Library Card Sign Up Month

September is National Library Card Sign Up Month! Do you remember getting your first library card? What did it feel like to realize for the first time that you could take home one of the beautiful, colorful childrens' books, for free? Or maybe you got your first card as an adult and used the library to find a job, find your next car, or learn a new recipe. I remember wandering the stacks of my hometown library, looking for books our teacher had read to us in class.

Libraries have come a long way since I combed the childrens' stacks for the latest Encyclopedia Brown book. MCPL now offers e-books, e-magazines, audiobooks, online classes, downloadable and streaming music, online articles, test preparation, and STEM Go! Kits for kids. You can use your library card to learn to play a musical instrument, sing, or make art, or even earn your high school diploma!

Want to learn more about what a library card can do for you? Here's a list of 20 free library resources and services that might be new to you.
  1. Earn your high school diploma.
  2. Check Consumer Reports from home.
  3. Learn to play a musical instrument, sing, or make art through ArtistWorks.
  4. Learn a language online.
  5. Find a musical score online.
  6. Stream one of 250 performances of the world's leading plays.
  7. Borrow books from libraries across the country.
  8. Prepare for the SAT, LSAT, NCLEX and more.
  9. Search your family history with HeritageQuest Online.
  10. Take an online technology, business, or creative class with Gale Courses.
  11. Download e-books.
  12. Start your own business.
  13. Download music from Freegal.
  14. Renew your materials online.
  15. Download audiobooks.
  16. Read an e-magazine from home.
  17. Discover your next favorite book. 
  18. Check out exercise videos.
  19. Find articles, encyclopedias, and biographical information for your school project.
  20. Put a book on hold online.
Library cards empower their users. So tell your family, tell your friends! There's so much you can do with a library card. Sign up for one today!. 



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