“Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!” My favorite song from the Arthur episode “Arthur’s Almost Live Not Real Music Festival” says it all.
What is Library Card Sign-up Month?
September as Library Card Sign-Up Month began in 1987 when Secretary of Education William Bennett called for “a campaign… Every child should obtain a library card and use it.” The American Library Association responded in turn, “We accept your challenge,” and created such a campaign with the help of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS). ¹
This year, the honorary chair of Library Card Sign-Up Month is Marley Dias, the 16-year old author of Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You and executive producer and founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks, an international movement to collect and donate children’s books that feature Black girls as the lead character. Dias is reminding everyone that a library card “provides access to technology, multimedia content, and educational programming” as well as “opportunity for discovery and access to a rich and diverse world.” ²
What can you do with a library card and La Porte County Public Library?
Here at La Porte County Public Library, besides checking out books, movies, and CDs with your library card, you can:
- Reserve a study room
- Check out STEAM kits, health literacy kits, and Wi-Fi hotspots
- Use technology and equipment at the Exchange
- Learn a language with Mango Languages
- Level up your resume or create a new one with Cypress Resume
- Learn new skills through the LPCPL Academy or one of our databases
- Complete local or genealogy research in-person or online with Ancestry, HeritageQuest®, or our yearbook collection
If you’re schooling at home this year, or want some additional access to databases for writing papers, doing research, and test prep, our Education and Homework Help resources and College and Employment Readiness resources might be the perfect thing to help! And don’t forget about streaming movies or flipping through magazines with our eBook and eAudiobook apps available to you through your library card.
During Library Card Sign-Up Month, our library system will have Bingo sheets available at circulation desks. Play Bingo to learn more of what the library has to offer. Your prize will be increased knowledge and a plethora of information and resources you did not know you had access to with your library card. Start a competition with friends and family to see who can get a Bingo first!
As D.W. says in the Arthur episode entitled “D.W.’s Library Card,” “Now I know what true power feels like!” Wouldn’t we all agree?
¹ https://www.library.illinois.edu/ala/2015/08/24/library-card-sign-up-month/
² https://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/card
