The Ocean County Library

Ocean County Library is a public library system that connects people, builds community, and transforms lives through the power of information and stories. The library serves as a portal of knowledge and strengthens civic involvement. It provides content that is digital in nature, as well as supporting its residents’ desire for personal growth. Ocean County Library has 21 library locations to serve a population of 575,397 residents in the 32 municipalities that comprise its service area. Each year, the library circulates over 4.3 million books, answers over 2.5 million reference questions, and provides over 11,500 programs and activities for children, young adults, adults and families, and has over 3 million visits to its library system. Ocean County Library’s collection includes over 1.3 million volumes and consists of print books, e-Books, audio books, magazines, music, DVD’s, videogames, and local history materials. It has 76 databases providing access to thousands of journals, research, and online learning materials. The library has over 494 computers available for public use and all of its library locations offer free web access via Wi-Fi. An Ocean County Library card may be used to borrow books and materials at any of its 21 library locations and to access e-Books and online resources either in the library, or from users’ personal computer with internet access, or through the My OCL app available for users’ smartphone, tablet, or other handheld device. Ocean County Library has a reciprocal borrowing agreement with the Burlington County Library and the Monmouth County Library systems which permit its residents to borrow materials from these library systems and permit residents of Burlington and Monmouth counties who belong to their county library system to borrow books and materials from the Ocean County Library. Ocean County Library has received several awards, including recipient of the national medal for museum and library service, Library Journal’s library of the year 2013 special mention, the 2013 New Jersey Library Association’s library service award for trustees, named one of America’s Star Libraries, recipient of the American Library Association John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award, and first place in the American Library Association Diversity Fair. Ocean County Library was founded in 1925 and is based in Oceanside, N.Y.

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