Birth Certificates Available at Most Library Branches

Need a copy of a birth certificate but can’t spend the time standing in line at the county recorder’s office? No problem, just drop into a local branch of the Orange County Library.

Nearly all of the library’s 27 branches are linked by computer to the county recorder’s birth certificate database. Anyone seeking a certified copy of a birth certificate need only locate the file on the database, pay $12 to the librarian at the branch’s checkout counter and within minutes receive a copy.

“We actually started this program about a year ago,” said Helen Lotos, community relations manager for the library system. “But the public seems to have forgotten we offer it.”

Lotos said use of the system, which is available at all branches except Villa Park, Silverado and the Chapman branch in Garden Grove, has dropped off considerably since it was begun last year.

“But the people who have used it are grateful to not have to drive to Santa Ana and stand in those long lines,” Lotos said.

Currently, certificates can be obtained for anyone born in Orange County after 1950. The system is being expanded to include all births since 1889 when the county was incorporated, Lotos said.

“We’re also working on plans to include death certificates and marriage licenses in the system,” she said.