Library services

Bring proof of identity (driver's license, state ID, birth certificate, student ID, military ID, or passport) and, for a resident card, proof of address within JCL's active subdistricts. Non-resident cards cost $80 a year, $40 for six months, or $20 a quarter. Educators employed in the district get the non-resident fee waived with proof of employment, renewed each September 1, and a reciprocal card is available to St. Louis County Library residents (though reciprocal cardholders can't use Hoopla or WiFi hotspots).

All branches offer large print books, hand-held magnifiers, audiobooks, large-screen computer monitors, and audiobook and e-book access with screen reader support through Overdrive and Hoopla. Books on the Run delivers materials free to homebound patrons, and Wolfner Library applications for blind and physically handicapped patrons are available at every branch. Branches also stock rolling walkers, with a desktop magnifier at Northwest and a motorized scooter at Windsor.

At the Arnold branch, families, day cares, and groups can request a Story Time Kit (limit one per week) or up to three book bundles per form (also limit one request per week); a valid JCL card is required, and requests should be made 1-2 days ahead of pickup. At the Northwest branch, staff put together a personalized bundle for kids and teens after you fill out a request form.

Place items on hold online or by phone at least 24 hours ahead and choose Book Lockers as your pickup location. You'll get a text or email alert with a 5-digit code once your item is loaded into the locker, and you can pick it up anytime over the next five business days by scanning the QR code or typing in the code. Return items through the regular library book drop.

JCL went fine-free on June 16, 2021, though items still have due dates and a courtesy reminder goes out 3 days before something is due. Materials 14 days overdue are billed as lost, and lost or damaged items still carry replacement fees. A few items, including WiFi hotspots, telescopes, fishing poles, and interlibrary loans from outside Missouri Evergreen, still carry late fines.

Books on the Run is a free delivery service, run jointly with NextStep for Life, for homebound residents with a valid library card across the Fox, Northwest, and Windsor school districts. You fill out a "wish list" of interests or specific titles, and materials are delivered 1-2 times a month. Register by phone or mail through your local branch.

Notary service is free at every branch, though hours of availability vary, so call ahead. Passport applications and passport cards are handled by appointment only; each applicant must be present, the process takes about 30 minutes, and you should arrive 10 minutes early. You'll need an unsigned application in black ink, proof of citizenship, a photo ID, and one passport photo taken in the last 6 months (photos aren't taken at the library).

Print wirelessly from a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, whether you're in the library or at home; jobs stay available for 72 hours. Black-and-white prints are 20 cents a page and color prints are 75 cents, paid at the print release station. Submit a document or website URL through the web portal, then release the job at the Self Service Kiosk with your email address.

Fill out a Request for Purchase form, or contact your branch, to suggest a title for the collection; if it's purchased, you're automatically placed on hold once it's processed. JCL is part of the Missouri Evergreen consortium, giving access to 4,733,166 items to check out. Interlibrary loan from outside Missouri Evergreen ended May 23, 2026, though a reciprocal borrowing agreement with St. Louis County Library remains available.

The Library of Things spans entertainment (board games, a record player, a karaoke machine), genealogy tools (film converters and digitizers), health and wellness kits, home and garden tools, musical instruments, outdoor gear, and technology like GoPros and thermal imaging cameras. Availability varies by branch, so call ahead to confirm an item is on the shelf before you visit.

Six telescopes (two per branch) check out on an adult card (age 16 and up) with matching photo ID, for a 7-day, non-renewable period limited to one per household. Overdue fines run $5 a day up to $100, and replacement cost is $325. A separate solar telescope, donated by the St. Louis Astronomical Society, is available to K-12 educators for a 5-day checkout from the Arnold branch.

JCL cardholders can check out a WiFi hotspot for 14 days, renewable once if no one else has it on hold, either online or by contacting the library. There's no cost to borrow one, but a $5-a-day late fee applies; a hotspot not returned within 5 days of its due date is billed as lost at the $80 replacement cost, and its internet service turns off after one day overdue.

Public computer sessions run up to three hours; JCL/Missouri Evergreen cardholders may use them, and patrons 16 and older without a card can use a valid state ID instead. WiFi (network "JCL-Library") needs no password. Faxing costs $1 a page to send locally within the continental U.S. and $1 a page to receive; copies are 20 cents a page black-and-white or 75 cents color.

Each branch has a meeting room available to civic, cultural, or educational groups (not social gatherings, fundraising, or sales); reserve in person or by phone at least a week in advance. Rooms come with equipment such as an overhead or slide projector, a screen, a podium, and a DVD player. Light refreshments are allowed for a $15 cleanup fee, but alcohol is not permitted.

Beanstack tracks reading minutes or books, lets you write reviews, and rewards activities with digital tickets and badges. Register online at jeffcolibmo.beanstack.org, or search for JEFFCOLIBMO in the Beanstack Tracker app; families can be linked together under one login. JCL uses Beanstack for all of its reading challenges.

Hoopla lets you borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics, and TV shows to your computer, tablet, phone, or TV, with titles streaming immediately or downloading for offline use. There's a limit of five checkouts per month per user, and apps are available for mobile devices and streaming devices like Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire Stick.

Libby (formerly OverDrive) is JCL's one-tap app for downloadable eBooks, eAudiobooks, and eMagazines through the Missouri Libraries 2 Go consortium. Additional titles for children and teens are funded by a donation from the Enterprise Holdings Foundation.

Mango Languages offers 60 foreign language courses and 17 English courses for ESL learners, plus foreign-film-based lessons through Mango Premiere and specialty mini courses. Use it at the library, remotely from home, school, or work, or on the go with apps for iPhone, Android, Kindle, and Nook.

The Missouri Evergreen mobile app lets you search books, movies, and music, place holds, view account information, and renew items from your phone. It creates a digital library card you can use to check out with staff or at self-check units. Download it from the App Store or Google Play and log in with your library card number and PIN.

NewsBank carries full-text articles from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other American news sources. St. Louis Post-Dispatch coverage of the metro area, including business, education, government, sports, and obituaries, runs from 1988 to the present, with full page images available through the search page. Microfilm copies of the Post-Dispatch from 1966-2002 are also on file at the Northwest branch.

JCL subscribes to Ancestry (in-library use only), Fold3 for military and historical records, HeritageQuest Online for census records and family histories, and the free FamilySearch site. Missouri Digital Heritage adds more than 9 million records from the Missouri State Archives and Missouri State Library. The Northwest branch is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, with access to additional restricted digital collections on-site.

Jefferson County Library links to its YouTube channel from every page of its website, alongside its other core services. The FAQ page points patrons there for video tutorials on using library services, and recorded genealogy lectures from the library's local-history speaker series are among the videos it hosts.