North Indian River County Library in Sebastian, Florida

The North Indian River County Library is at 1001 Sebastian Boulevard, Sebastian, FL 32958, and is open Monday through Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Sunday.

The branch phone is (772) 400-6360, and the hours and address come from the county library home page (Indian River County Library System). A 2015 notice placed the building three miles west of US 1 on Sebastian Boulevard (Vero News).

Sunday is the gap that matters for Sebastian readers: the North branch is closed, while the Main Library at 1600 21st Street in Vero Beach opens from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (irclibrary.org). The Sebastian branch is one of six service points in the Indian River County Library System, alongside the Main Library, the Brackett Library on the Indian River State College Mueller Campus, the Marian Fell Library in Fellsmere, a vending library in the Intergenerational Building and a Law Library on the second floor of the Main branch. A single county card works at all of them, so a book borrowed at the North IRC Library can go back to any branch.

A Sebastian resident gets an Indian River County library card in person at the North Indian River County Library or any other branch by showing one proof of county residency (library card policy).

Accepted proofs on the Indian River County list include a county property tax record, a Florida driver's license with an Indian River County address, a lease of at least six months, a county voter registration card, a current utility bill and a current automobile registration with a county address. Cards for children under 16 must be co-signed by a parent, guardian or grandparent, and every card is valid for two years from the patron's birthdate, renewed by bringing the card into a branch such as the one on Sebastian Boulevard.

Seasonal residents who winter in Sebastian but cannot show Indian River County residency can buy a non-resident card for $10 for three months, $20 for six months or $30 for 12 months. A computer-only card costs $5 a year, and a lost card costs $2.00 to replace. The county card pages checked on October 11, 2026 describe no instant online e-card: digital lending in Indian River County starts with a card number issued at a branch counter. Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the Indian River County website.

An Indian River County library card unlocks two free digital services, OverDrive (read through the Libby app) and Hoopla, which the county library home page names for checking out digital items (irclibrary.org).

OverDrive is the larger shelf for ebooks, audiobooks and magazines. The Indian River County Library OverDrive site says the same card also borrows from partner libraries: Clay County Public Library System, Martin County Public Library and St. Johns County Public Library (Indian River County Library on OverDrive). Libby is the OverDrive reading app; Libby is completely free, needs only a library card, and returns titles automatically on their due dates, so there are no late fees on digital loans (Libby Help). Libby runs on iPhone, Android and newer Fire tablets, and in a web browser at libbyapp.com.

Hoopla is the digital service of Midwest Tape, offering movies, television, music, audiobooks, ebooks and comics, and its lending model lets patrons borrow content immediately rather than wait in a holds line (hoopla). For a North IRC Library patron, that makes Hoopla the county service for films, television and music, while OverDrive carries the magazine shelf.

The county library policies set eBooks and eAudiobooks at a two week loan with a cap of 5 per format per card (Indian River County Library System policies). Print items borrowed at the Sebastian branch run 28 days and may be renewed online unless another patron has a reserve. Interlibrary loans skip audiovisual items and books published in the current year. The Friends of Indian River County Library list OverDrive for books and audiobooks among the items their donations pay for (Friends of the Library), so the digital shelf at the North IRC Library is partly funded by used book sales.

The Biblio-Files Non-Fiction Book Club meets in the North IRC Library large meeting room on the 4th Friday of every month from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., according to the Sebastian Daily calendar, which lists a September 25, 2026 session.

Hands-on space is the other draw. The county announced that the Makerspace is now open at the North IRC Library, with a Cricut machine, 3D printer, laser engraver and sewing machine for in-house use (Makerspace). It is not a staff-led program: users work from written instructions and video tutorials, book one or two hour blocks up to 7 days ahead through the Children's Department at 772 400 6358, and keep the room to 12 people, with an adult present for any minor. Laminating there costs 30 cents a sheet.

For young children, Story Time in a Bag and STEAM-to-Go kits are available at the IRC Main Library, Brackett Library and North IRC Library (Activity Kits). STEAM-to-Go kits are aimed at ages 2 to 12 on themes from magnets to coding, each Story Time in a Bag holds four picture books plus felt play pieces and rhymes, and kits go out for 14 days, one per card. Adults in Sebastian can apply for Career Online High School, an accredited online diploma with a career certificate for Indian River County residents 19 and older who completed at least one year of high school; students finish in as little as five months and have up to 18 months.

The large meeting room in Sebastian seats 200 and rents for $50 a full day or $30 a half day for non-commercial use, or $120 and $60 for commercial use; study rooms and conference rooms are free at every branch (Meeting Rooms). Events booked there must be free and open to the public, and requests go to the North Library at 772-400-6360. The county children's and young adult program list pages now point readers to the library event calendar for dated storytimes and special events at the Sebastian branch.

The Friends of Indian River County Library sell used books at the Used Book Depot, 492 Old Dixie Highway in Vero Beach, open Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the nearest Friends outlet to the Sebastian branch (irclibrary.org).

The Used Book Depot takes donations of used books, and all proceeds benefit the Indian River County Library System. The Friends also run the Library Friends Gift Shop inside the Main Library at 1600 21st Street, open weekdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Friends donate approximately $80,000 to the library each year from dues, the Depot, the Gift Shop and the library copy machines (Friends of the Library).

That money shows up in Sebastian. The Friends list the 3D printer and software, OverDrive, a book and DVD lease that adds copies of best sellers to fill reserves, and adult programs including a 1715 Fleet Commemoration Event among their purchases. The county pages checked on October 11, 2026 list no separate dated book sale at the North Indian River County Library; the Depot on Old Dixie Highway is the standing outlet.

Sebastian has had its own Friends group as well. The Friends of the North Indian River County Library met in the Library Conference Room in September 2015 to plan the Library Coffee House and a Winter Film Series (Vero News). The Sebastian River Art Club also uses the building, hanging about 12 paintings by club artists for two months at a time as one of its Art Around Town venues.

The North Indian River County Library opened in 1990 as a 17,000 square foot building, was expanded in 2002 to 25,445 square feet, and gained a 2,800 square foot addition in 2023 (Vero News; Sebastian Daily).

In July 2009 the Sebastian branch held 131,150 items and 19,502 registered patrons, and in June 2009 alone it lent 33,282 items and logged 19,247 visits. A plan to buy land next to the library on Sebastian Boulevard stalled over price, and the county used library impact fees, which could in part have bought that land, for materials at the new Brackett Library instead.

Growth came on the same lot. In April 2023, during National Library Week, Indian River County said the North County Library extension, with two small conference rooms and more parking, would soon be finished; Public Works Engineering and the General Services Library Division developed it with MBV Engineering and Donadio and Associates Architect, and Proctor Construction Company built it (Vero News). The Board of County Commissioners tied the project to internet access, literacy skills and support for job seekers and small businesses in Sebastian. Inside, the library displays a bust of Bama Vickers Lawson, who moved with her parents to Sebastian in 1908 (Sebastian River Art Club).