NCRL Services

Services of North Central Regional LibraryBranch Collections

Access to the library’s collection of over 500,000 hardbound and paperbound books, and a growing number of video recordings in both VHS tape and DVD formats is available through 28 community libraries. Local collections include reading and viewing material for all ages, large-type books for those who find regular print difficult to read, and customized collections of newspapers and magazines with access to a more extensive periodical collection available online. Most branches also include books and other materials in at least one language other than English, with Spanish being the most common.

Mail Order Library

Descriptive catalogs designed for home use are distributed three times per year on all rural postal routes, to branch libraries, and to interested city residents. Books, audio recordings on cassette tape or CD, and video recordings on VHS tape or DVD are mailed directly to the user’s home with return-postage enclosed. Contact us to request a catalog, or order online.

Information Center

The system’s main reference collection is housed at the headquarter’s branch in Wenatchee. Questions that cannot be answered in the community library are referred to the Information Services Staff, who can also be contacted directly by phone, fax, or email (as listed on our How to Contact Us page).

Request Service

When a book or video recording you want is not immediately available in your local library, a request can be forwarded to the library headquarters for processing. As soon as the material is available, it is mailed directly to your local library for you to pick up. Membership in OCLC, a global library cooperative, enables NCRL to link library users to the collections of libraries all over the world through Interlibrary Loan.

Children’s Programming

Story hours, classroom visits, library tours, summer reading clubs, and “special events” are all part of the system-wide children’s program. Contact your local library for specific information.

Outreach Services

NCRL staff and volunteers provide library service on-site to Head Start programs, nursing homes, senior retirement centers, youth detention facilities and jails throughout the library’s service area. Services vary by site, but include book collections, story times, and read-aloud programs. Our outreach staff also provides support to the many book clubs active in our five counties.

Public Internet Services

Internet access is provided in all North Central Regional Library branches on computers obtained through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.