Is it morally wrong to use an ID with an old address

[LotusCarsLtd]

I need to get a library card for the local public library to get books for class. The catch? If you aren’t a local resident you can’t get one BUT you can get one if you are a member of a library somewhere else in the state. In this case you only need to present your home library’s library card along with a photo ID and they’ll issue you one.

I have both of these cards EXCEPT there’s a catch: I no longer live at the address listed on the state ID and have since moved from there.

I was considering using this to obtain the library card (which I badly need) but I worry if this would constitute some form of lying or misrepresentation to obtain something, as the address on my state ID is no longer correct and I no longer live there. I live in the city but don’t have the type of identification they want to obtain the library card otherwise (they want stuff like two pieces of certified mail, ect. and you can’t use PO Boxes, even though all my mail is sent to one). So basically I cannot get one even though I am a city resident because I don’t have the crazy amount of proof they otherwise would require of me. Their requirements are really obscenely excessive.

Would it be morally wrong to obtain the library card in this manner?

 

[Julian0404]

Here is what’s going to happen: You are going to hand your “old” ID to the Librarian. She will enter the data on that card into the system, which if it is like another retail system will be able to verify that you are stillthe resident of record, but NO, it show’s someone else’s name, as you have relocated.
What would you do as the Librarian having discovered someone is using what is not false ID to secure a Library Card?
After 30 days of having relocated, you need to have updated your drivers license, with the new address. Go get the update, put in your street address and go get a library card. If you have a 2nd address in the original city, get it updated on your license.
Do the right thing, how hard is this?

 

[Arwen037]

I think you missed the part about having to have certified mail if you’re a resident, not from a PO box.

 

[cthulhubryan]

I need to get a library card for the local public library to get books for class. The catch? If you aren’t a local resident you can’t get one BUT you can get one if you are a member of a library somewhere else in the state. In this case you only need to present your home library’s library card along with a photo ID and they’ll issue you one.

I have both of these cards EXCEPT there’s a catch: I no longer live at the address listed on the state ID and have since moved from there.

I was considering using this to obtain the library card (which I badly need) but I worry if this would constitute some form of lying or misrepresentation to obtain something, as the address on my state ID is no longer correct and I no longer live there. I live in the city but don’t have the type of identification they want to obtain the library card otherwise (they want stuff like two pieces of certified mail, ect. and you can’t use PO Boxes, even though all my mail is sent to one). So basically I cannot get one even though I am a city resident because I don’t have the crazy amount of proof they otherwise would require of me. Their requirements are really obscenely excessive.

Would it be morally wrong to obtain the library card in this manner?

You are attempting to gain access to a community resource that you are helping to fund via taxes. You admit that you need this resource now. You state that you do meet the criteria for gaining a library card.

Are you attempting to gain this card in order to steal a book or stalk a person? If not, get the card and then get your new license and update your files.

 

[crazzeto]

I think it’s only neferious (or immoral if you will) if you’re trying to do so for some sort of personal gain which you otherwise would not be entitled to if your address wasn’t whatever it is on your old ID, if that makes any sense. For instance if I were trying to use an old Michigan Drivers Lic of mine to enter my home town’s park, since I no longer live there I no longer have a right to be there unless I am a guest of my parents. If that were the case, then yeah it would be totally immoral.

Otherwise, if you just need to ID that you are you then I don’t see much of a difference between using an ID with the correct address or an incorrect address.

 

[milkbar]

I’m guessing the library in question is close to you but you’re not technically in its tax area.

To a previous poster, I doubt a library would have the technology necessary to verify you’re living at a certain address; they generally rely on utility bills or property tax receipts, etc.

To the OP, call and ask them how much it costs to get a card if you are a nonresident. At my library it’s $60/year and they allow you to pay in any increment. I usually pay 2 or 3 months at a time. The system knows when my privilege expires and shortens checkout periods accordingly if I get close to it. It’s not a big deal. I’m just like every other resident patron.

 

[Joe_5859]

Don’t fret too much about it.

Any state I have ever lived in has not required me to change my actual driver’s license when I have moved somewhere else in state. I needed to change the address in their system, but there is no obligation to get a new ID with the new address.

It seems you are fully eligible for a library card. If you were trying to get a library card out of state or trying to circumvent the system to steal books and movies, that would be a serious problem (for many reasons!).

 

[bpbasilphx]

Simply tell them what your current address is, especially if you hold a valid library card from elsewhere in the state. Most librarians are reasonable.

As far as I can tell, you’re not trying to get good or services to which you are not entitled, nor are you trying to commit fraud.