Which New Braunfels library card should your child get?

For New Braunfels families with children 17 or younger, here is what each card allows and what a parent or guardian must bring to select one.

By Comal.News Community Desk · Source-linked local reporting

Published October 28, 2026 at 11:16 AM CDT3 min read

Current city guidance

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Three blank cards stand before stacks of books, with a library building and trees in the background. — Illustration: Three blank library cards and stacks of books outside a library.Original editorial illustration; not a photograph and does not depict the reported event or an exact property.Comal.News Visual Desk · Original illustration · Source ↗ · Comal.News original illustration ↗

New Braunfels Public Library offers three card options for patrons 17 and younger: a regular Library Card, a Children's Card and a Teen Card.

The city's Library Card Options page says the choices began Oct. 1, 2026. Start with the kind of borrowing access your family wants: the regular card covers the entire physical library and eLibrary collection, while the other two options name particular collections and digital homework resources.

From the source record

City library guidanceLibrary Card Options for Minors

A parent or legal guardian must be present to provide identification, verify residency, and select the card type.

City of New Braunfels ↗

The city's library card guidance sets out the three options and the steps for selecting one.

For New Braunfels library families, the choice determines whether a child can borrow from the entire physical and eLibrary collection or from the collections and digital homework resources listed for a Children's or Teen Card. The table follows the city's descriptions. It does not assign ages to the Children's and Teen Cards: the city page describes the three options for library users 17 and younger without giving a separate age range for either of those card types.

Compare the three cards

New Braunfels Public Library card options for patrons 17 and younger, as described by the city
Card	Borrowing access described by the city
Regular Library Card	Entire physical library and eLibrary collection
Children's Card	Children's collection and digital homework resources
Teen Card	Teen and Children's collections and digital homework resources

The table describes collection access stated on the city's card-options page.

The regular Library Card is the option the city describes as allowing borrowing from the entire physical library and eLibrary collection. The Children's Card is described as access to the Children's collection and digital homework resources. The Teen Card adds the Teen collection to the Children's collection and digital homework resources. If a particular title or digital service matters to your family, the service desk can help you check which card applies.

Bring a parent or legal guardian

A parent or legal guardian must appear to provide identification, verify residency and select the card type. Plan to make that choice together at the library rather than sending the child alone to select a card. The city page says card types can be changed at any time, so a family's initial selection need not be its permanent one. Ask the Library Service Desk about changing an existing card.

The city's instructions name identification and residency verification but do not specify on this page which documents meet those requirements. Before visiting, families can call the library at 830-221-4300 to ask what to bring. Families outside New Braunfels can use that same number to ask how the library applies its residency requirement to their address; this guide does not assume that living elsewhere in Comal County establishes eligibility.

Where to go

The city lists two facilities: the New Braunfels Public Library Main Branch at 700 E. Common St. and the Westside Library Branch at 2910 I-35 Frontage Rd, both in New Braunfels. The Main Branch number is 830-221-4300; the Westside number is 830-221-4301. The facilities page also lists a text number for the Main Branch, 830-253-4804. Check the city's Library Facilities page for the branch locations before you go.

For help comparing the options or changing a card, visit the Library Service Desk at either branch or call 830-221-4300, as the city directs on its card-options page. The choice to make before that visit is straightforward: decide whether your child needs the full physical and eLibrary collection, the Children's collection with digital homework resources, or the Teen and Children's collections with those homework resources.

Which New Braunfels library card should your child get?

Compare the three cards

Bring a parent or legal guardian

Where to go

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