School Corps > Services & programs > Educator Library Cards
Educator Library Cards
Multnomah County Library is committed to working with schools and educators. Library items used for educational purposes may be needed for longer than the standard three-week loan period. Educator cards allow users to check out and renew items for six weeks and to have up to 40 unfilled holds at one time. The educator card is separate from the educator's personal library card. Educator cards are to be used only for materials for curriculum support or classroom use. (Educators must use their personal library cards for all library materials checked out for personal use.)
Who qualifies for an educator card?
To qualify for an educator card, an educator must:
- Teach children in childcare, kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) or homeschool education and
- Live or teach in Multnomah County Library's free service area. Educators and child care providers who live outside the free service area and teach in Multnomah County are eligible for an educator card. Covered by this policy are Centennial, Corbett, David Douglas, Parkrose, Reynolds, Riverdale, and the Portland and Gresham-Barlow school districts, regardless of school location; home schooled students and their parents; and afterschool providers. Examples of afterschool providers include but are not limited to Art4Life, YMCA, CampFire USA, Boys and Girls Club, and SUN (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) programs.
GED, literacy, and other community educators, who often do not have other library resources, may be eligible for an educator card.
How can an educator get one of these cards?
Educators must visit a Multnomah County Library location in person and bring valid identification and one of the following for proof of educator status:
- School or childcare identification
- School or childcare pay stub
- Letter on school or childcare letterhead from the school administrator or childcare director
- Letter of acknowledgement of homeschooling from the local Education Service District (ESD)
- Oregon State Child Care Division certification
How can educators use these cards?
Educator cards allow users to borrow and renew items for six weeks, rather than the standard three-week loan period. They also allow educators to have up to 40 unfilled holds at one time. They are for use in borrowing materials to use in educating young children and students. Interlibrary loan materials do not fall within the six-week borrowing and renewal provision of the educator card.
An educator card is separate from an educator's individual library card; individual educators are responsible for all charges accrued on their educator card, including those for overdue and lost materials.
An educator card does not entitle an educator to more than one hour of in-library Internet use and cannot be used to provide group access to the subscription databases available through Multnomah County Library.
