Join the Library

It’s easy to join this club! Here’s who can get a free library card at the Innisfil ideaLAB & Library:

  • Permanent residents of Innisfil.
  • Students attending a school located in Innisfil.
  • Those who work at a business, organization, or institution located in Innisfil.
  • Those who own property in Innisfil.
  • Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit persons residing in Ontario.
  • Individuals who qualify for a membership through a valid Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement.

Fill out this form, then stop by your local Branch with some identification to finalize your account and pick up your library card. Children under 14 years of age must have a legal guardian sign a form. See the FAQs below for more information.

Indigenous Membership Form

Using Your Online Account

Welcome to the Library!

Read about the services, programs and events that are available at the library in your own language.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to bring my card with me everytime I visit the Library

Yes! It helps us protect your privacy and confidentiality. Good news, with our new Mobile Library App, you can carry your card on your phone. Find out more here.

Can my children have a library card?

Absolutely! If you’re OK with it, we’re OK with it. Stop by your closest branch and pick up a form to register your children under 14 years of age. Parents and guardians accept financial responsibility for all materials borrowed on their children’s cards. If your children are over 14 (they grow up so fast!) and don’t have identification of their own, you can fill out a form for them as well. People feel differently about what is appropriate for children to borrow from the Library. As a result, you will have sole responsibility for what is borrowed by your kids. We won’t stop them from signing things out or make any judgments about what is appropriate for anyone’s child; we’ll leave that entirely up to you.

I’m not from here/I’m only here for the summer. Can I have a Library card too?

If you live, work, or go to school Innisfil, you can join the Library for free. Residents of some nearby municipalities are also eligible for free membership, see the next FAQ.
If you do not qualify for a free membership, there is a fee to join. We have several options for you, depending on how long you want to use our services.
1 year membership: $60
6 month membership: $35
3 month membership: $25

Do you have borrowing agreements with other Libraries?

Yes! In addition to our three branches (Cookstown, Lakeshore, and Stroud), you can use your card at Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, and New Tecumseth libraries.

How long do I get to keep the things I’ve borrowed?

Books, audiobooks, and magazines are yours for three weeks. DVDs, video games are yours for one week. Our library has autorenewal, and items will renew if there’s no holds pending on your items. Shortly before your items are due back, you’ll receive an email letting you know if they have renewed or are due back.

You can always call us or check your account online (or through the app) to renew items yourself.

Visit Using Your Online Account to find out more about how to use your account.

When are my things due back at the Library? What happens if they’re late?

That depends on how late they are. We no longer charge daily overdue fines on most materials, including: books, magazines, DVDs and other media. We ask that you do your best to return things by the due date because others are waiting to use them. 

When materials are 3 weeks overdue replacement charges will be applied to your account, and as long as you return them before they’re 6 weeks overdue the charges will be removed and you won’t owe anything. Visit our Fine Free page for all the details.

Don’t feel bad about returning overdue items, really, we just want our items back so others can borrow them and you can continue to use the Library! You can sneak your items into any of our after hours drop boxes at any branch, any time.

I’m not done my book yet and it’s due today. Can I keep it a bit longer?

Probably! You can renew most of the items in our collection 3 times. However, some items can’t be renewed at all, for example books with NEW stickers on them. Your Online Account handout link above will help you with renewing things online, or you can call or visit your nearest Branch – the addresses and phone numbers are at the bottom of the screen.

Oh no! I’ve lost my card!

Uh oh! Are you sure? I only ask because it’s $5 for a new card, and Murphy’s Law states that the minute you buy a new one, you’re sure to find the old one. Take a good look around – under couch cushions, down between the seats of the car. If you’re positive it’s gone, give us a call right away. We’ll mark your old card as lost so that no one else can borrow things on it, and then set you up with a new card when you next visit the Library.

Remember, you can download our new app and carry your card right on your phone! You can even add family members’s card in the app to easily toggle between them.

There’s been an accident…I’ve wrecked something from the Library.

Happens to the best of us, friend. Take a deep breath and let us know. We won’t make you feel bad about it, but you will have to pay replacement value for the wrecked item. We calculate replacement costs based on market value set by the Southern Ontario Library Service, which includes things like staff time, shipping, processing, and cataloguing. Please don’t purchase a replacement for us – we really appreciate the gesture, but it may not be in the format we need and it doesn’t include things like the RFID chip, barcode, plastic cover, etc.

How bad do I have to be before you kick me out?

Um, that’s kind of a weird question – how bad were you planning on being? Seriously though, most people behave just fine in the Library and we’re pretty laid back. So long as you and your children respect the space and the people in it, you can hang out here. Children under 12 must have an adult or caregiver with them in the Library.

We will ask you to leave, though, if you are unwilling to comply with Library policy, destroy or damage Library property, or act in a manner which interferes with the general public’s enjoyment and use of the Library’s facilities, this would include swearing, running around and causing chaos, and general mischief.

If you fail to return materials or pay for damaged items, your borrowing privileges will be suspended until your account is settled.

We do have a Rules of Conduct Policy if you want a list of the type of behaviour we don’t allow in the Library. Some of which will result in a short term or long term ban from the Library.

I have more questions!

No problem! You can call us at the numbers listed below, review the Using Your Online Account information sheet or use our Info service.

Want more information on membership and borrowing? You can view our policy here.