Borrowing Materials

How to Get Your Beaufort County Library Card:

Library cards are free to the following groups:

• Beaufort County residents who present proof of current residency in Beaufort County.
• Military personnel who present military ID and proof of current address.
• Non-residents who own property in Beaufort County and show proof of paid property tax and home address.
• Students who are non-residents may show a current student ID and proof of mailing address.
• Faculty and staff of any Beaufort County school may show an employee ID badge and proof of address.
• County employees may show an employee ID and proof of address.
• Residents with no physical address may provide a letter of sponsorship on official letterhead from a recognized non-profit organization

You may visit any branch library location to get a library card.

You may use your card at any Beaufort County Library location.

You may borrow materials from any of the consortial libraries of SC LENDS, the University of South Carolina at Beaufort Library and the Technical College of the Lowcountry Learning Resources Center, subject to their policies and procedures.

Non Resident Cards:

Those who do not meet the requirements for a free library card may purchase one for an annual fee (currently $50.00). You will need to provide proof of address and local contact information. 

Visitors to the area may purchase a Visitor Card, valid for four weeks, for $15.00.

Non Residents complete the same registration form as residents (use your Beaufort County address as your primary address and list your permanent address as your secondary address on the application). Proof of address is required for your permanent address.

Loan Periods:

Most materials may be checked out for three weeks.

NEW BOOKS, SCIENCE PROJECT BOOKS, HOLIDAY BOOKS, and MUSIC CDs may be checked out for two weeks.

VIDEOS and DVDS may be checked out for one week.

The following limits apply:

NEW BOOKS, AUDIO BOOKS, DVDs, and MUSIC CDs are limited to 5 of each type. 

There are no checkout limits on other materials. 

 Borrowing from outside Beaufort County Library

There are two ways to get materials from outside the library system.

• Beaufort County Library is part of SC LENDS [1], a consortium of libraries in South Carolina. You can find and place holds on SC LENDS items from the online catalog, just as you do with BCL items.
• If you are looking for an item not owned by any SC LENDS libraries, please contact the reference desk at your local Beaufort County Library branch [2] to request the item from a non-SC LENDS library.