New For Napa County Students: 'One Card' Access At Public Libraries

NAPA COUNTY, CA – September is National Library Card Sign-up Month, and NVUSD middle and high school students are already signed up, thanks to a new partnership between Napa County Library and Napa Valley Unified School District.

The One Card program —the first of its kind in California — allows middle and high school students to use their school-generated student ID as their public library card, with a ready-made account ready to greet the student at the library building or online.

Here’s how it works:

When students are enrolled with NVUSD — either as kindergarteners or transfer students — they are issued a six-digit ID number that stays with them for their entire student career. By the time they reach sixth grade, students are comfortable with using these numbers to access a variety of services and programs available to them through the school district.

With this new program, when a student enters middle school, this same number can be used to access resources through the public library.

Students can: check out materials; place holds on materials from partner libraries; download ebooks, audiobooks, music and magazines; access hundreds of research databases; get live, homework help from real tutors; take practice standardized tests like the SAT, ACT (and even practice driving tests!); and more.

As of last week, more than 99 percent of the student IDs submitted have been successfully turned into library cards, adding 9,953 new users to the four-branch system —a fantastic way to celebrate National Library Card Sign-up Month!

Every September, public libraries across the country launch concerted efforts to get library cards into the hands of as many people as possible. While it is possible to get a card at other times and there are regular drives year round, September has been recognized as an excellent opportunity to market public library services to students. With back-to-school excitement waning, teachers and students of all ages are settling into the daily routine of learning. So now is the perfect time to remind everyone that the public library is a fantastic resource and partner for completing daily homework assignments, building new skills, and getting a jump on big projects.

For a complete list of online resources, check out the Napa County Library webpage: http://www.countyofnapa.org/Library/databases/. For more information about the One Card program, visit http://www.nvusd.k12.ca.us/1card.

How to use the OneCard:
At Library Card number prompt: Enter NVUSD followed by your six-digit ID number, e.g., NVUSD123456. At the PIN prompt, enter the last four digits of your phone number.

• Also see: $4.4 Million Renovation Project At Napa Library Begins Monday

--Image via Shutterstock/Info courtesy of NVUSD