F.A.Q.
Find Solutions to Your Questions Quickly & Easily
BCCLS is a consortium of 78 public libraries in northern New Jersey. By county, there are 62 in Bergen, 11 in Essex, 4 in Hudson, and 1 in Passaic.
It’s easy and free! Most BCCLS libraries offer online registration. With proper identification, your home library will provide you with a free library card. If your town is not a BCCLS member or does not have a library, check with any BCCLS library for local pay card policies.
Municipalities without libraries are not eligible for BCCLS-wide services. This applies to residents of Alpine, Englewood Cliffs, Moonachie, Rockleigh, Saddle River, South Hackensack, Teterboro, and Woodcliff Lake in Bergen County as well as Essex Fells and North Caldwell in Essex County.
Once you have your library card, you can visit and borrow from any of the 78 BCCLS libraries. You may search www.bccls.org 24/7 and with your library card place requests for any of the more than 5,000,000 items available within the BCCLS system. Your items will be delivered within a matter of days to any BCCLS library by our BCCLS delivery system, and you may return your materials to any BCCLS library. If you need assistance, your local library can help you obtain the materials you want.
Books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, CDs, audio books, games, software and more. Additionally, downloadable content is available online.
Libraries can reserve most materials and notify you when your item becomes available.
Your home library will try to obtain the material you’ve requested from outside the BCCLS system. This service may take more time and may incur a fee.
Downloadable e-books, e-magazines, and e-audiobooks are available free from BCCLS anytime, anywhere you are connected. Additional e-content may be available through your local library.
Most loan periods are four weeks for older materials and two weeks for newer materials. Each library determines its own borrowing limits and loan periods.
Most items will renew automatically but for those items that don’t, the easiest way to renew materials is online using “Your Library Card” and password. You can also renew in person or by telephone.
A password allows you to view your borrower information online. With a password you can review what you currently have checked out, renew materials that are renewable, and check for fines. Any BCCLS library may issue a password to any BCCLS patron who presents a valid library card.