Library card requires proof of citizenship at North Shelby



BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The mission statement of the North Shelby Library indicates it serves anyone who lives and/or works in its service area, but with the passage of the state's new immigration law, that statement may need some tweaking.

Since Sept. 1, anyone wishing to get a library card from that repository must show proof that they are legally present in the county.

However, that is not what the mission statement on the library website states.

"The mission of the North Shelby Library is to serve all citizens in the North Shelby Library District by offering library services, resources, and facilities to fulfill their educational, information, cultural and recreational needs and/or interests," the statement reads.

It continues, "The term 'citizens' includes all individuals and/or groups."

"We have to follow the rules that all businesses must follow," said Kay Kelley, president of the North Shelby Library board of directors.

That is because the library is considered a public corporation, although it operates as a nonprofit organization. The North Shelby facility serves the North Shelby Library District, an area of Shelby County that neither has a library or a municipality to support one. The district was created in 1988 by the state Legislature. It is the only such facility in the state.

The library district includes about 60,000 people and 24,000 of those individuals are property owners who pay through ad valorem taxes.

Until the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, or HB56, went into effect Sept. 1, anyone who lived in the district could get a library card simply by showing a picture identification with proof of residency, such as a driver's license or utility bill. People who work in Shelby County can bring in a paycheck stub, for example. Those who do not live in the county can pay a $30 annual fee.

All of those categories are still available but now all new patrons must present proof of legal residency as well.

Kelley said a library card is considered a contract between an individual and the library. The new law requires businesses to be certain that the individual is in the United States legally, through a valid driver license or nondriver ID card, a valid passport or an unexpired visa. A valid U.S. birth certificate will also work.

"We have to be careful," Kelley said. "We are just going to go with the flow."Â