As products and services become more costly, it is more important now than ever to take advantage of your community’s free and accessible resources. We hope you think of the library first for anything free and accessible because there are thousands if not millions of ways you can save — all with your library card. If you don’t have a library card yet though, what are you waiting for?
September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, a national effort from American Library Association to encourage individuals to sign up for a library card. It’s free and we have a variety of resources that go beyond your wildest dreams.
How do you go about getting a library card? There are a few different options!
If you are a city resident, you can start the application online and stop by any Spokane Public Library location to finish activating your card.
If you are a local student or educator, you might have library card access through your institution. Students from Gonzaga Prep, Gonzaga University, Spokane Community College, and Spokane Falls Community College can sign in here and find their card number in their accounts.
Spokane Public Schools (District 81) students can access their library card here or through Clever by using the prefix 27413081 + their student ID number (the PIN is the student’s birthday MMDD).
If you are a county resident, you can get a card from Spokane County Library District to access their collection and/or get a reciprocal city library card to access Spokane Public Library’s physical material collection (you cannot access SPL’s online collection of eBooks, audiobooks, and databases with a reciprocal card).
There are multiple library systems in the area and it’s confusing to know which system is which. We break it down in this blog to help you get the most of your library card access.
If you are a City of Spokane employee, you can access your library card by using your login credentials on our website.
What can I use my library card for? Your imagination is the limit!
- Use your library card to check out a Discover Pass and an inflatable stand-up paddle board to go to the Nine Mile Falls Recreation area for an afternoon paddleboard session.
- Use your library card to check out baking molds and a cookbook to make a pumpkin spice bundt cake.
- Use your library card to reserve a small study room so you and your friends can host a silent book club.
- Use your library card to check out a guitar and record your own song in the Recording Studio at Central Library.
- Use your library card to access Chilton Auto Repair Library online and find out which parts are needed for your car.
- Use your library card to see what all the hype is about with The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
- Use your library card to check out all of the Taylor Swift albums on CD so you can jam out on your next road trip.
- Use your library card to access the Lucky Day collection at the front of the libraries and grab the latest and greatest titles without placing a hold.
- Use your library card to pick up some free gardening seeds from our library locations that host free seed libraries.
- Use your library card to meet new friends and learn at the weekly line dancing events at Shadle Park Library.
