Never Fear The Librarians Are Here!
San Diego LibrariesSan Diego County is home to several excellent library systems.
Click here for a list of local libraries and their websites.
Public Libraries -- Library cards are available free of charge to California residents at any of the public libraries, with a government-issued photo ID and proof of residence. A public library card allows you to check out materials and access many of the libraries' online databases from home.
Academic Libraries -- Access to most materials at area college and university libraries is available to the public on-site. You can purchase a guest library card to check out library materials. Access to the library databases is available on-site but off-campus access is available only to the institution's students, faculty, and staff.
Image by Rhododendrites [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons
The San Diego Public Library includes the Central Library in downtown San Diego, and 34 branch libraries within the city limits.
The San Diego County Library system has 33 branch libraries in San Diego County but outside of the San Diego city limits. Those closest to the city of San Diego are the Poway, Del Mar, La Mesa, and Bonita branches.
Click here for a list of locations and hours.
Most of SDCL's online databases are available off-site to current library card holders SDCL also participates in the San Diego Circuit and Link services which allow current card holders to borrow books from libraries outside of the system including UCSD, SDSU, CSUSM, and many more.
The San Diego County Public Law Library offers free, on-site access to its print and online collections but there is a fee to borrow materials. They also offer a free "Chat live with a law librarian" service from their homepage.
Additional public library systems include the following:
By Nserrano [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
The college and university libraries listed below are open to the public for on-site access to their print and online resources.
Image credits:
By FASTILY [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
By Nehrams2020 [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons