Frequently Asked Questions

Residents and property owners of the City of Burlington support the Burlington Public Library via their taxes. The non-resident fee offsets the cost to serve non-residents.

You may have a Burlington postal address but if your property is physically located in the unincorporated areas outside Burlington city limits, by definition you are a non-resident.

Where you physically reside determines who provides services to you.

Residents of the City of Burlington (within Burlington city limits) are served by:

• Burlington Police Department
• Burlington Fire Department
• Burlington Public Library

Residents of unincorporated Skagit County (outside Burlington city limits) are served by:

• Skagit County Sheriff
• County Fire Districts
• Library from which they purchased a non-resident card

Yes, each of the public libraries in Skagit County charge non-resident fees.

This amount equals the rate city-resident taxpayers pay for library services, and the $60 fee covers an entire household for a year. To help put this in perspective, look at what $60 will buy you elsewhere:

• Three hardbound books per year
• Less than a year's subscription to Netflix or the Skagit Valley Herald

A library card is the best bargain around at less than 17 cents a day.

A non-resident card entitles you to the same privileges as a resident library cardholder.

• You can check out library materials (books, videos, magazines, audiobooks).
• You have access to the Library's 37,000-item collection and 100+ magazine and newspaper subscriptions.
• You can use the Library's electronic resources, including the internet, Microsoft Office software, and online magazine databases.
• Children can attend library storytimes, events, and participate in the summer reading program.

There is no charge to use library materials in the library for studying in the library, for using our public computers, or for asking reference questions. In addition, fees are never charged for library programs, including storytimes, and teen and adult workshops and informational programs.

Good question. Concerned citizens have brought this issue to the public for a vote several times in the past 10 years. We agree that it would be a great benefit to be able to offer all Skagit County residents library cards without charging fees out-of-pocket.

We hate turning away families with large stacks of books who will not or cannot pay a non-resident fee. We'd love it if teachers could confidently tell their students to go to the nearest public library and check out a book on their topic without distinguishing if their families live within city limits or not.

We envision a system where library cardholders could check out materials from any one of the public libraries in Skagit County—via a shared catalog and circulation system. You'd have access to way more items than can fit in the Burlington Library—for far less than it would cost to buy non-resident cards at each library.

Remember, the establishment of library services for residents of unincorporated Skagit County is the responsibility of county residents and county commissioners, not city residents or the City of Burlington.