Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone who lives, attends school, works at a school, or pays property taxes in Oklahoma City or Oklahoma County can receive a Metropolitan Library System card for free. If you meet one of these qualifications, you can apply for a card online (and begin using it immediately) or you can apply for a card at any Metro Library location. If you apply for a card online, you will not be issued a physical card unless you visit a Metro Library location and ask for one.

Anyone enrolled in Oklahoma City Public Schools can use their student ID to access Metro Library resources. Additionally, anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Cleveland County, McClain County, or Pottawatomie County or students who live in Grady County and attend school in the Blanchard School district can receive a Metropolitan Library System card for free. If you meet one of these qualifications, you can apply for a card online (and begin using it immediately) or you can apply for a card at any Metro Library location. To apply in person, please bring proof of ID, including proof of current address (an up-to-date driver's license would satisfy both requirements). Parents or guardians must provide address verification for minors (16 and under). Examples of acceptable identification:

• Any photo ID issued by the U.S. Federal, Tribal, or any State Government (examples include a driver’s license, Tribal ID, current passport, green card, state employee ID card)
• Birth Certificate
• Current vehicle insurance verification form
• Student ID card with a photo of the student on it
• Acceptable evidence of current school, college, or university enrollment or employment (examples include an official transcript or registrar’s receipt for students; examples for staff include a pay stub or staff ID card)
• Social Security card
• Medicare or other medical plan card
• Current credit card
• Military ID card; include rank and serial number on the application
• Voter registration card
• Personal check with printed name
• Parent or guardian’s identification for students under age 17 who are unable to provide proof of eligibility, provided the parent or guardian meets eligibility requirements
• Oklahoma County ad valorem property tax statement
• Utility bills or receipts postmarked within 30 days
• Copy of current lease
• Mortgage paperwork within 90 days of notarization

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We have various types of library cards. Learn which one is right for you.

Primary Card
If you live in or own property in Oklahoma City or Oklahoma County, you can get a card for free. If you are 16 or younger, a parent or guardian must be present to co-sign the application and card.

ONEcard
If you are a student in Oklahoma City Public Schools, you are eligible for a free card and can use your student ID to access Metro Library resources. Note: a physical card will not be issued.

Reciprocal Card
If you live, work, or attend school in Cleveland, McClain or Pottawatomie counties or are a Blanchard school district student living in Grady County, you can also get a Metro Library card for free.

School Card
Students and school employees who do not qualify for a primary or reciprocal card may be eligible for a School card if their school is in Oklahoma City or Oklahoma County. School cards are valid for 1 year and eligibility must be verified annually. School cards provide access to all Metro Library services except interlibrary loan. Students must present proof of enrollment and teachers must present proof of employment.

Annual Fee Card
If you don't meet the qualifications for one of the cards listed above, you can purchase an Annual Fee Card for $70 per year. This single card allows everyone in your household to use the Metropolitan Library System. If you use our library value calculator to tally the cost of purchasing books, CDs, magazines, music, DVDs, eBooks, eAudiobooks, newspapers, and internet access, you will see the value of the $70 fee. You can apply for a card in person at any Metro Library or by contacting us.

Internet Access Card
If you're a visitor to our system or are otherwise unable to show proper proof of residence, you can request an internet access card which will provide limited library service such as internet and database access.

Note: If you are a resident of Oklahoma County and are 65 years or older or completely homebound, you might be eligible for our Library-by-Mail Service. Call 405-606-3295 to consult with the Library-by-Mail Specialist to determine your eligibility.

To sign in to your library account or to your OverDrive account, you will need to enter all the digits of your library card number.

• If you have an ECARD number, enter that word along with the trailing digits with no spaces between them. For example: ecard1234567
• If your card number has a lowercase letter "c" at the end, do not include it when you enter your card number.

The password will be your full last name. If your last name is hyphenated or has a space or apostrophe, you will have to enter that hyphen, space, or apostrophe and if that doesn't work, try your last name without the hyphen, space, or apostrophe and let us know if you would like us to correct your name.

