Let Your CPL Card Be Your Passport to Other Libraries

Do you live in Canton but work in Southfield? Or attend school in Dearborn? Maybe you make frequent visits to a friend in Novi, or you watch your grandchild a few days a week in Livonia?

Whatever the case may be, if your travels often take you to places across southeast Michigan, be sure to take your Canton Public Library card with you. Why? You can use your CPL card to check out items from more than 70 libraries across southeast Michigan, as long as they’re part of our reciprocal borrowing network.

For each reciprocal library you’d like to use, remember to register your CPL card on your first visit. Inform a staff member at the library’s main desk that you’re from a different library and would like to check out materials. They’ll ask for your Canton Public Library card and photo ID so they can enter your information into their system. On that first visit, you’ll also want to ask some questions about the items you plan to check out, because that library’s borrowing policies might be different than ours.

You can return the items you check out from another library directly to them, or you can drop off the materials with us. If you drop off those items here, they won’t get checked in right away. Instead, they will be added to the items we’re already delivering to other libraries. When the other library receives your items, they’ll check them in just like they would if you returned them directly.

If you don’t typically travel much but still want to tap into what other libraries have to offer, you can also do that with your CPL card. If you’re looking for a certain title we don’t have in our collection, chances are pretty good that another library in Michigan (including college libraries) does.

The Michigan eLibrary, also known as MeLCat, delivers your requested items to CPL. Find out more here, ask a librarian, or visit the MeLCat website directly. Items requested through MeLCat usually arrive at our library within 7-10 days and have a slightly longer borrowing period. We'll let you know when your item arrives.