Veterans Resources
Welcome! We at Harris County Public Library believe it is essential for us to acknowledge veterans and their families.  You volunteered to lay down your lives to preserve our way of life, and we strongly value your contributions through your military service.  HCPL desires to serve as an advocate for military personnel, veterans, and their families in Harris County and surrounding counties.
This forum provides organization-wide resources to assist and support active-duty military, veterans, and their dependents.   These resources will help guide you to information such as: how to apply for benefits, compensation, pension, medical, educational, careers, and insurance.  Our services are dedicated to getting you the information that is best suited for you and your family!
Employment
Benefits
Spouses, Families & Dependents
Mental Health
Related Resources & Content
Active Duty Military Library Cards
Military Library Card
CAC Readers @ HCPL - FAQ
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Military service members may use the CAC reader on the public computers in the library or on their personal laptops. Be advised that, due to the library’s firewall, some websites cannot be accessed on the public computers even with a CAC reader. Therefore, military members are advised to bring their personal laptops if they have them and use our free WiFi. Personal laptops with older versions of Windows such as XP, Vista, and older, must have ActivClient software installed. It can be downloaded for free at http://militarycac.com/ or, for MAC users, go to http://militarycac.com/lion.htm. The CAC reader is compatible with Windows 7 and 8 without ActivClient software.Â
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No, but many do, and they are located throughout the county. The branches listed below have CAC readers:Â
- Aldine Branch LibraryÂ
- Atascocita Branch LibraryÂ
- Barbara Bush Branch LibraryÂ
- Clear Lake City-County Freeman Branch LibraryÂ
- Crosby Branch LibraryÂ
- Fairbanks Branch LibraryÂ
- High Meadows Branch LibraryÂ
- Jacinto City Branch LibraryÂ
- Katy Branch LibraryÂ
- Kingwood Branch LibraryÂ
- La Porte Branch LibraryÂ
- Lone Star College - CyFair Branch LibraryÂ
- Lone Star College - Tomball Community LibraryÂ
- North Channel Branch LibraryÂ
- Northwest Branch LibraryÂ
- South Houston Branch LibraryÂ
- Spring Branch Memorial LibraryÂ
- Stratford Branch Library (Highlands TX)Â
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Common Access Card reader or CAC reader for military personnel enables active duty and reserve military to conduct online military business locally instead of having to travel to a military base/facility. With a CAC reader, a service member can access websites to do online training, check military email, create orders and travel vouchers, apply for billets, access unit sharepoint sites, and more.Â
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The CAC reader checks out for two hours. Loan period may be extended if no one else has requested it.Â
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You may use the CAC Reader if you have a current Department of Defense issued military ID AND you areÂ
- a library cardholder with Harris County Public Library or Lone Star CollegeÂ
- do not have blocks on your HCPL library card accountÂ
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A common access card is a smart card and is the standard identification for Active Duty United States Defense personnel, to include the Selected Reserve and National Guard, United States Department of Defense (DoD) civilian employees, United States Coast Guard (USCG) civilian employees and eligible DoD and USCG contractor personnel. It is also the principal card used to enable physical access to buildings and controlled spaces, and it provides access to defense computer networks and systems.Â
