The Melissa Yandell Smith Library
The Melissa Yandell Smith Library supports A.C.T. artists (students, faculty, staff, and visiting artists) by providing access to the information they need for their work in the conservatory and theater.
A.C.T.’s library is named by generous support from the Melissa Yandell Smith Legacy Fund, which was established to honor longtime Conservatory Director Melissa Smith. The Melissa Yandell Smith Legacy Fund supports A.C.T. and provides additional support for the MFA students and program that were her life’s work.
The library collection contains approximately ten thousand titles, including playscripts, books, videos (VHS and DVD), language and music compact discs and tapes, music scores, and theater journals. These titles are available to all patrons to check out or use in the library.
Library Resources
Library Catalog
Search the collection or peruse the new acquisition lists. Additions to the Melissa Yandell Smith Library collection are made once a month and are grouped by books, collections, plays, musical scores, and audio materials.
Library Hours
The main Library collection is housed in the Geary Annex and is available to browse by appointment. A Branch of the Library is on the 8th Floor of 30 Grant and contains several hundred plays and music scores, as well as computers to search the entire collection. Items not available at the Branch may be requested from the main collection.
Main Collection accessible by appointment.
The hours for the 30 Grant Branch are:
Monday and Wednesday, 9:30am-8:00pm
Tuesday and Thursday, Noon-8:00pm
Fridays, 9:30am-4:00pm
Saturdays, 11:30am-1:30pm
Sundays closed.
Phone number: 415-439-2453
Branch closes at 6pm when Studio classes are no in session.
Circulation Policies
Who Can Borrow
All visitors must present a valid A.C.T. ID in order to borrow library materials. A maximum of three items may be checked out at any one time.
Loan Periods
Books, audiocassettes, scripts, journals, sound recordings: 2 weeks
Video recordings: 3 days
Renewals
Video recordings cannot be renewed. All other materials may be renewed once, provided they are not overdue and no fines are pending. Renewals may be done in person, by phone at 415.439.2432, or by emailing jtally@act-sf.org.
Fees
Everything else: $.25 per day
Lost book: $20.00 maximum
Lost video recording: $40.00 maximum
Volunteer Opportunities
The A.C.T. performing arts library contains more than 8,500 plays, periodicals, and theater-related publications. Volunteer duties include checking out and shelving books, answering student inquiries, and other special projects. For more information, email Joe Tally at jtally@act-sf.org.