asked to e-mail a student roster. This will help us prepare your student's application in advance and identify any potential issues.
   
   
3. We will then mail the library card applications to the address you included in your tour request. Upon receiving the applications from us, send them home to each student's parent/guardian for completion and signatures. Please take note of the following:
   
   
   • Minors under the age of 18 must have a parental signature on the application. This serves as notification to the parent/guardian(s) as to their legal and financial responsibilities. As the teacher liaison, you are responsible for communicating these responsibilities to your students' parents for signature and proper ID. The number from any parent or guardian's acceptable forms of photo ID can be written into the appropriate space on the application.
   
   
4. Mail the completed, signed applications to the address below. We expect receipt ten days prior to your tour. Please allow the Post Office 3-5 business days for delivery.

   Tour Coordinator
   Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Teen
   4400 Forbes Ave
   Pittsburgh PA 15213

5. Please make sure to look over our Borrowing Policies for information on limits, fees, and renewals and share them with your students. Please use this as an opportunity to educate your students about the privileges and responsibilities that having a library card brings. If you have further questions about library accounts, please call 412-622-3150 for a Customer Services representative to get back to you.

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Lunch

The Carnegie Museums have a Brown Bag Lunch Room and snack bar available for group use. For more information on the Museum's Brown Bag Lunch Room please call (412) 622-3289. The library does not schedule use of this room; a separate phone call is required. Lunches can be stored in the Teen or Children's Department.

Additionally, the Crazy Mocha Coffee Company operates a coffee bar on the first floor of CLP - Main that serves Panini sandwiches, desserts, and other treats.

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Parking

The library and museums operate a six-level parking facility for cars and small vans. The lot is located directly behind the museum and can be accessed from the intersection of Forbes Avenue and South Craig Street.

Busses can park on Schenley Drive, in the bus lanes next to Phipps Conservatory. For additional information and rates, please consult our Directions page.

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Scheduling a Tour or Group Visit

Please fill out our Tour and Group Visit Registration Form to register online. If you need additional information on any of our policies or guidelines, you may call 412.622.3121.