To sign in to your library account: At metrolibrary.org, click the My Account button at the top. (If using a smartphone, tap the Find Books link instead.) 

NOTE: After clicking My Account, if you see a blank page that never loads, you are probably using an outdated browser that is incompatible with our catalog. Try updating your browser to the most recent version.

To sign in to your OverDrive account: Visit metrolibrary.overdrive.com and click the Sign in button or the 3 books icon at the top.

Our autorenewal service will automatically attempt to renew your checked out titles 3 days before they are due. If autorenewal is successful, you will not receive a notification; your due date will extend another 3 weeks and no additional action is necessary on your part. If autorenewal is unsuccessful, you will be notified ONLY if you are set up for email and/or text notifications.

To check your notification settings, visit metrolibrary.org/myaccount. After signing in with your card number and last name, visit the Account Summary section and select Opt-In & Notifications. 

Not Able to Renew?

If you tried to renew a title and see the message Item cannot be renewed at this time, it could be because: 

• It is an interlibrary loan title, an Experience Pass, a Chromebook, or a hotspot.
• Another person has placed a hold on this item AND we have no copies on the shelf.
• You have reached your maximum number of allowed renewals (8).
• Your library card has expired.
• You have fines on your account that are preventing the renewal.

1. Visit metrolibrary.org/ill and if you haven't created an account, click the First Time Users link.
2. Complete the New User Registration form, using your library card number as your username and your last name as your password. Note: ILL notifications will only be delivered via email or postal mail.
3. After you complete registration and sign in, in the New Request menu at the left, select the type of material you wish to borrow.
4. Complete the request form then click Submit Request. If your title has an ISBN number, providing the ISBN will expedite your request so use a search engine to search for the phrase your title isbn to find its ISBN. Note: After submitting your request, if you are directed to the sign in screen, your session has timed out but your request should have successfully submitted. You can sign in and click All Requests to ensure your request was received.

Note: The interlibrary loan service is not available for reciprocal, ONEcard, and school cardholders.

If you don't have your card on you and need to know your number, please contact us and we'll be happy to assist you. If you have lost your card, please contact us as soon as possible so we can put a block on your card to prevent anyone else from using it.

If you are enrolled in Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS), your library card number is the same as your student ID.

 

If you don't want to sign in to your library account each time with your library card number and last name, you can instead create an EZ Username and EZ Password. To do so:

1. Visit metrolibrary.org and click My Account at the top.
2. Enter all the digits of your library card number. Your password or PIN is your full last name. Click Log In.
   • If you have an ECARD number, enter that word along with the trailing digits with no spaces between them. For example: ecard1234567
   • If your card number has a lowercase letter "c" at the end, do not include it when you enter your card number.
3. Click on Your name's Account at the top right and then click on EZ Username. Your Username is not case-sensitive, can be a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols, and must be at least one character long.
4. Enter your EZ Password. Your Password is case-sensitive, can be a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols, and must be at least one character long. 

If you ever forget your EZ Password, you can sign in with your library card number and your last name in order to reset it. If you have a valid email address on record, the "Forgot your EZ password?" link on the catalog's login page will email you directions on how to reset it. Be sure to check your spam folder for this email as we know that some email providers like Gmail mark it as spam.

If you don't have a valid email address on record or enter an incorrect EZ Username, you will see the error message 'An error has occurred. See your library staff for assistance.'

If it has been longer than a week since you returned it and it is still showing up on your account, please contact us and we can start the search for the item.

On July 1, 2021, we are starting a one-year pilot project of going fine free for all Metro-owned materials except technology (hotspots, Chromebooks, laptops, and iPads), Experience Passes, and titles borrowed via interlibrary loan. Metro-owned children’s materials are already fine free. Items that are lost or damaged will still incur replacement fees. For more information about our fine free project, please visit this page.

