Library Cards and Accounts 

If you live or work in Orange County you may get a free library card from the Orange County Public Library. You may also get a free card if you live in Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, or Person County.

If you are a student at or work for Orange County Schools, Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools, Eno River Academy, or The Expedition School, you already have a free library account in place. 

Library Account Benefits

All library account holders with the Orange County Public Library enjoy

  • Borrowing privileges at our locations in Hillsborough and Carrboro. Check our catalog for books, Book Club Kits, Kindles, movies, video games, as well as wifi hotspots 
  • Access to thousands of e-books, movies, music, and TV shows - through Libby, hoopla, and NC LIVE - that you can download to your device 
  • School and career support through NC LIVE, including free preparation for the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and WorkKeys, language instruction, and access to ancestry.com, library edition while using our public computers.
  • Access to cloudLibrary, a mobile account app. Find out more here: English | Spanish 

Note: While we do not charge fines for overdue items, we do have a fee structure in place for some services and damaged or lost items. 
 

To register for a library account, come to one of our library locations in Hillsborough or in Carrboro. A government-issued photo ID card and proof of residency are required to obtain a library card. A matrícula consular ID or faith ID may also be used in lieu of a government issued photo ID.

Accounts for Students and School Employees

Student Accounts (SEA) logo

We work with your school district to automatically set up Student Easy Access (SEA) accounts at the beginning of and throughout the school year. It is okay to have a SEA account in addition to a regular library card (account). Get the SEA account e-newsletter!

Borrow Physical Materials

  • Come to the library and select up to 10 items to check out, excluding video games. To borrow the items, you will need to know your account number (your student ID number) and either use our self check-out machines or have a librarian at a service desk assist you
  • If you would like to place a hold ahead of your visit, go to your online account, enter your account number and your password (your birthday MonthxDate [MMxDD] ) and select the items you want to borrow. You will receive an email when your items are ready for you to check out. Watch our YouTube video to learn how to place a hold
  • Please be aware that you will be billed for lost, stolen or damaged items 


Use Digital Services   
School Success | College Prep | e-books 


Educator Accounts logog
We work with your school district to automatically set up Educator accounts at the beginning of and throughout the school year. Note: If you already have a regular library account with us, we can merge the 2 accounts into 1 account. Just ask! Get the Educator (Staff) e-newsletter

Day Care, Home School, and Pre-School Teachers: Provide proof of current employment with a local school organization, and we will switch your regular library account to an Educator account.

Borrow Physical Materials

  • Come to one of our library locations and select up to 40 items to check out. To borrow items, you will need to know your account number (your PowerSchool number)  and use our self check-out machines or have a librarian at a service desk assist you.
  • If you would like to place a hold ahead of your visit, go to your online account, enter your account number and your password (the last 4 digits of your phone number or the last 4 digits of your PowerSchool number with an x in the middle - 12x34) and select the items you want to borrow. You will receive an email when your items are ready for you to check out. Watch our YouTube video to learn how to place a hold
  • Please be aware that you will be billed for lost, stolen or damaged items 

***Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Employees Your password is the last 4 digits of your PowerSchool number with an x in the middle (e.g. 04x04).***


Use Digital Services
School Success | College Prep | e-books  

The Orange County Public Library is open to establishing Student Easy Access and Educator accounts with any school entity in Orange County. We invite home schooled students to get a full privilege borrower’s card.