Library Card FAQs

  • General Questions

    Yes, your library card will expire 2 years from signup/renewal. This is to ensure we have current contact information.

    You can renew at the library, over the phone, or using the online form. 

    Your SCL card can be used to:

    • Borrow library materials from Strathcona County Library, its Bookmobile, and Fort Saskatchewan Public Library;
    • Place holds from any of those collections to be picked up at your preferred location;
    • Access Strathcona County Library's digital collections, including licensed databases.

    Yes! Your Strathcona County Library card is valid for use at Fort Saskatchewan Library. You can also borrow library materials from Edmonton Public Library, St. Albert Public Library or another participating Alberta public library that is convenient for you to visit. To do so, you must register for the ME Libraries service. You must have an email on file with us in order to complete the ME Libraries online registration and use your card at another library.

    If you would like to borrow items from participating post-secondary and government libraries, you can sign up for a TAL (The Alberta Library) Card.

    You may also use the interlibrary loans service to have materials brought to Strathcona County Library for pick up.

  • Getting or Renewing a Card

    We can help school classes get signed up for library cards by providing teachers with application forms to go home to parents/guardians. We will then pick up the completed application forms and bring the completed library cards to the school.

    For students who live outside of Strathcona County, we are able to register them through the ME Libraries service to borrow physical items from Strathcona County Library using their home library card.

    Contact elementary@sclibrary.ca about cards for kindergarten to grade 6 classes or teens@sclibrary.ca about cards for grade 7 to 12 classes.

    Yes! Even better, if you have welcomed a new baby into your family, a free gift bag is waiting for you at the library. Each gift bag contains a board book, a rhymes and songs booklet, and information to support your baby's early literacy and learning! Visit the Central Library, Bookmobile, or Strathcona County Health Centre to pick up your Welcome Baby bag.

    You can sign up for or renew a library card online.

    You can also visit the Central Library or the Bookmobile with ID and proof of address in the County.

    If you are under 18, you will need a signature from a parent or guardian before you can get a card. Either bring a parent or guardian with you, or print out a Signing Authority Form and bring it back signed. 

    To confirm your residence in Strathcona County and your identity, valid documentation includes:

    • Current driver's license or government ID with photo and current address

    OR

    • Photo ID (e.g., passport or expired driver's license)
      PLUS one of the following with your current County address:
    • Car registration
    • County tax bill
    • Utility bill
    • Mail delivered via Canada Post to a physical address (PO boxes not accepted)
    • Address verification card obtained and mailed from the library

  • Lost Cards and Forgotten PINs

    First, check that you have created a BiblioCommons account. Please start that process, and if you get stuck at entering your PIN (4 digits), call us. On the phone we will ask some identifying questions to make sure we are talking to the person responsible for the library card.

    Once you create your account, your login will be either this PIN or a custom password. You can go through the "Forgot your PIN" link at any point after registering to reset your password.

    Please let us know as soon as possible if your library card is lost. You are responsible for any materials borrowed using the card until you notify the library. Visit the library with photo ID to have a new card issued.

    Some of the library's digital services require you to sign up for a separate account with that service, usually using your email address and a unique password. In addition to the 4-digit PIN associated with your library card, you set up your own passwords for these third-party services when you create an account with them.

    It's good practice to not use the same password for each. We recommend using a password manager to remember.