Library Card Drive for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students in Pre-K through Third Grade

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

Children who read, succeed. In that spirit, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) have partnered to ensure student success. The first step in this partnership was an initiative to provide library cards to the tens of thousands of pre-kindergarten through third grade students at the beginning of the 2014-15 CMS school year. The effort was funded in part by Foundation For The Carolinas. The Library delivered simple library card applications to classrooms during the first week of school. Students took the applications home for their parents to complete, and returned them to their teachers in early September. The new library cards were sent back to classrooms in an envelope with information about available library resources. Students who already possessed a library card were given a one-time-use waiver to remove any fines or fees from their library card, to ensure that outstanding fines or fees are not a barrier to using the library card. By late October, more than 14,000 students had signed up for a new library card and more than 10,000 students with existing cards had been given fine waivers to ensure their continued ability to borrow library materials. Students were also provided with information on how to use their library card to support their education. Engagement with these students will continue long after the card drive, as the Library tracks their usage and continues to inform and educate students, parents and teachers about the resources now available to them.