How Do I?

All Meriden residents are eligible for a library card. Bring the following to the Visitor Services Desk:

  • Adults require one form of photo identification such as a driver’s license, CT non-driver ID, or passport listing Meriden residence; Or a photo ID and one of the following: Meriden utility or tax bill; any mail item delivered to Meriden home address; mortgage or lease agreement; or CT motor vehicle registration.
  • Children under the age of 18 require parent or legal guardian information and one form of identification showing child’s name on it such as: social security card, birth certificate, or insurance card; OR one of the following: student report card, school schedule, or school ID.

You can print from either your phone or from a desktop computer in the library. 

  • To print from your phone, forward the email, photo, etc., to: 1mplref@gmail.com. A staff person at the Information Desk will print the file(s) for you. Black & white prints cost 15 cents per page, and color prints cost 50 cents per page. *If emailing to 1mplref@gmail.com, we ONLY accept cash (change or small bills).
  • To print from a library computer:
    1. Click Print, then click “OK” to send the print job. 
    2. Your print job has been sent, and you must now release it. Take your guest pass or library card and go to the terminal by the printer. Either scan or type in the guest pass or card number, and your print job(s) should pop up. 
    3. Highlight the job(s) that you want to print by either touching them or clicking on them with the stylus.
    4. Pay by inserting debit/credit card or change/small bills (we will give you change for a $20.00 bill and below) in the vending machine. *Please note: the tap feature for debit/credit card is not available.
    5. Touch or click “Print All” on the computer screen and the printer will print your documents. 

 

A staff person will be happy to assist you with scanning or faxing your document(s). The scan center, located next to the patron printer in the computer area, consists of a touch screen monitor, flatbed scanner, and sheet-fed scanner. The sheet-fed scanner can scan several documents at a time and will scan different-sized items, including ID cards. Follow the instructions on the monitor. 

Costs:

  • Scan services are free with an option to send photos & documents to several places including: an email, your smartphone, your personal flash drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Text to Audio. 
  • Fax services are $1.00 per page, with a free cover letter page. Our fax accepts both debit/credit cards and cash payments (change or small bills).

You can register for any of our programs through our library calendar. Navigate to our website, hover over “Programs,” then click on "All Programs," or select an age by clicking on "Children," "Teens," or "Adults." Once on the calendar page, click on the event you want to register for, then scroll down to “Registration” under the event details, input your personal information, and click "Register." You can also call and register with a library staff member. 

We now have printable, in addition to physical, passes available through Museum Key! You can navigate to passes by museum or by date. You will need your valid Meriden Public Library card in order to make a reservation and print a pass. If reserving a pass by date, you will choose your date and then see a list of museum passes available that day and click “Reserve Now.” If reserving a pass by museum, you will choose your museum and then click “Check Dates” to see a list of dates available for that pass. To check out the pass on your chosen day, click “Reserve Now.” 

Printable passes will specify “date of use'' and “valid until,” and send you a confirmation email where you can print the pass. 

Physical passes will specify a pickup date and a due date. You must go to the Information Desk to check out a physical pass and bring the pass back by the due date. Please note the museum pass policies: 

  • Limit of 1 pass per household per visit. 
  • The same pass cannot be borrowed by the same patron more than twice per month. 
  • All passes can be reserved up to 60 days in advance. 
  • All reservations require a library card in good standing. 
  • Physical passes (passes that are not available as a printable pass) circulate for 2 days and must be back by close of business on the second day. 
  • A $5 late fee will be assessed for physical passes returned one day after the due date.
  • After that, a late fee of $10 per day will be assessed. 
  • Borrower is responsible for the replacement fee if the pass is lost or stolen. Replacement fees vary from $50 - $300, depending on the museum. 

Meriden Public Library lends Wi-Fi Hotspots to adults, ages 18 and above, with a valid library card from anywhere in Connecticut. The Visitor Services Desk will enter Connecticut residents with cards from non-LION libraries into the system. However, holds will not be placed on hotspots and are circulated on a first come, first served basis. A hotspot can be held for pickup for up to 2 hours if the patron calls and indicates that they can meet this deadline. In addition, only one hotspot can be checked out per household for TWO (2) weeks at a time, with no renewals or extensions. After a patron has returned a hotspot, they must wait SEVEN (7) days before checking out another. This will allow for wider circulation of our hotspots. A fee of $5 per day will be charged for those who return the hotspot late. Unreturned hotspots will have service cut off, resulting in the hotspot no longer providing Wi-Fi access. In addition, a replacement fee of $85.00 will be charged for lost or stolen hotspots. Please note: the hotspot must be returned during library business hours; DO NOT place the hotspot in the bookdrop or return to a different library. 

A specific item (book, audiobook, DVD, etc.) can be requested via one of the following:

  1. You may call or visit staff at the Information Desk to assist you in searching for the item in our LION catalog.  If available, we will place a hold to have it sent here for pickup. 
  2. If the item is not in the catalog, you or a staff person can submit a Suggest a Purchase form via our website or in-person at the Information Desk.
  3. We can also try to obtain the item from a Connecticut public library outside the LION consortium through Interlibrary loan (ILL). 

The Meriden Public Library offers free notary services. Please call the Community Services department ahead of time at (203) 630-4757 for help filling out an appointment request, or fill out your own request by going to the notary appointment request form. A notary will get back to you within one to two business days to schedule the appointment. 

