Your Library card is your ticket to the wide world of stories, learning, entertainment, and of course, reading. Most people who live in the Kansas City metro area or nearby Missouri counties are eligible to apply online for a Mid-Continent Public Library card. Kids younger than 13 will need the help of a parent or legal guardian to register.
Not sure if you already have a Library card? Use our online Card Lookup form to check.
Need a replacement Library card? Visit any branch to replace your old Library card.
If you are the parent or guardian of a library cardholder, please know that the Library does not monitor what is checked out with any library card. We respect your right to make decisions for your child, and if you prefer to limit their access to certain materials, you may cancel their library card and check out items for them on your own library card.
This statement is required by 15 CRS 30-200.015 Missouri State Regulations. We appreciate your support, and we hope you and your child enjoy all our library offers!
About Online Registration
When you register for an MCPL Library card online, you will be emailed a printable copy of your Library card number. You can use this to access any of our online resources and to place up to two items on hold through our online catalog. A physical copy of your Library card will be mailed to your home. If your goal is to use your Library card for online materials only, you don’t need to do anything else. If you want to check out physical materials, just visit any of our branches and show staff a photo ID to update your account, and you will be all set.
Who Can Get an MCPL Library Card
Residents of the MCPL district and cooperating nearby library districts are eligible for an MCPL Library card. This includes most residents in the following counties:
Missouri:
Clay
Jackson
Platte
Andrew
Buchanan
Cass
Henry
Johnson
Lafayette
Ray
City of Cameron
Kansas:
Johnson
Wyandotte
Anyone in one of these counties or locations can register online.
Also, anyone who works, owns property, or attends school in the Mid-Continent Public Library district itself is eligible for a Library card. If you live outside of one of the counties listed above but work, own property or attend school inside the district itself, please visit a branch to apply for a Library card.
Mid-Continent Public Library District
The Mid-Continent Public Library district includes all of Clay, Platte, and Jackson counties in Missouri with the exception of locations within the Kansas City Missouri School District (which are within the Kansas City Public Library district) and the municipality of North Kansas City (the North Kansas City Library district).
Reciprocal Library Districts
Mid-Continent Public Library has reciprocal agreements with the following districts. Residents of these districts can receive an MCPL Library card, and MCPL residents can apply for Library cards from these districts:
About Libraries in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
Depending on how you define “Kansas City” there are many libraries that serve the Kansas City metro area. On the Kansas side, Johnson County Library, Olathe Public, and Kansas City Kansas Library serve most of Johnson and Wyandotte Counties. On the Missouri side, all libraries are independent political subdivisions, like a school district. Serving Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte Counties, you will find the Cass County Library, Kansas City Public Library, North Kansas City Public Library and Mid-Continent Public Library. Like school districts, all the libraries have unique boundaries and do not overlap. For instance, if you live in Kansas City north of the river, you do not pay taxes to both KCPL and MCPL.
Kansas City Public Library is the oldest public library in the region and is about 90 years older than Mid-Continent Public Library. Until the late 1980s, Kansas City Public Library was part of the Kansas City School District. Consequently (and with a minor exception) the Kansas City Public Library District still follows the Kansas City School District boundary.
More recently, the two libraries have grown to develop different strengths in an attempt to complement rather than compete. In addition, the two libraries have worked to eliminate barriers to services so that people living in the KCPL district can use MCPL resources and vice versa. The goal of both libraries is to provide excellent library service to the people of the region.