September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. I make it a point year-round to encourage my students to use the public library, but September is a good time to emphasize it.
Image courtesy of http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/card
Here are some ideas for celebrating Library Card Sign-Up Month in your school library.
Take a field trip
Invite a public librarian to come to your school and bring library card applications. She can tell your children how the library card works and what the requirements are (parent signature, etc.). Then schedule a time to visit the librarian at the public library for a tour. Most public librarians are happy to do this. If a field trip isn’t possible, it’s still a good idea to invite the local public librarian to pass out applications and give out information.
Create partnerships
Many schools have student stores where they sell small school supplies or snacks. See if you can negotiate a deal with your student store to give a small discount this month to students who show their public library card.
Make it a contest
Many junior high and high school librarians are busy with library orientations this month. Use this opportunity to create a contest for your students. I used to run a contest with my freshman students during their orientation. I’d give them two weeks to bring me their public library card. I kept a list of students and turned it into their teachers when the two weeks were up. Each teacher agreed to award extra credit points to students who were on the list, and I brought donuts the class with the highest percentage of students with cards. I was surprised at how much interest this contest generated!
Another fun contest idea is to pass out small prizes to the first 25 (or 50, or whatever) students who bring you a public library card. Announce the contest at least a week in advance so students who don’t already have cards have time to get one.
How does your school library celebrate Library Sign-Up Card Month? Share your ideas in the comments below!
