SDSL's Cornerstone Newsletter

South Dakota State Library's e-newsletter

September 1, 2022

Celebrate National Library Card Sign-Up Month!

As we celebrate the beginning of September, we also celebrate National Library Card Sign-Up Month. This year Tony Award-winning performer, actress, singer-songwriter, and philanthropist Idina Menzel and her sister, author and educator Cara Mentzel, serve as honorary chairs of Library Card Sign-Up Month.

According to the American Library Association, “As honorary chairs, Idina and Cara will remind everyone that one of the best places to find your voice is at the library. And during Library Card Sign-Up Month, they want you to explore all the library has to offer, like new children’s books, access to technology, and educational programming.”

For more information about Library Card Sign-Up Month and for digital graphics you can share on your library’s social media, visit ala.org. Use the hashtag #LibraryCardSignUpMonth to join the celebration on social media.

To encourage families to sign their children up for a library card, the South Dakota State Library created the First Library Card brochure, which is distributed to families by the South Dakota Department of Health and South Dakota Head Start Collaboration Office.

The South Dakota State Library also acquired access to READsquared, a software program that allows South Dakota public libraries to manage their reading programs online. The program makes it easy and fun for your patrons to sign up for READsquared from home, track reading goals, and collect incentives. READsquared is available year-round and can be used to register for book clubs, fall/winter reading programs, and 1000 Books before Kindergarten. The app’s many functions include the ability to host games and contests, award prizes, and recommend book titles from the library’s collections.

Contact Laura Kelly, Children & Youth Services Coordinator, at laura.kelly@state.sd.us for copies of the First Library Card brochure or if you are interested in learning more about using READsquared at your library.