Sometimes people wonder how much it costs to get a library card. The answer might surprise you. It’s free! And it’s easy to sign up online or in person at your local library.

September is Library Card Sign-Up month and it’s a great time to sign up for a library card or renew your card, if it’s been awhile since you’ve visited the library. If you are feeling lost in finding something to read or are not sure where to start, library staff can help! They love connecting people to books and so many other free resources at the library.

You can sign up for a temporary library card at nols.org to get immediate access to online resources for a few months. Stop by the library with your picture ID to convert a temporary library card to a regular card, valid for three years. If your ID doesn’t list a local address, no problem; limited service cards are available for no charge, and allow full access to online resources and check out of two items at a time. Full service cards offer unlimited checkouts of most items.

Library cards offer many resources that might surprise you. Telescopes, pickleball sets, birding kits, musical instruments, laminated topographic trail maps and Walkie Talkies are all available for checkout at the North Olympic Library System (NOLS).

Another benefit of a library card is easy access to the public computers, available anytime during library open hours, with $2.50 in free printing each week, including color prints. Faxing and copying are also available for a small fee.

Free WiFi is available in and around the library.

Online access to homework help, job coaching, and Consumer Reports is free for library card holders, along with access to business, technology and creative skills training videos on LinkedIn Learning; all available through nols.org. The Libby app allows library card holders to download eBooks, eAudiobooks and digital magazines. Streaming music, movies, television shows and eAudiobooks are available on the Hoopla app.

More than 14,000 people are registered for a library card at the Sequim Library. If you’re not one of them yet, now is a great time to sign up and start accessing thousands of books, DVDs, CDs, and other resources available to all community members! All for free.

More info

The Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays.

Get in touch with your friendly library staff by calling 360-683-1161 or send an email to discover@nols.org. The library is always open at nols.org.

Emily Sly is the Sequim Library manager.