Please visit us at the Library and inquire about our membership rates at the Circulation desk. You'll find below a list of the items you'll need to bring with you to enable us to process your application and issue you with a Library card - usually on the spot.

It only takes a few minutes to sign up in person at the Library.

Various memberships are available, including:

• Annual Memberships
• Short-term Memberships (4 months or 6 months)
• Day or Week Pass

We also offer Institutional Memberships for schools and colleges that provide access to Library resources and services for students and teachers.

Become a member today and help support the Library!

When joining the Library please bring:

• a valid photo ID (passport or identity card)
• a bill with current address (EDF, telephone)
• payment in cash, check, or credit card
• For short-term memberships—a 60€ refundable cash deposit (required only if you want borrowing privileges)
• For student memberships—bring your current student card
• For unemployed memberships— bring official documentation
• For disabled memberships— bring your MDPH card

NOTE: All membership fees are non-refundable, but they are transferable.

We ask that you help everyone enjoy the Library by honoring these simple rules:

• Please set you cell phone to vibrate while in the Library and step outside when making a call.
• Food in the Library creates problems with pests. Bottled water is allowed. There are many eateries adjacent to the Library.
• Please allow others to enjoy our books by refraining from writing in the margins or underlining passages.
• Leave your roller blades, skates and scooters at the front of the Library.
• Library space is limited. Please leave your dogs at home.
• Causing a disturbance or engaging in any behavior which interferes with Library activities will not be tolerated.

For more details, see the Library Policies Page.

Additionally, in an effort to provide a library environment that allows all patrons to use library materials and resources in a safe, relaxed manner, help us make sure your child's visit to the library is a safe and happy one. Please review our Unattended Children Policy.

Yes. The wireless internet access at The American Library in Paris is free of charge for all members and day/week pass users. Ask the circulation desk for the wireless log-on instructions. The Library also provides two dedicated workstations you may reserve in the Research Center.

All users are expected to use the Library's Internet access in a legal and responsible manner, consistent with the educational and informational purposes for which it is provided.

For more details, see our Internet Access Policy and usage guidelines.

After renovations to the Library a conference room has become available for use by Library members. When it is not in use by Library discussion groups, meetings, school tours and presentations, proxy testing, and other Library-related business, it is intended for a group of people (3 or more) needing a place in which to study or for informal meetings where talking or discussion is necessary.

Learn more about the conference room and how to make a reservation.

You can update your account information in person at the Circulation desk. Please bring official proof of your new address, e.g. phone, gas, or electricty bill. You can also update your contact details directly online by going to the online catalog, click "my account" and enter your membership number and password to log in.

Please let the circulation desk know the next time you're at the Library. A fee of 5€ will be charged to replace a lost or damaged card.

If you don’t have your Library card, we'll ask that you show a photo ID to check out, renew or to provide information about your Library account. This is to protect you against unauthorized use and for the privacy of your records.

Each membership level provides different check-out privileges. Please refer to the membership categories for details.

Most Library material can be borrowed for three weeks (exceptions below). Items may be renewed one time, for the original loan period, providing no other member has requested the item. Senior members are afforded an additional renewal (two in total), providing no other member has requested the item and has placed it on hold.

Exceptions:

• New fiction may be borrowed for two weeks and may be renewed for an additional two-weeks, if there are no other requests.
• Agrégation d'Anglais material may be borrowed for one-week only and is not renewable. A maximum of four Agrégation d'Anglais items, two per subject, may be borrowed at any one time.

As long as your fines are less than 25€, you may still check out and renew your items. Borrowing privileges may be suspended for fines greater than 25€.

Overdue material may be renewed, but fines are still payable for the period between the due date and the renewal date.

Most materials may be renewed once, except for the following:

• Materials on hold for another Library member
• Agrégation d'Anglais materials

You can renew materials one time and in any of the following ways:

• On the web. Go to the online catalog, click "my account" and enter your membership number and password to log in.
• By phone. Call 01 53 59 12 60 during Library operating hours.
• By email. Send your full name and membership number, together with details of the items you want to renew to .
• In person. Please go to the Circulation Desk.
  

NOTE: Senior members are afforded an additional renewal (two in total), providing no other member has requested the item and has placed it on hold.

Members may request that a hold be placed on up to four (4) items. This service is only available for items that are currently checked out to another member or on order.

You can place a hold on an item in any of the following ways:

• On the web:
  1. Go to the online catalog.
  2. Click "my account" and enter your membership number and password to log in.
  3. Search for the item you are looking for and click the "Place Hold" button.
• By phone. Call 01 53 59 12 60 during Library operating hours.
• In person. Please go to the Circulation Desk.
  

You will be notified when the requested item becomes available. Once notified your hold will be held for 8 working days.

We will send you an e-mail notification 48 hours before a book becomes overdue.

Borrowed items may be returned to the Library in person or via mail. For after-hour returns, a book drop slot accessible from the street is conveniently located to the left of the Library's main entrance. Members are responsible for all items checked out on their account. For that reason, when returning Library materials by post, we recommend registered mail.

The Library assesses late fees on materials not returned on the due date:

• 0.20€ per item per day the Library is open, maximum of 6€ per item
• 0.40€ per Agrégation d'Anglais item per day late including Sundays, Mondays and holidays

Members are responsible for returning items to the Library in the same condition as when they were borrowed. Members will be assessed the cost of replacement plus an 8€ processing fee for lost or damaged items.  The Library cannot accept replacement or substitute material.

If an item can no longer be circulated due to damage, you will be charged a replacement cost plus an 8€ processing fee. You will not be held responsible for normal wear and tear.