Library Card Sign Up Month is celebrating its 36th year in existence. Created in an effort to ensure all children have access to the benefits of our public libraries, National Library Card Month is a united effort between the American Library Association and all public libraries in our nation, including school libraries. Now having graduated to focus on all peoples and not just children, this month is a celebration of all the resources available at your public libraries.
Libraries have grown beyond just books. A majority of libraries offer free access to the internet, coupled with computers for patron use. There are also a plethora of community-building activities usually going on at a local library. Between book clubs, art classes, investing tutorials, and chess tournaments, there is sure to be something to intrigue everyone.
Another amazing offering available at many libraries is their access to audiobooks and e-books. For those who prefer non-traditional book or story consumption, this platform could save you loads of time and money. Another benefit of audio and e-books? Your library often offers a more extensive catalogue of them since shelving space is not an issue with these formats.
READ: The Best Books I Read in 2022 — And How You Can Read More in 2023
Additionally, librarians are trained to be helpful. Yes, their job title insinuates organizing stacks and getting your held items prepared for on time pickup, but I will argue (as a librarian myself) that our main job is to help you. Whether you want to reformat an entire document from the internet to Microsoft Word, talk about how your left arm is swelling from breast cancer, get 15 YA books on soil biodiversity, or enjoy a cold drink of water at our fountain, librarians can help you accomplish your goals.
With so many free and amazing offerings available at libraries across the nation, there is really no reason why not to have your own library card.* Libraries receive funding through a complex consortium of sources, but something that may help increase funding to a library is the amount of active patrons it has. Libraries who serve more people should need and receive more money, right? That is, ideally, the system, though not always how it works, as there are other variants — such as the monetary amount available to be allotted to them through their township, county, or other local governing agencies, as well as a multitude of other bureaucratic factors.
But the subject of this essay is not our distorted system of disbursing funds in America; it is a call-to-action for you to go sign yourself up for a library card. If you are already signed up, then go check something out at your library today. Whether you choose to borrow a physical book, make some copies, or download an audiobook, your library and the librarians in it are eagerly waiting to provide you with whatever help you may need.
*There may be valid reasons why not to have a library card, though I have not yet heard them and haven’t conceptualized any on my own. It is not my intention to insinuate, assume, or offend anyone who is unable to or chooses to withhold from having a library card.