OVERDUE FINES

• iPads (MediaSurfer) - $5.00 per hour to a maximum of $60
• Interlibrary loan items are $.50 per day up to the replacement cost of the item 
• WiFi hotspots are $.50 per day to a maximum of $30
• Chromebooks are $1 per day to a maximum of $30
• Experience passes are $1 per day to a maximum of $30

LOST/DAMAGED ITEMS

Once an item is 60 days overdue, the item is considered lost. The borrower who damages, loses, or does not return an item must pay the replacement cost as determined by the library system.

• Book, Magazine or Electronic Device - List price at the time of purchase
• Audiovisual Materials (CD & DVD) - Replacement cost if lost or damaged due to carelessness or neglect
• Audiovisual Materials, Liner Notes or Guide – No charge

If your account has a balance of $50 or more, you will be prevented from borrowing materials until the balance is below $50.

A soft block (which doesn't prevent you from using the library) results from events like you having updated your physical address online, we sent you an email/text message/physical mail which bounced back to us, or we don't have a date of birth (DOB) on record for you. Please contact us so that we can investigate this issue for you.

Your hoopla PIN is your full last name.

Physical Titles

All physical titles (books, CDs, DVDs, Playaways, etc.), WiFi hotspots, and Chromebooks check out for 3 weeks. Experience Passes check out for 1 week.

Renewals
Our autorenewal service will automatically attempt to renew your checked out titles 3 days before they are due. If autorenewal is successful, you will not receive a notification; your due date will extend another 3 weeks and no additional action is necessary on your part. If autorenewal is unsuccessful, you will be notified ONLY if you are set up for email and/or text notifications.

To check your notification settings, visit metrolibrary.org/myaccount. After signing in with your card number and last name, visit the Account Summary section and select Opt-In & Notifications. 

When a physical title is renewed, it is due back 3 weeks from the end of the original loan period and not 3 weeks from the day you renewed it unless you renew it on the day it is due or you renew it while it is overdue.

Example: A book is checked out on the 1st and is due back on the 22nd. If the book is renewed at any point between the 1st and the 22nd, it is due back 3 weeks from the 22nd.

Titles borrowed via interlibrary loan (ILL), WiFi hotspots, and Chromebooks cannot be renewed.

Digital Titles

eBooks and eAudiobooks from OverDrive can be checked out for 1 or 2 weeks. You can select the checkout period for each OverDrive title at the time of checkout. You can change your default lending period in your settings. OverDrive titles can be renewed unless there is a hold on the title. You can also renew items through the Libby app.

Magazines from OverDrive (using the Libby app) check out for 21 days at a time.

eBooks from EBSCO have no lending limit if they are read in the browser. If you wish to download an eBook from EBSCO, you can choose a lending period of 1 to 21 days.

eBooks and eAudiobooks from Odilo can be checked out for 3 weeks.

With hoopla, movies and TV shows can be checked out for 72 hours, music albums can be checked out for 7 days, and eBooks, eAudiobooks, and comics can be checked out for 21 days.

With Kanopy, movies and TV shows can be checked out for 72 hours.

1. Visit metrolibrary.org and click My Account at the top.
2. In the window that pops up, enter all the digits of your library card number. Your password or PIN is your full last name. Click Log In.
   • If you have an ECARD number, enter that word along with the trailing digits with no spaces between them. For example: ecard1234567
   • If your card number has a lowercase letter "c" at the end, do not include it when you enter your card number.
3. On the Account Summary tab, click View Fines, check the fines you want to pay, and then click on the words "Pay Fines."
4. In the window that opens, enter your payment information and click Pay Now.

A receipt of your payment will be emailed to you and you can also choose to print the Payment Successful page.

NOTE: If you're paying to renew your annual fee card, you must contact us after paying the balance so we can update the expiration date on your card.

If we don't own a title in a physical format (e.g. book, DVD, CD etc.), you can suggest we purchase it using this form which is found at the top left corner of our catalog, and in the Can't Find It? section on the Browse and Borrow page.

