New York State Library
Resident Borrower's Card

A man checking out books at the Circulation Desk

With a NYSL Resident Borrower's card, you can:

directly borrow up to 10 items at a time from the New York State Library’s circulating collection
access the NOVEL databases 24/7 from work or home

If you are a New York State Resident, 18 years and older, you can apply for a NYSL Resident Borrower's card. NYSL New York Resident Borrower's cards are free!

To register for a New York State Library NYS Resident Borrower’s card, you must complete a Resident Borrower’s card application and present, in person, through the mail or via fax, one of the following types of identification:

current New York State driver’s license
current photo-identification card issued by the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
other current photo-identification card that contains your name and current home address
other current photo-identification card that contains your name and a recent piece of official mail (such as a utility or telephone bill) that shows your name and current home address. (A college dormitory is not considered a resident home address.)

If you list a post office box as your mailing address, you must provide us with your resident address. If you send your NYS Resident Borrower’s card application through the mail or via fax, please include a photocopy of your identification.

You can request a NYS Resident Borrower’s card application:

onsite at the New York State Library floor Circulation Desk on the 7th floor of the Cultural Education Center
over the phone by calling the NYSL Circulation Desk at 518-473-7895
via email by sending an email to circ@mail.nysed.gov

New York State Library Resident Borrower's Card

New York State Library
Resident Borrower's Card