Make a Marketing Effort for Library Card Sign-Up Month!

Happy September! It’s back to school season, it’s the start of fall, it’s finally acceptable to incorporate pumpkin spice back into your lattes…but most importantly IT’S LIBRARY CARD SIGN-UP MONTH! Declared and celebrated by the American Library Association and libraries all across the country since 1987, the month of September is dedicated to reminding people of all ages that a library card isn’t just the new fall fashion. Having a library card grants patrons access to literacy services, technology, educational programming and a number of resources. Wow. That’s a lot of power in one wallet-sized plastic card. And guess what? It’s F R E E! I don’t know about you, but free is my favorite price. Not only does this card open you up to a world of discovery, but it also brings you into a community. And I think we could all use that feeling of unity right now. So, take this month to get excited about all of the great things your library has to offer, and make a marketing push to really increase the number of cardholders amongst the general public.

This year’s theme is empowerment and Marley Dias, author, executive producer, and founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks has joined ALA in promoting the power of owning a library card. ALA is asking all library lovers to help spread the message through social media by sharing how libraries empower you. From September 1^st to September 22^nd, using #LibrariesEmpower on Instagram or Twitter or posting on the I Love Libraries Facebook page counts as an entry. Four winners will be selected at random. The first-place prize is a $100 Visa gift card and an ALA Graphics The Child Poster, while three second-place winners will receive the poster as well. All librarians and library lovers are encouraged to participate, so get involved and tag your library in all posts! In addition, ALA has provided digital graphics and sample social media posts to share across your accounts. Use the hashtag #NationalLibraryCardSignUpMonth to join in on the celebration and amplify this feeling of empowerment.

Now for the fun part, how can you make your library stand out to increase signups? We’ve collected a few marketing ideas that will hopefully empower you and your community to increase cardholders this month! (Note: much like last September, it’s a unique circumstance to be promoting signing up for a library card while libraries across the country are in various stages of open to the public. Make sure however you promote card signup, your communication is clear surrounding how to sign up and what services will be available. Have this information front and center on your website and update it as things change!)

• Make a visual to represent the number of new cardholders. This can be physically in your library or something digital you share on your website and social media. Every time a new member signs up, you add to the visual. Example: Tree with leaves representing cardholders, bookshelf with books representing cardholders, etc.
• Utilize your local media contacts to share personal stories of library cardholders and what having a library card means to them. If you are able to get permission from some of your patrons, sharing their story and how having a card has empowered them will resonate much more with the public than just a generic press release about why everyone should have a card.
• Incentives and prizes galore! If you’re able to, having treats or prizes will not only encourage library card usage, but it will also encourage others to spread the word. Offer children a special treat for showing their card, random prizes for patrons who haven’t used their cards in a few months, or even staff and follower incentives for sharing the library love. If a staff member recruits a new member, they get a work-related incentive. If a follower on social media tags your library’s account when they’ve recruited someone, send them some swag. Utilize social media to create a contest for signups or card usage in the month of September. No matter what way you do it, goodies and prizes will always go a long way.
• Make a snappy and fun video showing all of the things you can do with a library card or a video tutorial showing patrons how to get a library card. Share on social and try to get it trending!
• Plan an event (virtual or in-person) celebrating reaching your goal of new sign-ups. In-person events could have branded giveaways, treats and family-friendly activities. Virtual events could just consist of an at-home dance party because who doesn’t like to groove at a celebration? Whatever you choose to do, make it FUN and inclusive to your community!