Just a note - Both Las Vegas and Prince William would issue me an ecard but they would not work with Libby. When I contacted the libraries i was told the ecards were limited access and did not include Libby. (Had to be a resident to get full access) 🤷♀
Update as of January 2024: - San Jose, Harris, and Broward all still work for those obtaining a card and do not live in the county. I was able to add all of them to Libby as well, and already borrowed a book! Thank you for sharing this!
I can’t get a Broward one no matter what I do! Tried two different addresses I’ve lived in Illinois and even a random Florida one, all comes back as “cannot be verified”. Do you have any tips or advice?
Update as of November 2023: - Harris County Library Card and Broward County Library Card both still work for those obtaining a card and do not live in the county. - Las Vegas-Clark County Library Card and Prince William County Library Card no longer work for those obtaining a card and do not live in the county. Thank you for finding these libraries. My library has a pretty good selection however I can only hold 5 books at a time so this is really helpful!!
April 2024 - Broward & Harris counties allowed me to sign up and borrow e-books. California libraries allow sign-up, but restrict collections to things like overdrive until presenting proof of residency in California, of which I'm not a resident.
I just received a free Library card from Sunnyvale Public Library. The online format to get the card is a little different, but that Library is now in my Libby app. This Library is in CA. It seems to be free for out of state addresses, as I’m not in CA. Good luck !
@@Frame9624799try this Library: (Anaheim Public library). I heard today one can get a card and not live in that state. I filled out the application and waiting for my card. They did say it might take a week of 2. Good Luck !
@@catherinecunningham7126 I don’t know. I just got an email from them saying that I need to renew my card; my original email from them had said that I wouldn’t need to renew for years. I put in to renew my card and am waiting to hear back from them
This is amazing. Thank you so much. My library is very small with limited options and with me not working but a lover of books, I wanted to be on the right side of the law with getting my books. This came at such a great time. I'll be having surgery in a few days so I would love more audiobooks while I recover. Thank you again.
Prince William, VA seems to be tightening up well which I understand. The card I have is expiring and you have to go in to a branch in person to renew and show proof of residency. If you live in Virginia, there are a number of counties they will accept. I’ve not had any issue with Broward, yet.
This just happened to me as well with the Prince William library. It's a shame because that library usually has better availability than my local library. I'm hopeful about the two libraries mentioned in this video!
Thanks so much for the info! I'm in a smallish town with a good but small library. After signing up for the Harris County Public Library digital access card and adding it to Libby, I immediately got notice on Libby that 10 of the 14 books I had asked to be notified about were now available through the new library!
For Ontario viewers, if you have a card at any of Burlington, Hamilton, London, Kingston Frontenac, Mississauga, or Ottawa Public Libraries, you can sign up for cards at all the others since they have an inter-library loan system set up! Obviously this isn't going to work for most people here but if you do qualify it's pretty awesome!
Thank you for this information. I live in a rural area and was surprised my library even offered Libby and I've been using the app for over a year but often wait weeks/months for a selection to become available. I hope this will lessen my wait time and allow me to access more content! Thanks again!
As an Australian, June 2024, I could only get an ecard for San Jose Public Library. The others refused me or required proof of address. With the San Jose ecard I can finally send my libby books straight to my kindle which is exciting and the book selection is much better than Australian Libraries, at least for my favourite genres of fantasy, sci-fi and thriller
Orange County Public Library in California is also ID-optional. You do have to put in a local address though but those aren’t hard to find. They have lots of magazines too.
Nov 7th, 2023 - Harris County, San Jose, and Broward County all worked for me. Broward also had access to Hoopla. Las Vegas and Prince Edward let me set up a library card but it did not let me log into Libby. If you are in Idaho double check your library, there are something like a dozen partner libraries all across the state.
Somehow, my library that hosts a huge amount of residents only has 7k audiobooks, and honestly... not many good ones. I got 3 library cards from these two videos and all of the books I want are all available. What a money-saver in these trying times!
This is funny because I live in Pennsylvania just outside of Philadelphia. I have both the Philadelphia library card and one for my county. The county is so much smaller than the city but has a larger selection.
Thanks for your vids. The Las Vegas one didn’t work for me, but the broward county did. This opens up a whole new world for me. I’ve been waiting for a book from my local library for almost a month. Now maybe I won’t have to wait so long
Thank you! The Harris County has provided me with an abundance of eBooks! I live in a very small town and my nearest library has limited content available. I ordered the Kobo Libra Colour as my first ever eReader! I cannot wait until I receive it in the mail.
I really appreciate these videos. I live in a relatively rural area, and while they do have Libby, the selection is really limited. The Las Vegas one wouldnt work but Broward has now given me access to some books that have been on my to read list.
I think the way Libby does reciprocal borrowing is through secondary waiting lanes. So the books will automatically show up, but residents of the library that pays for the book availability get priority and everyone else has to wait in a lane that only moves forward if no resident wants to borrow a book. I've been waiting on a 6 hour audiobook for 7 months and have only moved from 25th to 12th in line because of this🙃 I will eventually get to you Slaughterhouse-Five. Residents can also borrow repeatedly if they take more than the 21 days on it (which is ridiculous for an audiobook this short) while non-residents have to go back to the end of the line. It may be that if another resident is waiting, you also get pushed to behind them.
