HOW TO GET A LIBRARY CARD

There are 10 public library systems in Orange County--the county’s system, seven municipal systems and two district systems. To obtain a library card you must appear in person. Each system requires that anyone requesting a card have proof of a permanent address. This can be a driver’s license, a government identification card, checkbook or household bills bearing the person’s name. For teen-agers applying for their own card, a school identification card or mail with their name on it is acceptable. The following lists the other restrictions and requirements for getting a library card in each of the systems.

ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

Headquarters: 431 The City Drive South, Orange (27 branches countywide)

Residency requirements: none

Time period card is valid: no expiration date

Cost: free

Minimum age to have your own card: 13

Book checkout limit on one card: 50

ANAHEIM LIBRARY DEPARTMENT

Central Library: 500 W. Broadway (four other branches)

PLACENTIA LIBRARY DISTRICT

Address: 411 E. Chapman Ave.

YORBA LINDA PUBLIC LIBRARY

Address: 18262 Lemon Drive

Cards issued from the above three libraries can be used at any of them and the following particulars apply:)

* Residency requirements: none (non-Orange County residents pay a fee, however, if the card is issued from the Anaheim Public Library)

* Time period card is valid: no expiration date (except in Anaheim, where it is one year for non-county residents)

* Cost: free (except for in Anaheim, where non-county residents pay $15 a year)

* Minimum age for own card: when enrolled in ninth grade

* Book checkout limit on one card: up to five in the first month; 35 after the first month

BUENA PARK LIBRARY DISTRICT

Address: 7150 La Palma Ave.

Residency requirements: none

Time period card is valid: no expiration date

Cost: free

Minimum age for own card: 14

Book checkout limit on one card: 35

FULLERTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Central: 353 W. Commonwealth Ave. (one other branch)

Residency requirements: must live in California

Time period card is valid: no expiration date

Cost: free (50-cent replacement fee for lost cards)

Minimum age for own card: when enrolled in ninth grade

Book checkout limit on one card: limit of two the first time the card is used; maximum of five on any one subject; maximum of 35 altogether

HUNTINGTON BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY

Central: 7111 Talbert Ave. (three other branches)

Residency requirements: must live in California

Time period card is valid: three years

Cost: free

Minimum age for own card: 16

Book checkout limit on one card: unlimited

NEWPORT BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY

Main branch: Newport Center, 856 San Clemente Drive (three other branches)

Residency requirements: must live in California

Time period card is valid: no expiration date

Cost: free

Minimum age for own card: must be old enough to have proof of address

Book checkout limit on one card: 35

ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Central: 101 N. Center St. (two other branches)

Residency requirements: must live in California

Time period card is valid: two years

Cost: free

Minimum age for own card: when enrolled in seventh grade

Book checkout limit on one card: unlimited on fiction; limited to five on any nonfiction subject

SANTA ANA PUBLIC LIBRARY

Central: 26 Civic Center Plaza* (two other branches)

Residency requirements: must live in Orange County

Time period card is valid: no expiration date

Cost: free

Minimum age for own card: when enrolled in ninth grade

Book checkout limit on one card: limit of two the first time the card is used; maximum of three on any one subject

* The central library is closed indefinitely for asbestos removal.

Source: Individual libraries