September is library card sign-up month

Shown from left to right: Commissioner Jim Bryant, Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson, Commissioner Tom Manuel, Library Director Debra Rhodes Gibson, Library Advisory Board Member Suzanne Batovsky, Commissioner Ben Rich, Library Advisory Board Chairman Gary Reichow, and Commissioner Ron Sanchez.

Debra Rhodes Gibson, St. Johns County Library Director, informed Historic City News that on Tuesday, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed September 2008 as Library Card Sign Up Month.

St. Johns County is celebrating September as Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when the American Library Association and libraries across the country remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all.

The St. Johns County Public Library System wants to make sure that every child has the smartest card of all, a library card, as libraries play an important role in the education and development of children. Studies show that children who are read to in the home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifetime learning.

As parents make sure their kids have all the gear they need for the new school year, St. Johns County Library Director Debra Rhodes Gibson encourages them to get the most important supply of all – a library card. “Parents make sure their kids have uniforms for soccer, safety helmets for bike riding and new binders for the school year,” Gibson said. “But a library card has always been the most important school supply of all.”

All branches of the St. Johns County Public Library offer free use of books, magazines, audiotapes, DVDs, computers, software and other multimedia materials. Most items can be borrowed for home use simply by showing a library card. Additionally, libraries offer a variety of programs to stimulate an interest in reading and learning, and librarians are on hand to help recommend materials suitable for various ages and interests.

For more information on how you can sign up for a library card, visit any St. Johns County Public Library, call Library Administration at (904) 827-6925 or visit the Library’s website at www.sjcpls.org.