Thank you SO much!!! I use Libby all the time but, just like others, my local library doesn't have a huge selection. These are gonna up my reading game so much :)
My Prince William County Library Card was set to expire in 2028 and they cut it off a few days ago. Now they only last 30 days now without physically going to the library now.
I’m in California, and I’ve been able to e-access the Northern CA Digital Library via getting a card from Mountain View. I am certain it’s available to anyone with a CA address, but I don’t know about outside CA. That said, if I don’t actually walk into the branch within a certain amount of time (a few months), they will cancel it. I was able to sign up for it again, though. Only grants access to electronic content, but I am fine with that. ETA: thank you for this! I added Harris County and San Jose to my cards, and unlocked several books in my “notify me” lists. Huzzah!
Had to come back with a story. So Prince William, VA will still allow several neighboring counties. Mine is one but to renew you have to go in person and show proof of residency. I found the closest one, checked hours. Went there and there was a facility issue and closed for the day. Drove to next closest one, first was a 40 minute drive then another 15 to second choice. Got my new card, good for 5 years. Oh my way home, terrible storms!! All this for a library card! Was this a sign? Maybe I should have just stuck with my own county but I am good for 5 years and home safe and sound. The things we do for books.
For Michigan residents, I was able to add the following libraries with my one Michigan library card: Midwest Collaborative for Library Services Suburban Library Cooperative Download Destination Woodlands Downloadable Library Mideastern Michigan Library Cooperative Up North Digital Collection Metro Net Library Consortium I just typed in several Michigan cities and saw that a lot of them are partnered with each other.
Update: I was also able to add the following libraries with the same Michigan library card: White Pine Library Cooperative Great Lakes Digital Libraries Lakeland Digital Library That's 10 libraries with one card. Thank you for this video. I would've never thought to see if other libraries would work with the same card without this video.
Update as of February 2024: - San Jose worked for me. I am American, but don't live in the country and used my mom's address which is on the East Coast. I was able to put a book on hold and start reading two books on the libby app. Thanks for the video!
Niether of my local libraries give me access to online material, so these videos have been very helpful. More so lately as I homeschool and my husband and I are currently down to a single vehicle which he uses to commute to work, so getting to our local library when it is actually open has been a near impossible task. Thank you for sharing this information. It’s been a bit of a weight off of my shoulders to gain access to learning materials for my kids.
Just had a book pulled from my bookshelf and when I went back to the San Jose library to find out why, it would not accept my card. When I contacted the library, they informed me I must live in California. Apparently, they cancelled my card, and the book was automatically returned. Post Script- Just went to Las Vegas and Prince William for an ecard. Both now require you to be a resident of the county and one does not work with Libby.
Looking forward to using this since my library system is fairly limited. Recently they allowed non city residents to have a fee based on the amount of property taxes to the county which reduced my fee from $157/yr to $39.39/ year - definitely now “doable “ whereas previously, it was outside of my budget. !
These libraries are what I was looking for. So far, I see Oakland is free, no residency requirements, and you can get a card online. I haven't checked out the others yet. Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing, I live in Indonesia and we do not have any online libraries as such so your tips have been really helpful! I had an account on Prince William but it was recently erased by their system. I was able to add both Harris County and San Jose Public Libraries, the National Library of Malaysia is another great free option that does not require residency :)
Hai@@charlottevaldez3632! Aku pakai alamat US untuk semua, bisa mencari di Google maps aja suatu area yang sesuai dengan provisi perpustakaan yang kamu ingin daftar :)
Ah thank you so much!! I only have two library cards for Libby and have been wanting more but I couldnt find any others that accepted out of state applications. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!
San Jose stopped working for me the other day, due to lack of California residency. But I was able to find several larger library systems in my state that allow in-state residents to get a card free of charge.
I just signed up today (Feb 29) for the Broward County Library Card and it worked just fine and connected it to Libby. I also asked my mom who lives in Tampa if I could use her library card so I'm using that one as well. In my case I now live abroad and my NYPL card is very expired so thank you for this video because I was able to sign up with Broward County (using my Tampa address) and also created an online account using my mom's Tampa library card. Having ebook options from two different libraries is amazing. Thanks!
I failed to keep my San Jose card current when I graduated from San Jose State (the King library is joint between the university and the city). I'm glad to get at least an e-card because my current location in rural Nebraska has a limited selection and different interests.
One worked for me 😮 i live in a super small town and we dont have acess to much books, i can finally read you and the vampire diaries thank you so much
San Jose absolutely worked for me!!!! I live in india we dont have libby or hoopla service in our public libraries but I used your link to get a free library card thank you soo muchh!!
Thank you so much for this info! I was able to use two of these and borrowed some college algebra books to help me study for my upcoming entrance exams. I'm unable to drive right now so this was really helpful.
