Get a card

Who can get a card?

Library cards are free to:

• DeKalb Coun­ty residents
• DeKalb Coun­ty prop­er­ty owners
• Employ­ees of DeKalb Coun­ty Gov­ern­ment, DeKalb Coun­ty School Sys­tem, City Schools of Decatur or City Gov­ern­ments with­in DeKalb County.
• Col­lege stu­dents who live on cam­pus in DeKalb Coun­ty dur­ing the aca­d­e­m­ic year
• Library school students
• Busi­ness own­ers in DeKalb County

Library cards are also free for res­i­dents of group homes, extend­ed stay motels and shel­ters locat­ed in DeKalb County.

If none of the above con­di­tions apply:

• Begin­ning in 2025, Geor­gia res­i­dents not liv­ing in DeKalb Coun­ty can obtain a non-res­i­­dent library card for $50.00. The card is valid for one year.

How to apply for a card?

Vis­it your local library branch to apply for a card. You will be asked to show accept­able ID, like:

• pic­ture ID with your cur­rent address
• pic­ture ID with­out cur­rent address if accom­pa­nied by a recent util­i­ty bill, rental receipt, lease, DeKalb Coun­ty prop­er­ty tax receipt, cur­rent car insur­ance card, vot­er reg­is­tra­tion card or print­ed checks
• Coun­ty, city and school employ­ees must present ID ver­i­fy­ing cur­rent employment
• Prop­er­ty own­ers must present pic­ture ID and evi­dence of own­er­ship or be iden­ti­fied as the own­er in the Coun­ty’s online prop­er­ty tax database.
• Busi­ness own­ers must present pic­ture ID and a cur­rent DeKalb Coun­ty busi­ness license show­ing that the busi­ness is locat­ed in DeKalb County.

Or, apply online, then vis­it a branch to com­plete registration.

What do you get with a card?

• Access to more than one mil­lion books, audio­books, DVDs and music CDs
  • Check out our cat­a­log to see what’s avail­able to request and check out
• eBooks and down­load­able audio­books from
  • Over­Drive (if on a mobile device, use the Lib­by app)
  • hoopla (as well as comics, movies, TV, and music)
• Online mag­a­zines and newspapers 
  • Over­Drive (if on a mobile device, use the Lib­by app)
  • The New York Times
  • Press­Read­er, includ­ing the AJC
• Edu­ca­tion­al videos
  • LinkedIn Learn­ing (for­mer­ly Lyn​da​.com)
• For our children!
  • Book­Flix
  • eRead Kids
  • Help­Now from Brain­fuse for tutor­ing and home­work help
• Click here for a full list­ing of our online resources

Card­hold­er Responsibilities

You should present your own library card each time you check out mate­ri­als or access the Inter­net through library com­put­ers. The respon­si­bil­i­ty for all mate­ri­als checked out, and any finan­cial oblig­a­tions incurred for over­due, lost or dam­aged mate­ri­als belongs to you as card­hold­er. Do not loan your card to others.

On rare occa­sions when you may not have your card with you, staff can access your library account if you present an ID.

Library cards are renewed and patron address ver­i­fied every two years. Vis­it any DCPL branch with your cur­rent ID and proof of cur­rent address (if it is not on ID).

Report a Lost or Stolen Card and Get a Replacement

Please report a lost or stolen library card to any branch library as soon as pos­si­ble. You are respon­si­ble for all items checked out on your card until you have report­ed it lost.