The Michigan eLibrary (MeL) is your 24-hour link to quality information on virtually any topic. Vetted by professionals for resources that are reliable, timely and virtually free of advertising, MeL features an easy-to-use gateway that allows you to apply search terms across resources of your choice, whether books and audiovisual materials, magazine and newspaper articles, digitized resources, indexes, ebooks, and/or web resources.

FAQs About Driver’s License Access to MeL

Why do I have to use my driver’s license or state ID to use certain parts of MeL?
The Library of Michigan purchased this $3.6 million collection of resources for exclusive use by Michigan residents. The login process simply provides reasonable assurance to the database providers that the user is a Michigan resident.

What if I don’t have a driver’s license?
You can use a state ID instead. State IDs are issued at Secretary of State offices for a nominal fee (under $10). There is no age requirement to get an ID but you must prove you are a Michigan resident. IDs are valid for four years. For more details including required documentation see http://michigan.gov/sos.

What about user privacy?
The method used by the Library of Michigan to verify that a user is a Michigan resident does not give us access to any personal or driving record information. The log-on is via a secure web server and log-on numbers are not captured or stored.

Are there any resources that I will not have access to from home?
Yes. Ancestry Library Edition is available only from within a library. However, there are many other excellent genealogical resources available from MeL via remote connection.