THANK YOU! I was trying to find a particular book on Libby with my 4 local-ish libraries but couldn't. I was so close to purchasing it on Amazon but I finally found it with one of these libraries you recommended lol
I purchase a nominal annual fee to a major library system to access Libby and Kanopy. I would prefer to purchase rather than find a loophole. But that's me, my local library is in my estate.
I’m glad this video has highlighted ways to expand online library access,but it disappoints me to find out via the comments section that libraries are really are not as open and available to all like they claim by limiting who has access, for how long, and to what material. Keep doing the good work, Dylan!
Libraries *have* greatly expanded their services--for the localities which fund them. I don't know where you got the idea that a Monolithic Library has ever made promises about 24/7 access to all their services for anyone who wants it, because that is a thing which is simply not true--even the Internet Archive cannot provide unrestricted access to their vast collection. Just because something is "public" doesn't mean that everyone gets access, since "public" usually means "local people," the people who pay for the services. Libraries have finite resources, and even the largest and best-funded cannot provide the services you claim they have promised, because they do not have the money or the personnel to do so: you do understand, I hope, that Hoopla and Libby cost a LOT of money, as do the databases such as EBSCO (so. very. expensive.). Even the online catalogue is leased from a company such as OCLC. Books cost money. DVDs cost money. Moving material around between libraries cost money. Librarians cost money. Programming costs money. As noted, providing emedia costs a LOT of money. So, yeah, expanded access, when a library or library system can afford it, centers around the public which these libraries serve: *the locals,* not you or I. Basically, if anyone wants a title so badly that don't want to wait several weeks (or months) to get hold of it, then they are free to buy that item themselves. Feeling a little hard done by because a library across the country won't let you shoulder aside one of their actual patrons in order to nab a title is a bit...much, non?
Colorado residents (or in state college students) can get a free ecard from Denver Public Library. The online card is valid for four years. You can convert it to a permanent card by going to one of the Denver libraries and showing a valid government id. (Or student ID)
Harris County has an AMAZING number of comics and manga - more than 6K titles! Thank you so much for this. My local library is also ending Hoopla access in June, so I'm happy to have that through Broward County. Both Harris and Broward counties also offer Kanopy, which my library also no longer offers.
just a tip for fellow northern Kentuckians: if you have a card in Boone, Kenton, or Campbell counties, you can get a library card for the Cincinnati library for free. They have SO MUCH. Kenton is really good, too. All of the counties are reciprocal, so I have cards from all 4. I didn't sign up for any of the ones mentioned in the video since I already have an embarrassment of riches. Good luck to everyone who needs them!
I live in a super rural area and my library doesn't work with Libby and the Harris County card has allowed me to use the app for the first time..thank you so much!
Thank you so much!! We have a family member who we gifted a tablet, but they're old and don't drive anymore, and its hard for them to get around in general, hence why we wanted them to have an easier way to still read/listen to books, as well as quickly/easily access the web. Unfortunately, their local library only has Libby and the wait times are over 2 months long for their content (and that library doesn't have access to Hoopla either). Your recommendations had access to both on some, which is amazing
I was just able to add San Jose and Harris. Best part I am able to complete a series that had a 10 week hold in my local library . Book lovers UNITE!!!
Thank you for this!! As a Canadian, our libraries are much slower to obtain a lot of indie books and audiobooks and I haven't been able to find a library card to get more until the HCPL one!
If yall live in AZ and can come by Buckeye near Phoenix you can get a Buckeye Library card and it has a lot of partner libraries you can add. You do have to come in person to get the card but anyone that lives in AZ can have it.
Another thing that has worked for me is to look in which library systems in my state allow cards for state residents. I live in California and a lot of libraries allow you to get a virtual card if you are a California resident regardless of where you live in California. I don't know about other states but it's worth looking into. If anyone lives in a rural area with no library try to look into if your nearest big city or if any of the big cities in your state offer this.
May 2024 - San Jose worked for a while but suddenly asked me to verify my card. I forgot my PIN so when I emailed the library they said my card number was not identified and cards are for residents only.
Broward originally let me sign up but not renew a year later. My library is not well funded where I live sadly. I can barely get anything on libby and certainly not kanopy-movies. Hard enough to pay for essentials so I don’t do cable and most streaming.
Today I heard that this Library one can get a Library card and not live in California. I filled out the application today and am waiting for my card. They said it can take a week or so. Hope it works! (Anaheim Public library)
Just to clarify though, the San Jose Library website currently specifies (not sure if it did at the time of the recording) that their free elibrary cards are for California Residents. It is the last major CA Library to allow out of county access to an ecard with online registration.
Thank you 😊. I was able to enroll for all of the e-cards you listed. However, I am only able to add three to the Libby app (BC, HC and SJ). The other two cards (LV & PW/expires 12/23). I have to use the websites. Again, thank you.
