Hennepin county Library recognizes that some patrons; both adult and children do not have a permanent residence that enables them to meet our main registration requirement. Usually the patron or a teacher alerts staff to the situation. Staff is not expected to ask patrons if they are homeless or living in a shelter. The policy below explains HCL's ongoing efforts to serve all of the community. It is written to serve what is anticipated to be a very small number of people who would otherwise be denied library service.
The Hennepin County Library will issue a library card with regular borrowing privileges to homeless people or people in shelters. Identification requirements are waived for purposes of issuing a card. The address of the library where the patron registered is used as the address of the patron.
There is also a related procedure available.