The Meriden Public Library notary public does NOT notarize the following: 

  • Any documents pertaining to wills, living wills, or trusts
  • Documents issued by the federal government (tax returns)
  • Judicial decrees
  • Military records
  • Petitions
  • Prenuptial agreements
  • Public notary licenses
  • Vital Records (birth certificates, marriage licenses, death records)

The notary public will notarize select court documents. Notary services are free, but fees may be charged for any documents that need to be printed via our printing services. 

Other notary resources:

Please check with each resource on notary service fees.

  • Downloadable online resources are available via Libby and Hoopla. From your personal computer: navigate to Libby and Hoopla and use your valid Meriden library card to create an account for each resource. From your smart device (phone or tablet): go to the app store, search for Libby and Hoopla, and download both of these apps. You will then need to use your valid Meriden library card to create an account for each app. From there, you will have access to a plethora of eBooks, eAudiobooks, movies, TV shows, comics, music, and magazines. Please note: you may download a total of 7 titles per month on Hoopla and a total of 10 titles per month on Libby.
  • *For Kindle Fire or Kindle eReader: watch this brief introduction to Libby for Kindle.
  • Another option is navigating to the Connecticut State Library site, researchITCT.org, and entering your library card number. In addition to eBooks and eAudiobooks, you will have access to popular magazines, newspapers, journals, Connecticut digital collections, and the Ancestry.com genealogical resource.

Go to the app store on your smart device (phone or tablet), and download the Hoopla and/or Libby app. You will need to use your library card to create an account for either app. Alternatively, from your personal computer, navigate to Libby and Hoopla and use your valid Meriden library card to create an account for each resource. You may download a total of 7 titles per month on Hoopla, and a total of 10 titles per month on Libby.

*For Kindle Fire or Kindle eReader: watch this brief introduction to Libby for Kindle.

We have a great resource called AtoZ Databases that you can access in-house only with your valid Meriden library card. Look up businesses, executives, mailing lists and sales leads, jobs or internships, and people. To access AtoZ, visit our Online Resources page on the library website and click on "View Resource" under AtoZ Databases.

We have several resources that you can use: 

  • Microsoft Word has a decent number of resume and cover letter templates. To access these templates, open Word (on the desktop of our computers), then click on “File” and “New.” Click on Resumes and Cover Letters to see a variety of templates that you can use to create a resume and/or cover letter. 
  • AtoZ Databases (offered only in the library) also offers several resume templates. To access AtoZ, visit our Online Resources page on the library website, and click on "View Resource" under AtoZ Databases. From there, click on “Career Resources'' next to “Find a Job,” then “How to Apply” to access resume and cover letter templates.
  • JobNow is another excellent online resource that offers both resume templates and live interview coaching. To access JobNow: visit our Online Resources page on the library website. Navigate to JobNow and click on "View Resource" under it. From there, you will have access to resources such as a live resume expert, resume templates, a live resume lab, live interview coaching, interview tips, and live job coaching.
  • Please note: we do not recommend searching for a resume or cover letter service online, as virtually all of them charge and some are scams.

Transparent Language is a fun and free way to learn languages. Personalized courses are available in 110+ languages, and speakers of 30+ languages can learn English in their own language. To access Transparent, visit our Online Resources page on the library website, then click on "View Resource" under Transparent.

Yes; children under the age of 18 require parent or legal guardian information and one form of identification showing child’s name on it such as: social security card, birth certificate, or insurance card; OR one of the following: student report card, school schedule, or school ID.

The Meriden Public Library offers 8 Meeting Rooms, 3 Study Rooms, and 3 Study Pods available for public use. 

There is a fee to use our Meeting Rooms. Visit our Reserve a Room page for a full listing of fees. Please note that Meeting Room fees are waived for Meriden nonprofit organizations.

Usage of our Study Rooms and pods is free; however, study rooms are available on a first come, first served basis for a two-hour block. Please see a librarian at the Information Desk to use a study room. 

On the CT State Library website, with your Meriden Public Library card, you have free access to popular magazines such as Consumer Reports; newspapers such as the Hartford Courant; eBooks and eAudiobooks; journals with ResearchITCT OneSearch; CT digital collections; Ancestry.com; and more.

In-house only, you can navigate to Newspapers.com to access newspapers including the Record-Journal, at least 30 days back. This resource is only available on library computers. Alternatively, you can ask a librarian at the Information Desk to search the Record-Journal - 30 days back - on Newspapers.com.

We have a wonderful online resource called Learning Express, which can be accessed by visiting our Online Resources page on the library website and clicking on "View Resource" under Learning Express. Once on the site, you will need to create an account. In addition to preparing for the GED, you can improve your reading, writing, and math skills; prepare for college admissions tests such as the SAT; prepare for career exams such as nursing and military; take computer tutorials for Windows and Mac; and more.

  • In-house, you can access Ancestry.com to search genealogical records including birth, marriage, and death records; censuses; immigration records; military records; and more. 
  • Ancestry is also available everywhere, to anyone with a Connecticut library card, via the CT State Library site, ResearchITCT.

The Meriden Public Library may have free federal tax forms or instruction packets on hand during tax season. Please call the library to verify which forms are available. Additionally, we can print any tax forms you need at the cost of 15 cents a page.

Visit our Reading Recommendations page! Included are book displays and other resources sure to provide you with your next great read.