These libraries you listed have super ling wait times i guess everyone is using them and the books so i dont see how exactly this lowers wait time at all lots of titles are a few weeks or several months wait
I pay $50.00 a year for the New Orleans Public Library membership, and it is worth every single penny. Sad the Las Vegas library doesn't accept out of state members. These two have an extensive selection of audiobooks.
Because I don't live in New Orleans, I pay a $50.00 out of state library membership. And because the selection of audiobooks is greater than the library in my own country or even in California.
I don’t know if the state of Georgia has access for out of state people, but we live in a rural part of the state and have access to the entire Libby system anywhere in the state. Same for physical books. You can search the local library or the entire system and request a book. The only restrictions are the first 6 months a new release is out is only for the actual local library patrons. There are great resources on the Georgia system in addition to this. I wonder how many states do this as well. Thanks for the information!
Broward County cards only work on Libby for 3 or 6 months. After which time you have to physically go into the library and show your local ID and address on a utility or other bill.
I have the Prince William County one, and it has an expiration date for the e-card. If I want to keep my card, I need to come in with ID and get a new card.
where I live it’s SUPER limited to what’s available it’s very frustrating I may try to get a library card in a bigger city near me i don’t know how that works but i’ll see. this is super helpful because my libby almost never had the books i want.
The Japan Foundation is a free library for anyone in the US or Canada. The collection has a lot of manga and other Japanese books. Queer Liberation Library is another free library for anyone. They focus on queer books.
I share mine with my friend that doesnt have a big library. So this is why Im trying to see if I can put more on there so that I can also put holds and read books and she can as well
Just a note - Both Las Vegas and Prince William would issue me an ecard but they would not work with Libby. When I contacted the libraries i was told the ecards were limited access and did not include Libby. (Had to be a resident to get full access) 🤷♀
Same. Broward County still works but I couldn't activate the other two in Libby.
Same - I got the cards, but couldn't register on Libby.
Same
Same
I’m glad I came to the comments because I thought it was just me! I even tried changing the pin # and everything 😅
Update as of January 2024:
- San Jose, Harris, and Broward all still work for those obtaining a card and do not live in the county. I was able to add all of them to Libby as well, and already borrowed a book! Thank you for sharing this!
Hi! By any case you know if the Harris one take a few hours or something to get the email? 🥲
I can’t get a Broward one no matter what I do! Tried two different addresses I’ve lived in Illinois and even a random Florida one, all comes back as “cannot be verified”. Do you have any tips or advice?
@@Ashliv99 My email showed up almost immediately
@@bohemient same here.
I haven't received the email yet. @@Ashliv99
Update as of November 2023:
- Harris County Library Card and Broward County Library Card both still work for those obtaining a card and do not live in the county.
- Las Vegas-Clark County Library Card and Prince William County Library Card no longer work for those obtaining a card and do not live in the county.
Thank you for finding these libraries. My library has a pretty good selection however I can only hold 5 books at a time so this is really helpful!!
Feb. 2024 Broward didn’t work for me. I got an email saying they couldn’t confirm my address.
@@jessicasnow9007 same here
Broward no longer works in 2024
April 2024 - Broward & Harris counties allowed me to sign up and borrow e-books. California libraries allow sign-up, but restrict collections to things like overdrive until presenting proof of residency in California, of which I'm not a resident.
Harris let me in bug I don't get my library number.. Is that normal
I just received a free Library card from Sunnyvale Public Library. The online format to get the card is a little different, but that Library is now in my Libby app. This Library is in CA. It seems to be free for out of state addresses, as I’m not in CA. Good luck !
Oakland Public Library is available for all CA residents, too
Just tried adding Sunnyvale on Libby and their website states you must be a CA resident:(
@@Frame9624799try this Library: (Anaheim Public library). I heard today one can get a card and not live in that state. I filled out the application and waiting for my card. They did say it might take a week of 2. Good Luck !
@@Frame9624799they need us to visit them with residency approved. So passed. But I can get San José and Montgomery.. You should try.
@@Frame9624799so just use a random address from CA, use a VPN if necessary.
Omg you’re a life saver! I’m in Scotland and it let me get a card from Harris county. I could cry lol.
Did you use an American address?
The Broward County & Harris County cards have added so many new books that I couldn’t access before! Thank you!
I just got the Broward and it’s only good for 30 days. Did they change that?
@@catherinecunningham7126 I don’t know. I just got an email from them saying that I need to renew my card; my original email from them had said that I wouldn’t need to renew for years. I put in to renew my card and am waiting to hear back from them
Harris County and San Jose both worked! And San Jose has an EXCELLENT selection. Thank you!
Just got my San Jose number week before last and when trying to use this morning in a different state, would not verify or allow access 😢
This is amazing. Thank you so much. My library is very small with limited options and with me not working but a lover of books, I wanted to be on the right side of the law with getting my books. This came at such a great time. I'll be having surgery in a few days so I would love more audiobooks while I recover. Thank you again.
Prince William, VA seems to be tightening up well which I understand. The card I have is expiring and you have to go in to a branch in person to renew and show proof of residency. If you live in Virginia, there are a number of counties they will accept. I’ve not had any issue with Broward, yet.
