You're Not From Around Here, Are You?

Published on September 09, 2025

A close up of a customer's hand giving their library card to library staff to check out the two books stacked on the counter beneath their hands

By Alice R.

One of my favorite things about reading is the community—finding a common interest with other readers. I love bonding over a shared love of modern biographies or chatting about a good mystery or psychological thriller (William Kent Krueger, Freida McFadden). Another favorite genre is the happily-ever-after modern romances (Tessa Bailey, Ali Hazelwood, Abby Jimenez). 

I love to gush to friends about what I’m reading. But what if they don’t live in Sioux Falls or Minnehaha County, and don’t have an amazing local library like I do? 

A colorful, abstract animation

The good news is: if anyone lives outside our library district of Sioux Falls city limits or Minnehaha County (excluding Dell Rapids), they can still get a Siouxland Libraries library card! They can purchase a nonresident membership and have full access to all materials and services that a resident has. 

Library Card Design: Circles segmented into quarter slices and arranged in a collage of colors including orange, navy, magenta, green, teal, and yellowLibrary Card Design: A collage of fanciful cartoon like characters using a color palette of pink, purple, magenta, teal, yellow, light blue, and black.

Library Card Design: a magenta llama wearing green sunglasses with a horizontal striped background of navy, green, teal, and orangeLibrary Card Design: a brown sloth hanging from a leafy branch surrounded by a border of green, pink, grey, teal, navy, green, and orange leaves

Library services are funded by property taxes; the nonresident fee is based on what percentage of residents’ property tax goes to library services. There are two purchasing options: $17 for 3 months or $63 for the year. This fee includes cards for all immediate family members living at the residence. So even if you’re not from around here, you can get a library card, too! 

Nonresident memberships are very popular. Here are some great examples of usage that I have encountered while working here: 

  

  • The “snowbird” reader (who lives in Arizona for half of the year) uses her nonresident card for our extensive selection in our digital collection (eBooks and eAudiobooks).  

  • A woman gifted a nonresident card to her granddaughter, who attends college out of state, so that she could still access our resources while studying.  

  • One family in Minnesota uses nonresident cards for their whole family. The mom homeschools her kiddos, so she uses our library to find materials for her curriculum. 

 

Librarians are happy to help. We love to connect our community with library cards and access. Nonresidents traveling through can stop by any Siouxland Libraries branch to sign up for a library card. Nonresidents and residents alike can also sign up for a card online

Any questions? Give us a call at 605-367-8700, or email library.ask@siouxfalls.gov.  

Library Associate Alice smiling seated at her desk holding her personal library card

Happy reading!