Twin Cities Business Listing

Your Washington County Library (“WCL”) card gets you books and so much more – video games, family events & activities, story times, Wi-Fi hotspots and Chromebook loans and more. WCL has 7 branches and 2 associate libraries spanning the east metro area of the Twin Cities. They also have 3 express locations where where patrons can order, pick up, and return library materials using a self‐service kiosk, locker system, and book return.

Related Articles

• • Washington County Historic Courthouse
  • Top Kids Storytimes in the Twin Cities
  • Twin Cities Summer Reading Programs
  • Bookflix: A Fun Way to Read Together Courtesy of Your Library

Storytimes at Washington County Library

The library branches offer story hours, ranging from baby to family and sometimes offering specially themed story times. The best way to find a story hour is to use the event calendar, filtering by “storytimes” under the Event Types category.

How to Get A Library Card

Residents of Washington County just need to pop into any WCL branch and show proof of residency or fill out an online form.

Non-residents who have a library cards issued by any Regional Library System in Minnesota, you can register your card to borrow from WCL. This is important because they do have different offerings than other libraries — for instance video games. You can also purchase an annual card if you don’t qualify to register a card. Washington County Library  has these non-book offerings for check out with a library card:

• Video games for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, WiiU, and other consoles.
• DVDs of popular movies, television shows, and documentaries.
• Magazines.
• Book Club Kits that include 10 copies of a single title. Start a family book club or invite your kids friends to join.
• Memory Minder Kits to help older adults with all stages of memory loss.
• WiFi Hotspots and Chromebooks for accessing internet outside the library.
• Xcel Energy Power and Draft Checks – This can be a fun STEM activity to do with kids. Measure electrical energy consumed by electrical appliances. Then make a family plan to reduce energy use at home.
• Food Pantries at Park Grove Library and Oakdale Library.

Get FREE tickets to shows and museums with smARTpass

This library system is part of the MELSA library system, so it offers the smARTpass program, where library cardholders can checkout tickets to shows and museums. You can read a more detailed review of the program at the link above.

Find More Discounts with the “Show Your Library Card” Program

Show Your Library Card is a new campaign throughout Washington County offering discounts at area businesses to library cardholders. Just show your card at these participating businesses to receive special offers and discounts.

Find Family Fun at STEM Saturdays

Various branches offer Saturday STEM events throughout the year. These are usually free, drop-in events and cover topics from Raptors to Robotics to LEGOs and other fun science-y activities. Find upcoming STEM events on the library calendar.

Borrow Video Games from Washington County Library

WCL has recently added a video game collection, which  includes more than 100 games for PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Wii U and Nintendo Switch games. Games, like books, can be requested online and picked up at any branch. They are also on the shelf for browsing at Hardwood Creek, Oakdale, Park Grove, and R.H. Stafford libraries.

Washington County Library Locations

Branches Include:

• Hardwood Creek Library, Forest Lake
• Lake Elmo Library – Services include book loans, public computers, reservable meeting room, and community programs.
• Oakdale Library
• Park Grove Library, Cottage Grove
• R. H. Stafford Library, Woodbury
• Valley Library, Lakeland
• Wildwood Library, Mahtomedi
• Washington County Law Library, Stillwater
• Bayport Public Library (associate library)
• Stillwater Public Library (associate library)

Library Express Locations

• Hugo City Hall
• Marine City Hall
• Newport Transit Station

Associate Libraries:

• Stillwater library is open for visits of 60-minutes or less on Wednesdays from 1:ppm to 7:00pm and Saturdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
• Bayport Library is offering curbside pick up only at this time. Monday: 10:00am – 8:00pm, Tuesday – Friday: 10:00am – 5:00pm and Saturday: 10:00am – 1:00pm.

Useful Links:

• Find hours for individual branches.
• Library Event Calendar
• Browse the video game catalog here.
• Find Online Storytimes on WCL’s Facebook Page and archived on the Library’s website.
• Learn more about the Show Your Library Card program