This just happened to me as well with the Prince William library. It's a shame because that library usually has better availability than my local library. I'm hopeful about the two libraries mentioned in this video!
Thats helpful to know! Thank you for letting us know 😁
😢 happened to me too. Pity. I liked the Prince William library.
Yes mine isn’t working anymore either.
how did you do it to get a Broward library card ? mine doesn't work because it says it can't verify the address:(
Thanks so much for the info! I'm in a smallish town with a good but small library. After signing up for the Harris County Public Library digital access card and adding it to Libby, I immediately got notice on Libby that 10 of the 14 books I had asked to be notified about were now available through the new library!
For Ontario viewers, if you have a card at any of Burlington, Hamilton, London, Kingston Frontenac, Mississauga, or Ottawa Public Libraries, you can sign up for cards at all the others since they have an inter-library loan system set up! Obviously this isn't going to work for most people here but if you do qualify it's pretty awesome!
Ooh! Thanks for the tip!
Markham, RIchmond Hill and Vaughan Public Libraries are also reciprocal with each other.
Thanks for sharing this. Going to give it a try.
Thanks. I'm from Hamilton
Thank you for this information. I live in a rural area and was surprised my library even offered Libby and I've been using the app for over a year but often wait weeks/months for a selection to become available. I hope this will lessen my wait time and allow me to access more content! Thanks again!
Glad it was helpful!
As an Australian, June 2024, I could only get an ecard for San Jose Public Library. The others refused me or required proof of address. With the San Jose ecard I can finally send my libby books straight to my kindle which is exciting and the book selection is much better than Australian Libraries, at least for my favourite genres of fantasy, sci-fi and thriller
Just get San José ❤ it's awesome. Thank you
Orange County Public Library in California is also ID-optional. You do have to put in a local address though but those aren’t hard to find. They have lots of magazines too.
Thank you for this! I also live in a small town with a limited library so having these two new libraries will be a huge help.
Nov 7th, 2023 - Harris County, San Jose, and Broward County all worked for me. Broward also had access to Hoopla. Las Vegas and Prince Edward let me set up a library card but it did not let me log into Libby.
If you are in Idaho double check your library, there are something like a dozen partner libraries all across the state.
Thank you so much. Just downloaded the Harris County one and all the books I’ve had to wait forever to read are available to borrow 🎉
Does it really need a long time to receive the email confirmation from Harris County? I haven't received mine yet.
@@nolleengonzalesHi! Have you gotten your card yet? I’ve been waiting and still haven’t got mine
Somehow, my library that hosts a huge amount of residents only has 7k audiobooks, and honestly... not many good ones.
I got 3 library cards from these two videos and all of the books I want are all available.
What a money-saver in these trying times!
This is funny because I live in Pennsylvania just outside of Philadelphia. I have both the Philadelphia library card and one for my county. The county is so much smaller than the city but has a larger selection.
As of April 2024 - San Jose purged members who do not live in California. 😢
Yep, they just dropped me.
Just dropped me too
Me too
Thanks for your vids. The Las Vegas one didn’t work for me, but the broward county did. This opens up a whole new world for me. I’ve been waiting for a book from my local library for almost a month. Now maybe I won’t have to wait so long
same; i was able to register with the las vegas one but it didn't let me log in.
I had no idea this was an option. I added Harris County and it alone allowed me to get a book I've been waiting 5 months for in DE. Thanks!
This was a game changer for me! I never realized how little my library offers! Looks like I can cancel my kindle unlimited now.
OMG! I grew up in Harris county! Way to go to them for giving access to anyway.
Thank you! The Harris County has provided me with an abundance of eBooks! I live in a very small town and my nearest library has limited content available. I ordered the Kobo Libra Colour as my first ever eReader! I cannot wait until I receive it in the mail.
I really appreciate these videos. I live in a relatively rural area, and while they do have Libby, the selection is really limited. The Las Vegas one wouldnt work but Broward has now given me access to some books that have been on my to read list.
I think the way Libby does reciprocal borrowing is through secondary waiting lanes. So the books will automatically show up, but residents of the library that pays for the book availability get priority and everyone else has to wait in a lane that only moves forward if no resident wants to borrow a book. I've been waiting on a 6 hour audiobook for 7 months and have only moved from 25th to 12th in line because of this🙃 I will eventually get to you Slaughterhouse-Five. Residents can also borrow repeatedly if they take more than the 21 days on it (which is ridiculous for an audiobook this short) while non-residents have to go back to the end of the line. It may be that if another resident is waiting, you also get pushed to behind them.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for this content!!! My local library has been quite limited and this will help a great deal!!!
Thank you SO much!!! I use Libby all the time but, just like others, my local library doesn't have a huge selection. These are gonna up my reading game so much :)
My Prince William County Library Card was set to expire in 2028 and they cut it off a few days ago. Now they only last 30 days now without physically going to the library now.
Same 😩
i got my prince william card but it wont connect to libby? 😭
@@BasicBaernow you have to have a physical card to have digital access to Prince William library.
