Library cards available

MILLERTON — As students prepare for the new school year, the NorthEast-Millerton Library has invited patrons of all ages to get a library card in celebration of Library Card Sign-Up Month.

According to the American Library Association (ALA), it and libraries across the nation join together in September to remind students, parents and caregivers that signing up for a library card is “the first step towards academic achievement and lifelong learning.”

Coinciding with the start of the school year, NorthEast-Millerton Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson said September tends to be a month “where everyone is collectively thinking about getting library cards,” adding there’s an increase in sign-ups around the fall.

Hudson Valley residents can sign up for a library card free of charge while non-residents must pay $25 a year for a card.

As an added incentive, the library is allowing children who sign up for a card to select from an assortment of brand new books to take home with them. Every year, Leo-Jameson said Barnes & Noble supplies Empire State Center for the Book with books to donate to places where children might need them, such as nonprofits and schools

Even in this day and age, Leo-Jameson emphasized how “extraordinarily vital” library cards are for patrons of all ages. In a world of “fake news,” where technology is everywhere, she said a library card provides access to information to fact-check conflicting news stories. For children, the benefits of having a library card are endless, no matter the book they’re reading or the subject they’re studying, she said.

“Books can be a gateway into a world of other cultures and different kinds of people,” Leo-Jameson said. “It helps them learn about history, it can give them perspective on different events, it can help them deal with something traumatic. They can read about people who are going through the things that are happening in their lives and how they’re dealing with it.”

For more information on Library Card Sign-Up Month, patrons can visit the NorthEast-Millerton Library at www.nemillertonlibrary.org or the American Library Association website at www.ala.org.