Your Library Card

Getting your library card

All residents of the City of Utica are entitled to a library card. Visit the library with your residence verification to get your free card! Your first library card is free; there is a $3.00 replacement fee for lost cards.

If your current Driver's License or Michigan I.D. has your current Utica address, you need simply to bring it to the library, fill out an application, and a card will be issued to you on the spot.  If your ID does not show your current address, bring two pieces of mail such as a utility bill, insurance bill, or other "official mail" addressed to you. Personal letters will not be accepted. 

Children under the age of 18 are considered minors in the State of Michigan. Residents are welcome to apply for library cards for their children; however, they will also need to fill out information on their applications, show a driver's license, and sign as responsible for anything they check out.  Only parents or legal guardians may sign library card applications. 

The City of Utica and the Charter Township of Shelby share two zip codes; therefore, your driver's license may say you reside in Utica when actually you reside in Shelby Township, or vice-versa.  The government to which you pay your property taxes is your legal residence.  If you're unsure as to whether you live in Utica or Shelby, please call us at 586-731-4141, and we can tell you if your street address falls in Utica or Shelby.

Suburban Library Cooperative of Macomb County (SLC)

The Utica Library is a member of the Suburban Library Cooperative, a system of approximately 20 libraries, that have joined together to better serve their patrons.  Your Utica library card from us gives you access to all the public libraries in Macomb County, plus the Troy Library and the Harper Woods Public Library,  The majority of these libraries have a shared system library catalog, so when you are searching for material you may limit your search to a particular library or search all the libraries in the shared system.  You may place holds on the materials you need and have those items delivered to the Utica Library for pickup, or you may visit any of those libraries and use your Utica library card to check out materials. 

Please remember however, that these are all separate, independent libraries governed by their individual library boards and not branches of any "main" library; thus, when you visit another library and checkout their materials you may find the lending periods differ and the fines and fees may vary.  

Also, the Harrison Township Library, Troy Public Library and the Clinton-Macomb Libraries, while part of our cooperative, are not on the shared catalog.  You are entitled to use your card at both these libraries, but you will need to visit the library, have your Utica library card entered into their system, and then search their catalogs for materials at their individual websites.  For a list of all libraries available to you through SLC, click here.

Loan Periods and Fines

The library offers the following types of materials for check out.  Items will automatically renew up to the allowed amount, so long as no one has placed it on hold. If an item you would like is not checked in, it can be placed on hold for pick up. Once an item is held, you will be notified and then have one week to pick up the item.