I’m in California, and I’ve been able to e-access the Northern CA Digital Library via getting a card from Mountain View. I am certain it’s available to anyone with a CA address, but I don’t know about outside CA. That said, if I don’t actually walk into the branch within a certain amount of time (a few months), they will cancel it. I was able to sign up for it again, though. Only grants access to electronic content, but I am fine with that.
ETA: thank you for this! I added Harris County and San Jose to my cards, and unlocked several books in my “notify me” lists. Huzzah!
Had to come back with a story. So Prince William, VA will still allow several neighboring counties. Mine is one but to renew you have to go in person and show proof of residency. I found the closest one, checked hours. Went there and there was a facility issue and closed for the day. Drove to next closest one, first was a 40 minute drive then another 15 to second choice. Got my new card, good for 5 years. Oh my way home, terrible storms!! All this for a library card! Was this a sign? Maybe I should have just stuck with my own county but I am good for 5 years and home safe and sound. The things we do for books.
For Michigan residents, I was able to add the following libraries with my one Michigan library card:
Midwest Collaborative for Library Services
Suburban Library Cooperative
Download Destination
Woodlands Downloadable Library
Mideastern Michigan Library Cooperative
Up North Digital Collection
Metro Net Library Consortium
I just typed in several Michigan cities and saw that a lot of them are partnered with each other.
Update: I was also able to add the following libraries with the same Michigan library card:
White Pine Library Cooperative
Great Lakes Digital Libraries
Lakeland Digital Library
That's 10 libraries with one card. Thank you for this video. I would've never thought to see if other libraries would work with the same card without this video.
Yes, I was able to do this as well with a Michigan library card!
Update as of February 2024:
- San Jose worked for me. I am American, but don't live in the country and used my mom's address which is on the East Coast. I was able to put a book on hold and start reading two books on the libby app. Thanks for the video!
Niether of my local libraries give me access to online material, so these videos have been very helpful. More so lately as I homeschool and my husband and I are currently down to a single vehicle which he uses to commute to work, so getting to our local library when it is actually open has been a near impossible task. Thank you for sharing this information. It’s been a bit of a weight off of my shoulders to gain access to learning materials for my kids.
Hey! I just added Broward, Harris and San Jose as well. I added all 3 to Libby and just downloaded a book and a few magazines. Thanks for this tip!
Just had a book pulled from my bookshelf and when I went back to the San Jose library to find out why, it would not accept my card. When I contacted the library, they informed me I must live in California. Apparently, they cancelled my card, and the book was automatically returned. Post Script- Just went to Las Vegas and Prince William for an ecard. Both now require you to be a resident of the county and one does not work with Libby.
Looking forward to using this since my library system is fairly limited.
Recently they allowed non city residents to have a fee based on the amount of property taxes to the county which reduced my fee from $157/yr to $39.39/ year - definitely now “doable “ whereas previously, it was outside of my budget. !
I live in California and I recently signed up with Oakland, Hayward, Anaheim, Sunnyvale, Nevada County, and Palos Verdes.
These libraries are what I was looking for. So far, I see Oakland is free, no residency requirements, and you can get a card online. I haven't checked out the others yet. Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing, I live in Indonesia and we do not have any online libraries as such so your tips have been really helpful! I had an account on Prince William but it was recently erased by their system.
I was able to add both Harris County and San Jose Public Libraries, the National Library of Malaysia is another great free option that does not require residency :)
Halo Kak itu alamatnya pake alamat us atau indo bs? Thankyou
Hai@@charlottevaldez3632! Aku pakai alamat US untuk semua, bisa mencari di Google maps aja suatu area yang sesuai dengan provisi perpustakaan yang kamu ingin daftar :)
Thank you. I'm from Manila, Philippines. This is a great help.
Hi. I'm from Manila too. Were you able to register in all libraries mentioned? @@nolleengonzales
Ah thank you so much!! I only have two library cards for Libby and have been wanting more but I couldnt find any others that accepted out of state applications. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!
Thank you so much for sharing this! My library is huge but has a terrible selection on Libby! This is so exciting to have more options.
San Jose stopped working for me the other day, due to lack of California residency. But I was able to find several larger library systems in my state that allow in-state residents to get a card free of charge.
I just signed up today (Feb 29) for the Broward County Library Card and it worked just fine and connected it to Libby. I also asked my mom who lives in Tampa if I could use her library card so I'm using that one as well. In my case I now live abroad and my NYPL card is very expired so thank you for this video because I was able to sign up with Broward County (using my Tampa address) and also created an online account using my mom's Tampa library card. Having ebook options from two different libraries is amazing. Thanks!
Harris county just about made all the audiobooks I was looking for available.
Fantastic!
Thank you Dylan. This is a treat. I am able to get my books and read them on time for my monthly book club :)
I failed to keep my San Jose card current when I graduated from San Jose State (the King library is joint between the university and the city). I'm glad to get at least an e-card because my current location in rural Nebraska has a limited selection and different interests.
