Some Alpharetta residents who assume their library card is free face a $60 annual fee because their home sits in Forsyth County, not Fulton.

The quirk comes down to county lines. Library eligibility follows the county a home is in, not the city name on a mailing address. Pockets of homes with Alpharetta mailing addresses actually fall inside Forsyth County, as the North Atlanta Star first reported Friday, Oct. 9 in a comparison of nonresident card fees across the region.

That means those homeowners are not Fulton County residents for library purposes. A free card at the Fulton County Library System, which runs the Alpharetta branch at 10 Park Plaza and the Milton branch at 855 Mayfield Road, is available only to people who live in Fulton County or meet other qualifying criteria.

Forsyth County Public Library charges $60 per year for an out-of-county card, the highest nonresident fee in North Atlanta, according to the library's own website. Fulton County Library System charges $40 per person per year for nonresidents.

An Alpharetta-addressed household that is technically in Forsyth would pay $60 to use Fulton's nearby branches. A Fulton resident who wants access to Forsyth's system would pay the same $60.

Who qualifies for a free card

Both systems offer exceptions beyond simple residency. Forsyth County Public Library provides free cards to Forsyth residents, property or business owners in the county, Forsyth County government employees and students or employees at educational institutions in the county.

Fulton County Library System issues free cards to Fulton residents, people who own property or a business in Fulton, and people teaching or attending school in the county. The system also covers anyone living within the legal city limits of Atlanta, including the DeKalb County portion.

What nonresident cards include

The $60 Forsyth card covers most resident privileges but excludes the library's Mailbox Books service, according to the library's borrowing policies. Forsyth also lets a cardholder authorize additional users on one account, though the named cardholder stays responsible for all borrowed materials.

Fulton's $40 card includes full borrowing privileges but is charged per person. A family of four would pay $160 a year.

How to check

The Fulton County Library System's website addresses the confusion directly: "Sometimes people who have an Atlanta mailing address may not live in Fulton County or in the City of Atlanta in DeKalb. We'll be happy to check your address."

The same logic applies along the Alpharetta-Forsyth boundary. Both libraries will verify addresses. Residents unsure which county they fall in can also check their property tax records before signing up.