Is Your School on The List? A Student Guide to Getting a County Library Card

A county library card will cost $80 to non-residents of the Santa Clara County Library District, but not to many students, said Nancy Howe, deputy county librarian, who had the task of implementing the student card system.

Non-resident students, preschool through 12th grade, will still get a free, limited-use card if they attend a school in one of the member cities of the county library district, or attend school districts whose boundaries overlap with the county library district member-city boundaries. This also applies to private schools, charter schools and qualifying home schools.

The nine member cities include: Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill or Saratoga. Schools in the unincorporated county areas also qualify.

"We've tried," said Howe. "We've had a staff working on this ever since they made the decision so we can get on with services as quickly as possible—but I'm sure we haven't thought of everything."

Those eligible for the county library card are:

• Preschool through 12th-grade students
• Students who attend public and private schools that are part of school districts whose boundaries overlap with the Santa Clara County Library District city boundaries.
• Applicants must provide proof of residential address or student ID or proof of student status with school affiliation and a mailing address for the one-year card.

The student card offers the same privileges as resident library cards with the exception that check-outs are limited to five items and two holds at one time.

Both  (LGUSD) and  are examples of the wrinkles of the new rules.

For example, LGUSD students can thank one of its schools——located in Monte Sereno and part of the library district, for making them all eligible to county library cards now.

"It's just over the city line," Howe said. "The idea is that children study together, collaborate together, use the data bases together at home," said Howe said.

Confused? There's help.

Over the past month, the county library staff developed a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page. Even more anticipated, it just posted a five-page list of schools that that students can check on the Santa Clara County Library website.

The list, which is also contained on a pdf format document above, only has public schools at this point. Howe advised families to check back to the county library website because they are still compiling the list of private schools including pre-schools.

"I'm not saying we don't have a mistake in that list," Howe said, "but we have tried to be methodical."

Be sure to talk to librarians to see how your student might qualify, she said.

And there's no need to rush, particularly if you're planning on taking vacations this summer, Howe advised. The one-year cards are active from the day they are qualified, so students might want to make sure they get the full 365 days of use.

"A lot of people were tearing out their hair trying to figure this out," said Howe. "We want to make it work for families."