The Long Beach Public Library will now accept U.S. permanent resident cards, out-of-state ID cards, work or student visas, military IDs, foreign consulate ID cards and foreign passports when registering residents for full access library cards.
The move expands library access to those who may not qualify for a traditional California license or identification card.
Before the change in policy, which began May 3, those who wished to register for a full access library card were required to provide a California State ID or federal ID card.
“It allows patrons who have just moved to California to get full access library cards immediately,” Senior Librarian Lynda Poling said. “It allows our patrons who are in the process of gaining U.S. citizenship or are temporarily living in the United States to get library cards and full access cards.”
Full access cards allow library patrons to enjoy “the maximum cardholder benefits,” such as checkouts, access to resources in the digital library, computer and printing services, participation in the ZipBooks program and access to California State Library Parks Passes.
Full access cardholders can check out up to 50 items at once, compared to only five items with a limited access card. The 50-item limit includes up to 15 DVDs, 25 CDs and 25 audiobooks.
They can also use the library’s Tech To-Go program, which allows cardholders to check out Chromebooks and Mi-Fi devices to use at home.
Poling said a change in the LBPL’s billing and collections requirements allowed them to remove the restrictive identification requirement.
“The revised policy is significant progress toward addressing equity in library service delivery and eliminating barriers that some Long Beach residents may face when trying to make full use of all our programs and services,” Acting Library Services Director Christine Hertzel said in a statement.
Patrons are still required to prove their Long Beach residency using a piece of mail with their name and address on it, such as a utility bill or a rental agreement.
Residents who would like to register for a library card can go to their nearest library, visit www.lbpl.org or call 562-570-7500 for more information.
This is a moronic article. You could already get a library card without a CA state ID, like I did, two years ago, by just bringing in mail that shows I have an address here. Maybe if they opened the library on Sundays, like every other library system, people would be more excited to go. I have never seen a library that closes on Sundays and Mondays yet has a state of the art building. Can they not afford more workers? I’d love to work there but there’s no openings, despite a clear need. Really going for the low hanging fruit.