If we don't own a title in a digital format (i.e. eBook or eAudiobook), here's how you can request we add it to our OverDrive collection:

1. Visit metrolibrary.org/overdrive and perform your search
2. On the search results page:
   1. on a desktop/laptop, on the left side of the page in the Availability section, click Recommend to library
   2. on a tablet/phone, at the top of the page in the Filters drop down menu, tap Recommend to library

You can make up to 3 recommendations for purchase for our OverDrive collection every 30 days. If the title isn't available in the Recommend to library section of our OverDrive catalog, this means that either the publisher has not made this title available in a digital format, or OverDrive has not acquired the rights to the title in this format. This most often occurs with eAudiobooks in that publishers will release a title as an eBook but not as an eAudiobook.

Study rooms are free to use, are intended for small groups, and can be booked for up to 2 hours of use at metrolibrary.org/studyrooms.

Meeting rooms are rented by the hour can be booked on this page.

To place a single hold using a desktop, laptop or tablet:

Visit catalog.metrolibrary.org to begin your search. After performing your search, select the format of the item you want to place on hold.

After selecting your format, click the Place Hold button under the item.

If you aren’t signed in, you will be prompted to do so. After you sign in (or if you are already signed in) you will be prompted to select your pickup location.

To place a hold using a smartphone:

Visit catalog.metrolibrary.org and tap on the magnifying glass icon at the top to begin your search.

After Performing your search, tap on See All Formats and select the format you want to put on hold.

Tap on Place Hold under the item. If you aren’t signed in, you will be prompted to do so. After you sign in (or if you are already signed in) you will be prompted to select your pickup location.

You can visit (and bookmark) metrolibrary.org/newdvds or you can follow the directions below:

1. Visit metrolibrary.org and in the search menus at the top, select Search Catalog (Books, Movies, Music) in the drop down menu, type video recordings in the search box, and click the magnifying glass icon or press Enter.
2. On the search results page, in the Format search filter on the left, click Visual Materials:
   
   
    
3. You can use the Sort By... menu at the top of the search results list to further refine your search results:
   
   

You can browse our eBooks (EPUB, Kindle, and OverDrive Read) and our downloadable eAudiobooks from OverDrive by category. To do so, visit metrolibrary.overdrive.com. Once on that page, you can click on Subjects at the top of the page (on a mobile device, click the menu icon next to the 3 books icon) OR to browse the categories of a specific format (like Kindle):

1. Click the magnifying glass icon at the top and then click Advanced, select your format in the All Formats drop down menu, then click Search.
2. On the search results page, use the search filters to narrow your search results.

To browse our always available eBook collection from EBSCO, visit the collection and browse by category on the left, the featured collections on the right, or by using the search box at the top of the page.

To browse our always available eBooks and eAudiobooks from hoopla by category, click the Browse menu at the top of the page, select your desired format, and then click the Categories link.

To browse our always available eBooks and eAudiobooks from Odilo by category, visit the collection to see the various genres.

This means that you need to authorize the OverDrive app and this page has directions on how to do so.

There are never any late fees on our eBooks and downloadable audiobooks and they automatically check themselves in at the end of the lending period. However, if you wish to return a title early:

This page has directions on how to return eBooks (including Kindle titles) and audiobooks from our OverDrive collection.

To return eBooks or audiobooks using OverDrive's Libby app, go to your Shelf and tap Manage Loan next to the cover of the title you want to return. Then tap Return Early.

To return an eBook or audiobook borrowed from our hoopla collection, click the Return Now link on the borrowed title's information page.

To return an eBook borrowed from our always available eBook collection from EBSCO, open Adobe Digital Editions and view your bookshelf. Right click on the eBook you want to return and select Return Borrowed Item.

For your Kindle that isn't in the Kindle Fire family (e.g. Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Voyage, etc), check out the directions in our How-to Guides for enjoying eBooks from our OverDrive collection.

To enjoy our always available eBook collection from EBSCO on your Kindle that isn't in the Fire family, you can use Amazon's Send to Kindle option.