Welcome to the Marin County Free Library!  From our beginning in 1927 in the basement of the old Marin County Courthouse in San Rafael, the Marin County Free Library has grown to a network of 10 branches throughout the County and a Bookmobile.  We served more than 1,170,000 visitors last year and our visitors checked out more than 1,744,470 books, audio books and DVDs. 

We offer  many other services in addition to reading materials.  We have public access computers, free wireless, story-time for pre-schoolers, adult and teen book clubs, and programs for children, teens and adults as well as study space for students of all ages. Library Beyond Walls brings our materials to homebound patrons and our Literacy program serves both families and individuals. Furthermore, through our website, or ebranch, we continue to provide information and reading material for our patrons at home, work or school even when our physical branches are closed.

Jurisdiction and Funding

Funded primarily from its share of property taxes, the Marin County Free Library serves the unincorporated areas of Marin County as well as the cities of Fairfax, Novato and Corte Madera.  The County Board of Supervisors appoints the Director of County Library Services, approves the Library budget and has the ultimate responsibility for County Library services.  Library Commission members are appointed by the Board of Supervisors and represent each of the five Supervisorial districts.  The Library Commission advises the Board of Supervisors and the Director on matters relating to library service.

Cooperation

The Marin County Free Library works with other libraries and organizations to provide the best possible service to our local communities. MCFL is a founding member of MARINet, a consortium of publicly funded Marin libraries, created in 1991 to enable its members to share resources and use information technology to fulfill their missions of serving the public. With our 10 branch libraries, we are the largest member of the Marinet consortium and we share a library catalog and resources with our MARINet partners. We are also a member of NorthNet, a regional cooperative of Northern California Libraries and Califa, a regional organization of California libraries. By joining with other institutions, our patrons have access to a wider array of materials and allows us to take advantage of our combined purchasing power. We also participate in QuestionPoint, a nationwide library service that allows us to provide virtual reference 24/7.