CCPL Library Card and Explore Passes

Cards are free to Charleston County residents, business owners, property owners, students physically attending a Charleston County college/university or accredited K-12 school, active-duty military stationed in Charleston County, K-12 teachers at accredited Charleston County schools, and Charleston County Government employees. Residents of Berkeley, Colleton, Dorchester or Georgetown counties may buy a card for $80/year (valid one year); residents outside those five counties are not eligible. Application is at a branch or via an online form, with current photo ID and proof of Charleston County address; the card is issued and valid same day. All patrons under 18 need parental consent, and parents set the child's level of access across print, audio-visual, e-resource collections, databases and internet. Charleston County School District students are auto-registered for a library account through the L2 program using their CCSD username and password, with no physical card needed; parents can opt out. What the card unlocks beyond books: the Explore with CCPL pass program - Gibbes Museum of Art pass (admits the children of one household plus two adults, one-week checkout, not renewable, adult card only), South Carolina State Parks pass (one family admission to any state park, two-week checkout, adult card only), Charleston County Parks pass (one-week checkout, renewable twice, adult card only), and a South Carolina Aquarium pass (holds temporarily suspended due to demand). Also circulating: Chromebooks (four-week checkout, agreement required), LaunchPad tablets in 16 varieties (two weeks, renewable, checkout on children's or adult cards, no internet or downloads required), internet hotspots (four weeks, agreement required, adult card), and telescopes with guide and instructions (one week, adult card, driver's license required at checkout). Pass availability is limited; contact the branch. CCPL also runs 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, Storytime Kits To-Go (thematic kits with books, puppets, toys, puzzles, games and rhymes), printable Early Literacy activity calendars in English and Spanish, and a summer reading program that Patriots Point sponsors with a reward for child, teen and adult finishers.