Currently Skagit Libraries includes Burlington Public Library, La Conner Swinomish Library, Central Skagit Library, Upper Skagit Library, and the library at Hospice of the Northwest.
Some (but not all) items that are available for you to check out at your home library are also now available for patrons at other Skagit Libraries to check out as well – and vice versa! If your home library doesn’t have an item you are looking for but one of the other Skagit Libraries does, that item will be transferred to your home library for you to check out without having to drive to the other library yourself to pick it up.
Currently, items from other libraries are delivered to your home library once a week. If this changes in the future we’ll let you know!
Item transfers between libraries are included with all of the library services you already receive with your card. There are no extra fees.
The funding for collaborative Skagit Libraries services come from each of the libraries who participate, who are themselves funded by taxpayers. The goal is to make taxpayer funding stretch further and be more efficient by making as many purchases as possible one-time, shared purchases rather than making each library pay for the same resources individually. This also allows patrons whose home libraries are smaller to gain access to expensive resources their home library could ordinarily not afford.
Not every library patron will be able to check out every item from every library. Some items are only available to patrons of the library that purchased them and can’t be transferred. Some patrons (who we refer to as “Library1” patrons) are not able to check out items from other Skagit Libraries because they are not residents in one of the participating library districts (thereby paying into the taxpayer funding structure) and had to pay for library card access at their home library.
Our current reciprocal borrowing agreement does not allow for sharing the funds that are received from paid cards. We are definitely investigating options to allow for this in the future.
Contact your library and we can look up your card type and your access to features.
The ability to see the items from across the Library system is a feature that should benefit everyone. Knowing that another library has an item allows us to share resources and find the items you need quickly and easily. Also, all patrons are able to view items at the owning library regardless of their ability to check them out.
Sure, you are welcome to do that if you wish! Be sure to contact the partner library if you want to guarantee the item is available when you arrive. Remember, this feature is only available to patrons who can borrow at multiple libraries. Check with your library to see if your card qualifies.
Items that are lost or damaged should be brought to the attention of the item’s home library. If any fines or fees are necessary they would also be taken care of at the item’s home library.
Continue to login to your digital resources the same way you have in the past. If you would like to combine your Skagit Library accounts, contact your library. Be aware that some resources are only available at specific libraries. For example, you will need a Central Skagit Library card # to access Hoopla and you can only access Comic Plus with a Burlington Library card.