One worked for me 😮 i live in a super small town and we dont have acess to much books, i can finally read you and the vampire diaries thank you so much
Thanks Dylan, I really appreciate this info! My local library doesn't have great availability on Libby, so these extra cards will be super helpful. 😃
So glad the video was helpful! 😁
San Jose absolutely worked for me!!!! I live in india we dont have libby or hoopla service in our public libraries but I used your link to get a free library card thank you soo muchh!!
Thank you so much for this info! I was able to use two of these and borrowed some college algebra books to help me study for my upcoming entrance exams. I'm unable to drive right now so this was really helpful.
Thank you for this, I tried the libraries from both videos, and the only one that worked outside the US was San Jose, but one is better than none!
these do not work anymore. I am in Canada and these dont help. Any other suggestions?
Grand Prairie library system in Texas is also free, you just have to be a US citizen to sign up!
Thank you for sharing!
If you read the small print on all of them the digital cards expire within 30 days. you must visit a local branch to get a physical card
Does the Library of Congress have online materials available?
THANK YOU! I was trying to find a particular book on Libby with my 4 local-ish libraries but couldn't. I was so close to purchasing it on Amazon but I finally found it with one of these libraries you recommended lol
I purchase a nominal annual fee to a major library system to access Libby and Kanopy. I would prefer to purchase rather than find a loophole. But that's me, my local library is in my estate.
Harris county totally worked and had the books I wanted that my local library chain was missing. Thank you!!!
Does it really need a long time to receive the email confirmation from Harris County? I haven't received mine yet.
@@nolleengonzalesno, I think I got it right away.
I’m glad this video has highlighted ways to expand online library access,but it disappoints me to find out via the comments section that libraries are really are not as open and available to all like they claim by limiting who has access, for how long, and to what material. Keep doing the good work, Dylan!
Thank you! It’s definitely disappointing but I’m glad there are still some out there that offer access to all. Thanks for watching!
Libraries *have* greatly expanded their services--for the localities which fund them. I don't know where you got the idea that a Monolithic Library has ever made promises about 24/7 access to all their services for anyone who wants it, because that is a thing which is simply not true--even the Internet Archive cannot provide unrestricted access to their vast collection.
Just because something is "public" doesn't mean that everyone gets access, since "public" usually means "local people," the people who pay for the services. Libraries have finite resources, and even the largest and best-funded cannot provide the services you claim they have promised, because they do not have the money or the personnel to do so: you do understand, I hope, that Hoopla and Libby cost a LOT of money, as do the databases such as EBSCO (so. very. expensive.). Even the online catalogue is leased from a company such as OCLC. Books cost money. DVDs cost money. Moving material around between libraries cost money. Librarians cost money. Programming costs money. As noted, providing emedia costs a LOT of money.
So, yeah, expanded access, when a library or library system can afford it, centers around the public which these libraries serve: *the locals,* not you or I.
Basically, if anyone wants a title so badly that don't want to wait several weeks (or months) to get hold of it, then they are free to buy that item themselves. Feeling a little hard done by because a library across the country won't let you shoulder aside one of their actual patrons in order to nab a title is a bit...much, non?
Colorado residents (or in state college students) can get a free ecard from Denver Public Library. The online card is valid for four years. You can convert it to a permanent card by going to one of the Denver libraries and showing a valid government id. (Or student ID)
Both San Jose and Harris county work as of right now! Thank you!
Harris County has an AMAZING number of comics and manga - more than 6K titles! Thank you so much for this.
My local library is also ending Hoopla access in June, so I'm happy to have that through Broward County. Both Harris and Broward counties also offer Kanopy, which my library also no longer offers.
just a tip for fellow northern Kentuckians: if you have a card in Boone, Kenton, or Campbell counties, you can get a library card for the Cincinnati library for free. They have SO MUCH. Kenton is really good, too. All of the counties are reciprocal, so I have cards from all 4. I didn't sign up for any of the ones mentioned in the video since I already have an embarrassment of riches. Good luck to everyone who needs them!
Harris County is my local library. No wonder I often am 235 on the hold list to get the book for my book club.
I live in a super rural area and my library doesn't work with Libby and the Harris County card has allowed me to use the app for the first time..thank you so much!
Thank you so much!! We have a family member who we gifted a tablet, but they're old and don't drive anymore, and its hard for them to get around in general, hence why we wanted them to have an easier way to still read/listen to books, as well as quickly/easily access the web. Unfortunately, their local library only has Libby and the wait times are over 2 months long for their content (and that library doesn't have access to Hoopla either). Your recommendations had access to both on some, which is amazing
I was just able to add San Jose and Harris. Best part I am able to complete a series that had a 10 week hold in my local library . Book lovers UNITE!!!
Thank you for this!! As a Canadian, our libraries are much slower to obtain a lot of indie books and audiobooks and I haven't been able to find a library card to get more until the HCPL one!
Does it really need a long time to receive the email confirmation from Harris County? I haven't received mine yet.
