Think back to the day you got your very first library card. How did it feel? Maybe you felt like a grownup because you had a card just like your parents had in their wallets. Perhaps you felt like you had been given the “keys to the kingdom” being able to check out, read, and take home any book you wanted. Were you so excited that you had to hold it in the car on the way home before accidentally dropping it between the seats? Or, maybe you were frustrated because your library kept all the kids’ library cards filed away so kids and parents didn’t have to keep track of them. (Probably because of the afore mentioned scenario!) Likely, getting your very own library card was a memorable experience and certainly opened up a world of possibilities for you as a reader.
Getting a library card is a rite of passage, as well as a necessity for many of us. Often, it’s one of the first things many people do after moving to a new town or starting at a new school. Having a library card gives you power–the power to obtain free resources and services that are unavailable to those without one.
U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennet suggested a movement to get a library card in the hands of every child back in 1987. Read more about the history of Library Card sign-up Month in this blog post. Each September, libraries celebrate Library Card Sign-up Month and encourage members of their communities to get library cards.
How will your library celebrate Library Card Sign-up Month this year? Free promotional resources featuring Optimus Prime and the other Transformers are available on ALA’s Library Card Sign-up Month webpage.
Is your library doing something special this September? Share it with your Wyoming library community! Send photos and information following your event to Christi Weinzierl, WSL’s Communications and Grants Specialist at christi.weinzierl1@wyo.gov to share on the WSL blog and in the monthly Outrider newsletter.