THIS POST WAS UPDATED ON 4/5/2023

If you are a romance reader and want to save money by buying new books daily, may I suggest investing in a Non-Resident Library Membership Card?  You gain borrowing rights and the opportunity to discover new books by paying a nominal fee per year.

Libraries are a great way to try out books that may or may not work for you without guilt. In addition, if you are an audiobook listener, this is an excellent service to borrow daily audiobooks with services such as Libby, Overdrive, and Hoopla. 

In this post, you will find a review of 11 Public Libraries that offers Non-Resident Borrowing Rights at a nominal fee. This review is specific for romance readers as you want to see which library cards are a good investment. 

NON-RESIDENT LIBRARY MEMBERSHIPS FOR ROMANCE READERS

Orange County Library System (Florida) 

Cost: $125 a year

Hoopla Borrows: 10 monthly borrows 

Great selection of audiobooks and a quick turnaround. I have borrowed countless books with this membership. Great selection of traditionally published romance novels in both e-book and audiobooks. Y

This library has 171k available books in Libby. The romance selection consists of 45k audiobooks and ebooks.

Wait Time: Just a few weeks for new releases. Audiobooks tend to come faster than e-books. 

Quick Tip When Signing Up: When applying, select the check box next to “Out of Country” to enter your address. They may ask a question on the form about what county OCLS is in to stop spammers. The answer is “Orange” since OCLS stands for Orange County Library System.

Houston Public Library (Texas)

Cost:  $40 a year 

Hoopla Borrows: 4  borrows per month

The romance selection was a bit limited. I found that there were long waits for books.  The library hold time is 14 days as opposed to 21 days. 

Queens Public Library (New York)

Cost: $50 a year.

Hoopla: 10 Hoopla Borrows

The selection is low.  Queens Public Library has little romance. The wait time is long for audiobooks and ebooks.  The library hold time is 14 days as opposed to 21 days. 

Fairfax County Public Library (Virginia)

Cost: $27 

Hoopla: No Hoopla Borrows

Selection for latest releases  Romance selection is ok but they have more literary fiction/thrillers/etc. 

Miami Dade Public Library (Florida) 

Cost: $65 a year 

Hoopla Borrows: 20 borrows per month

Great selection for the latest new releases in ebook. Wait times are low and sometimes books are readily available.

In terms of romance, the selection is ok.  However, if you are a Hoopla user then this library is for you.

To sign up: You will need to email customercare@mdpls.org

St. Louis Public Library (Missouri)

Cost: The library will grant you access to its Library Catalog if you donate to the St. Louis Public Library Friends Program.

You will get access to Libby, where you can borrow up to 20 titles at a time and can place 30 titles on hold.

Stark Library (Ohio)

Cost: $50 a year

Hoopla Borrows: 15 borrows per month

Wait Time: Just a few weeks for new releases. Audiobooks tend to come faster than e-books. 

You will have access to the Ohio Digital Library. You can borrow up to 20 books on Libby and put 30 books on hold. The library offers about 260k available now, books and audiobooks. For romance books, there are 59k romance books and audiobooks.

New Orleans Public Library (Louisiana)

Cost: $50 a year

Hoopla Borrows: 20 borrows per month

Wait Time: Just a few weeks for new releases. Audiobooks tend to come faster than e-books. 

You can borrow up to 10 books on Libby and put ten books on hold. The library offers about 70k available now, books and audiobooks. For romance books, there are 10k romance books and audiobooks.

The following libraries are available for those who live in the state that they are located.

Los Angeles Public Library (California) 

If you live in California or you are in the LA area then you must sign up for Los Angeles Public Library.

This library offers Hoopla borrows.

Cost: for Non-Resident the cost is $50 a year but you must go to the library in person, and for California Resident is free.

Great audiobook selection for both traditionally published and indie books. If you are an indie reader, this library has a great selection of e-books. 

Free  Library  of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)

Cost: If you live in Pennsylvania, you can get a free library card for Philadelphia and the cost is free. 

Great Libby selection. 

Hoopla: N/A

Brooklyn Public Library (New York)

Cost: It is free if you live or work in New York State.

No Hoopla

Yes, Brooklyn used to offer non-resident library cards. However, this service has been discontinued.

Their Libby selection for indie romance and audiobooks is excellent.

Book Unbanned Inititative

“Teens and young adults ages 13-21 outside of New York State can apply for a free Books Unbanned eCard. This card provides access to BPL’s entire digital collection. It helps connect young people facing censorship and book bans in their communities with materials that explore a wider range of topics. You can support the Books Unbanned initiative by making a donation.” From the Brooklyn Public Library site as of April 5, 2023.

RELATED LIBRARY POSTS:

If you are new to Hoopla, check out our Hoopla Digital Guide that walks you through your frequently asked questions, such as how to open multiple Hoopla accounts, find out how many borrows per month you have, etc. 

If you would like to recommend for your library to buy a book or audiobook, check out our How to Guide to Recommend a Book for Purchasing through Libby and Overdrive.