Pierce County Library Hosts Fifth Annual Card Drive For Entire Month of October

Want books, downloadable audiobooks, e-books and songs all for free? Get a free Pierce County Library System card during the fifth annual card drive, Saturday, Oct. 1 through Monday, Oct. 31, 2011.

During the card drive people may also enter a drawing to win an iPad2, a gift from Pierce County Library Foundation. People who already have a library card may enter the drawing by signing someone else up to get a card.

“When I needed to take a license for a boiler test, the library had the books I needed to pass the test,” said Lawrence Becker, a South Hill resident. “I’m retired now and download audiobooks and e-books to my iPad2 all of the time. I am 65 years old and have had a library card from the time I was in the third or fourth grade.”

Currently 251,000 people have Pierce County Library cards, which is 48 percent of the estimated 527,000 people living in the Library’s service area. With the card people get an array of free services, including access to:  

• More than 1.3 million books, movies and more.
• Online help in real-time from professional tutors and coaches for help with homework and getting jobs.
• Audiobooks, e-books and songs to download to home computers and portable devices.
• Time reserved on a computer for up to 48 hours in advance and for up to two hours of use.
• Credible, reliable information from e-sources of subscription magazines and more.

Adults and kids can get a card online 24/7 or at one of 17 libraries during open hours. People who live in or own property in unincorporated Pierce County, Bonney Lake, Buckley, DuPont, Eatonville, Edgewood, Fife, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Milton, Orting, South Prairie, Steilacoom, Sumner, University Place, or Wilkeson; as well as people who live on a military base in the county, can get a free library card.

Through a borrowing agreement with Puyallup, Roy and Tacoma Public Libraries, residents in those cities may also get free cards. During the Library’s card drive in fall 2010, 6,219 people got cards.