If yall live in AZ and can come by Buckeye near Phoenix you can get a Buckeye Library card and it has a lot of partner libraries you can add. You do have to come in person to get the card but anyone that lives in AZ can have it.
Another thing that has worked for me is to look in which library systems in my state allow cards for state residents. I live in California and a lot of libraries allow you to get a virtual card if you are a California resident regardless of where you live in California. I don't know about other states but it's worth looking into. If anyone lives in a rural area with no library try to look into if your nearest big city or if any of the big cities in your state offer this.
Thanks Dylan,
I have 4 cards now so that should cover a lot of books.
NYCP is another one I use, not sure if it’s available outside of NY.
That’s great! And thank you for sharing! 😁
Thank you, I added New York library and there is an alternative for out of state address, thanks
Only for a certain amount of time
May 2024 - San Jose worked for a while but suddenly asked me to verify my card. I forgot my PIN so when I emailed the library they said my card number was not identified and cards are for residents only.
As of July 2024 San Jose does not allow out of state people to register. Harris county does
Prince Edward and Las Vegas didn’t work for me but all the other ones did! Thank you! I now only have to wait 4 weeks for a book I wanted to read
Broward originally let me sign up but not renew a year later. My library is not well funded where I live sadly. I can barely get anything on libby and certainly not kanopy-movies. Hard enough to pay for essentials so I don’t do cable and most streaming.
As of Feb 2024, San Jose CA, Sunnyvale CA worked for me. Harris County, Broward, did not.
thank you so much! my little library has barely any copies so I could never get what I wanted on Libby. you're a lifesaver!!!
Prince William and Las Vegas don’t work for Libby. Thanks for sharing!! 💙
Today I heard that this Library one can get a Library card and not live in California. I filled out the application today and am waiting for my card. They said it can take a week or so. Hope it works!
(Anaheim Public library)
Thank you so much! This worked great for me and I’ve already borrowed and/or placed holds on books I’ve been wanting to read!!!! 🤩🥳
Thank you so much! San Jose has a much better selection than my local one 🙂
Thank you! I just signed up for both the Harris County and San Jose using your links!
Absolutely love you! It works! This is so cool. Harrison County has more books than my library house here in phoenix from my favorite author.
The Broward County is a visitor e-card and expires in 30 days you can renew for $38 a year.
Just to clarify though, the San Jose Library website currently specifies (not sure if it did at the time of the recording) that their free elibrary cards are for California Residents. It is the last major CA Library to allow out of county access to an ecard with online registration.
Thank you 😊. I was able to enroll for all of the e-cards you listed. However, I am only able to add three to the Libby app (BC, HC and SJ). The other two cards (LV & PW/expires 12/23). I have to use the websites. Again, thank you.
These libraries you listed have super ling wait times i guess everyone is using them and the books so i dont see how exactly this lowers wait time at all lots of titles are a few weeks or several months wait
All 5 didn't work for me, either the site won't open, or is fake, or doesn't send email etc etc... Do you have more?
I pay $50.00 a year for the New Orleans Public Library membership, and it is worth every single penny. Sad the Las Vegas library doesn't accept out of state members. These two have an extensive selection of audiobooks.
lol why pay a fee for an e card 🤦♂️
Because I don't live in New Orleans, I pay a $50.00 out of state library membership. And because the selection of audiobooks is greater than the library in my own country or even in California.
I don’t know if the state of Georgia has access for out of state people, but we live in a rural part of the state and have access to the entire Libby system anywhere in the state. Same for physical books. You can search the local library or the entire system and request a book. The only restrictions are the first 6 months a new release is out is only for the actual local library patrons. There are great resources on the Georgia system in addition to this. I wonder how many states do this as well. Thanks for the information!
Alabama does this as well.
Broward County cards only work on Libby for 3 or 6 months. After which time you have to physically go into the library and show your local ID and address on a utility or other bill.
As of 03-17-24 broward county, san jose, and harris county libraries work. the other two do not.
Tried today, they couldn't verify my address
i’ve applied to harris but they didn’t send any confirmation email even though i made sure there’s isn’t any typo. did that also happened to you?
Many libraries around the country. Do you offer library cards to those who live out of state for a fee.
I have the Prince William County one, and it has an expiration date for the e-card. If I want to keep my card, I need to come in with ID and get a new card.
Thank you for sharing these resources! I was able to register for all the cards, however, I wasn't able to register Las Vegas to Libby.
Harris county card is the only worked with me .. Thanks alot ❤❤❤
where I live it’s SUPER limited to what’s available it’s very frustrating I may try to get a library card in a bigger city near me i don’t know how that works but i’ll see. this is super helpful because my libby almost never had the books i want.
I have been trying to get on libby without a card thank you so much I think your awesome.
The Japan Foundation is a free library for anyone in the US or Canada. The collection has a lot of manga and other Japanese books.
Queer Liberation Library is another free library for anyone. They focus on queer books.
I share mine with my friend that doesnt have a big library. So this is why Im trying to see if I can put more on there so that I can also put holds and read books and she can as well
Thank you so much, Dylan! I am so appreciative of your videos!