September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, and we need your help
September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, and we’re taking the opportunity to highlight all the benefits of a library card.
Books, of course, are what libraries are known for, but we offer so much more than that. With your library card, you can:
- Access physical books, but also magazines, DVDs, music, newspapers and more. Place a hold from home for pickup or come into the Downtown or Ladd Library to browse.
- Log on to the library from anywhere. Do you love audio books? We have those. Ebooks, too. And you can stream movies, TV shows, and music through Kanopy, Hoopla, and Freegal.
- Dig into databases and other digital resources. Want to research family history? Learn a new language? Tackle a new skill? Check Consumer Reports before making a big purchase? Get help from a tutor? Your library card gets you access to all those things and more.
- Use computers and other technology like printers, scanners, and copiers in the building or borrow a laptop and WiFi hotspot to take home.
At the library you can also:
- Get help with technology use, find resources, or answer other questions by talking with our staff in the building or via our digital chat service.
- Learn something new or connect with others through a library program, either in person or virtually. Find virtual programs on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and a full events calendar at events.CRLibrary.org/events.
- Reserve a meeting room or rent a space like Whipple Auditorium or the LivingLearning Roof for your event.
- Sign your child up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library through the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation. Children enrolled in the program receive one free book a month from birth to age 5.
Of course, if you’re reading a library blog post, there’s a good chance you already know all of this. This is where we ask for your help. Library patrons like you are the best advocates we have. Talk to your friends and family and make sure they’re signed up for a library card and know all the ways they can use it!
Anyone who lives in Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, or Marion can sign up for a Metro Library Network library card at https://bit.ly/CRPLCard or stop into any Metro library with their photo ID and proof of current address to get started.
You can also enter a national Library Card Sign Up Month contest through the American Library Association, which wants to know how the library impacts you. Post to Instagram or Twitter by noon on September 22 using the hashtag #LibrariesEmpower, and tag the Cedar Rapids Public Library. The creator of one randomly-selected post will receive a $100 Visa gift card and an ALA Graphics The Child Poster. Additionally, three second-place winners will receive an ALA Graphics The Child Poster.