San Mateo County Libraries will hand out limited-edition Laufey Book Club library cards at all 13 branches Sunday, Aug. 23, starting at 10 a.m. The cards are first come, first served, in person only, while supplies last.
The library system announced the collaboration Thursday, two days before the launch.. The cards will not be available through online applications.
Residents must show up in person.
The release coincides with "A Very Laufey Day," the fourth annual global fan event spanning 75 cities in 25 countries this year, themed "A Celebration of the Arts." The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the San Mateo County card launch is part of the Bay Area's programming for the day, alongside a Laufey Book Club pop-up merchandise store at Noe Valley Books in San Francisco.
Who's eligible
Both existing cardholders who want to swap their current card and first-time applicants can pick one up. The cards function identically to a standard San Mateo County Libraries card, granting access to the same digital and physical collections.
Each branch will stock a limited quantity. The library system has not disclosed how many cards each location will have.
Background
San Mateo County is among the library systems participating in an expanded 2026 version of the Laufey card program. When Laufey partnered with four U.S. library systems in 2025, most of those systems broke single-day sign-up records, according to the American Library Association.
Laufey (pronounced "lay-vay") is a two-time Grammy winner for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, the youngest artist ever to win the category twice. She founded her book club in August 2022, and it has grown to more than 350,000 followers. She is also the 2026 Honorary Chair for Library Card Sign-Up Month, the ALA's annual September campaign.
"I'm honored to be this year's Library Card Sign Up Month honorary chair, and especially thrilled to be expanding the Laufey Book Club library card program so that more people have one more reason to experience everything their local library has to offer," Laufey said in the ALA's May 5 announcement of her role.
Where to go
The 13 San Mateo County Libraries branches are in Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Millbrae, North Fair Oaks, Pacifica (Sanchez and Sharp Park), Portola Valley, San Carlos and Woodside. The Bookmobile also participates.
Note: The San Mateo County Libraries system is separate from the San Mateo Public Library. The Laufey cards are available only at the county system's 13 branches listed above.
Doors open at 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 23. For branch addresses and hours, visit smcl.org.
