Library Cards

Get a Library Card

Your Livonia library card will give you free access to books, eBooks, magazines, DVDs, Michigan Activity Passes, streaming movies, music, and more!

Livonia Residents

Library cards are available for free to Livonia residents. Livonia is a member of The Library Network, so your new card will be honored at nearly sixty public libraries in the area. To get a library card, present your ID at any Livonia Public Library location. Livonia residents 16+ may also apply to receive a temporary library card, valid for 3 months by filling out this online form.  This temporary card will allow you to immediately access our digital media collections Overdrive (Libby), hoopla, and Kanopy. Links can be found at livonialibrary.info/downloads. To receive your physical library card, please come in and present us with your ID and proof of Livonia address. Once we have verified your information, we will issue you a new card, valid for 3 years. You can convert your account to the full access card at either Bennett Civic Center Library or the Carl Sandburg Library. Please do not fill out this registration form if you are not a resident of the City of Livonia. Those younger than 16 must be registered in person by a parent or guardian. 

Minors (under the age of 18 without state ID or Driver’s License) who live in Livonia are eligible for a library card. To obtain a library card, a parent or legal guardian must accompany the minor and show proof of Livonia residency. The parent/legal guardian agrees, as co-signer, to be responsible for any fines or fees accrued on the minor’s library account. If the parent/legal guardian’s library account is blocked, a library card will not be issued to a minor until the fines or fees are paid in full.

If any of your information (phone or email) has changed, call the library at 734-466-2491 and we’ll update your record. If your address has changed, please stop in to any Livonia Public Library location with ID showing your new address.

Nonresidents

If you have a library card from a Library Network Library, your card will be honored at all Livonia Libraries. There is no need to get a Livonia library card. If you live in a community that is not part of The Library Network Shared Automation System, you must have your valid ID and your library card from your home library to be entered into our patron database.

If you are a resident of another community that is not part of The Library Network co-operative, you may purchase a non-resident card for $100 per year. This card will allow you access to books and other materials within the Livonia Libraries. Access to Overdrive E-Books and interlibrary loans through MelCat are not allowed with a non-resident card. The $100 fee is waived for individuals who work in Livonia and students at colleges and universities located within the city of Livonia with proof of affiliation.

The Livonia Public Library does not issue Temporary Library Cards to non-residents. If you are not a resident of Livonia, you must bring your library card issued by your home library (the library located in the community where you reside) in order to check out materials.

Accepted Forms of ID:

• Driver’s license
• State ID card with photograph

Accepted Proofs of Address:

• Utility bill with name and current address
• Mortgage, lease, or rental agreement

Using Your Card

It is strongly recommended that you have your card with you to check out materials. If you do not have your card on hand, the Circulation staff will look up your number if you can provide another form of ID (driver’s license, etc.) If not, they will set the materials aside for you until you can return with your card (up to a maximum of two days).

Library Card Renewals

Since contact information (phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses) can change over time, we update your information to keep our records current. In order to keep our database up-to-date, Livonia resident library cards expire every three years. Business, student, and non-resident cards expire every year. All fines and fees must be paid in full prior to card renewal. When renewing cards, the patron must have the physical card or will be issued a new card if a Livonia resident.

Interlibrary Loans and Holds

If an item is checked out or not owned by the library you are visiting, you may place a “hold” on the item. You will be placed on the waiting list for checked out items or it will be shipped from another owning library depending on availability and individual library policies for interlibrary loan. When you are notified that the requested item is available for pick up, present your library card to the Circulation desk for check out. The requested item will remain on the hold shelf for 7 days (beginning the day after you are notified). If the item is not picked up in that time period, it will be returned to the owning library. Hotspots are available for Livonia patrons only. Hotspots circulate for 2 weeks with no renewals. Livonia patrons may place a hold for the next available hotspot for pickup at the owning location (Carl Sandburg or Bennett Civic Center). Hotspots will remain on the holds pickup shelf for 24 hours before being released from “hold” status.

If an item is not available within Livonia or the Library Network catalog, we will request a copy from libraries around the state of Michigan through the MeLCat network of libraries.

Extended Loan Periods

Checked out items may be renewed up to two times for a maximum checkout period of 9 weeks for Books and Audio Books, 3 weeks for Music CDs and DVDs*.

Going out of town? We may be able to extend your return date, just let us know before you check out.

*Items with holds, Lucky Day Books, New DVDs, New Music CDs, Children’s Holiday Books, Mobile Hotspots and Library of Things items  cannot be renewed.