“A picture’s worth a thousand words? A library card’s worth millions.” - Roy Blount Jr.
September is National Library Card Sign Up Month. This celebration started as a response to a challenge then Secretary of Education William Bennett made in 1987 that “every child should obtain a library card and use it.” Libraries across the country rose to the occasion and since have kept the spirit alive each Fall.
What is amazing is that today’s library card brings you so much more than it would have in 1987. Yes, you can check out books, audiobooks, and DVDs, but you can also check out digital versions of those items from our rich online collections. You can check out a hotspot, a California State Parks Pass, a STEM Kit , a ukulele, a telescope or even an induction cooktop kit. You have access to incredible online research databases as well as other amazing resources such as the online New York Times, Soundswell - our downloadable collection of local music, CKBK - a huge collection of recipes from major cookbooks, and PressReader - a new service that offers over 3,000 newspapers in 60+ languages. You can even use your library card to reserve a meeting room. All for free. It’s no wonder that last year Santa Cruz Public Libraries reached a high of 14,344 new library cards registered to children, students and adults across our locations. If you don’t yet have a library card, we invite you to apply for one today. Soon you’ll be able to get your ‘millions worth’ as well!
Christopher Platt
