The Smartest Card

September marks the 25^th anniversary of National Library Card Sign-up Month, and Lower Macungie Library is celebrating by getting the word out about the value of a library card AND raffling off a $25 gift card to Pickles Steakhouse to one of our new cardholders! It’s a campaign of a different sort for this time of year.

Why bother getting a library card? Did you know a Lower Macungie Library card gives you access to over 71,000 items in our collection? That includes print books, movies, CDs, audiobooks, magazines, newspapers, and most recently, eBooks! Now I was an English Major so my math skills aren’t the most amazing, but if it’s possible to gain access to that many items simply by signing up for a FREE library card, well, in my unbiased opinion, everyone should have a library card! In addition to all the free things you can borrow, there are online databases, both through Power Library and services LML has purchased subscriptions to, that you can access from the convenience of your own home.

So to celebrate National Library Card Sign-up Month, we invite everyone who does not already have a library card to come in and sign up. This month, you may see posters in places like the Post Office (featuring a shaggy-haired Steeler favorite) promoting Library Card Sign-up Month in the community. If you’re involved in some community organization, contact the library about one of our staff coming out to share about library services to your group. Anyway we can get the word out!

As long as you can write your first name on the application card, whether you’re 4 or 84, you can get a library card. And having a library card with your home library unlocks your access to every library in the state of Pennsylvania!

I know there are many of you who already have library cards, so why not share with a friend, neighbor or family member who doesn’t know the value of a library card? Who knows, if they win the New Card Raffle, they may take you out to dinner at Pickles with them!