RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue designated September as Library Card Sign-up Month in North Carolina, encouraging children, families and North Carolina residents to explore their public library and its many resources and to sign up for the “smartest card.”
“A public library card gives you access to a whole world of information and imagination,” said Gov. Perdue. “During these tough economic times, our state’s public libraries are critical because they help residents learn to read, use computers and develop other skills they need to succeed.”
During September the State Library of North Carolina, the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, and libraries from Murphy to Manteo, both rural and urban, join to spread the message that the library card is the “smartest card” to have in your wallet. The goal is to make the library card the most valued and used card for North Carolina residents. Nearly five million North Carolinians are card-carrying library users.
During the last fiscal year more than 37 million North Carolinians visited their public libraries and more than 9 million of them used library computers. Growth in materials being checked out, customer visits and especially internet use at libraries continues a trend. Nationally public library visits are up 19% from 2000 to 2006. Circulation of library materials is up 20%. Access to public computers is up 86%.
Secretary of Cultural Resources, Linda A. Carlisle, has visited several libraries since her appointment. She states, “Libraries are places of great opportunity. They serve as an integral part of our communities, helping our citizens improve themselves, their families and their lives and sparking creativity and imagination. Everyone in our state should have the ‘smartest card’, a library card!”
The “Smartest Card” initiative is part of The Campaign for America’s Libraries, a multi-year public awareness and advocacy effort by the American Library Association. Begun in 2004, the campaign promotes the value of public libraries nationwide.
The State Library of North Carolina is a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The State Library of North Carolina works in partnership with communities to develop library service, coordinates statewide programs for all types of libraries, and offers direct library service to state employees, genealogy researchers, and people who have visual and physically handicaps. The Department of Cultural Resources is a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture and podcasting 24/7 with information about the Department of Cultural Resources, all available at www.ncculture.com.