Library Card Sign-Up Month celebrated in September

By Sophia Cortez-Holmes Longshore
 High Plains News North
September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, making it the perfect time to visit your local library and discover what new resources, programs, and surprises await. It may be small in size, but a library card carries tremendous power. With it, you gain access to a world of knowledge, history, and community connection.
The idea of libraries dates back to ancient times. In the 7th century BCE, an Assyrian ruler organized over 30,000 clay tablets by topic. Egypt’s legendary Library of Alexandria held more than 700,000 documents, while 10th-century Cordova, Spain boasted a collection of over 400,000 books. These early libraries laid the groundwork for centuries of information sharing.
Public libraries as we know them began taking shape in the 1800s, as private collections evolved into lending libraries. As public education expanded, so did the need for free, accessible collections of books. In 1833, the first tax-supported public library in the U.S. opened in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Thanks to fundraising efforts often led by women’s groups after the Civil War as well as massive support from philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie (who alone funded over 2,000 libraries), libraries flourished across the country.
For many years, libraries were largely seen as places for intellectual men. Children were rarely welcome, and access was not equal across communities. But as the importance of childhood literacy and education grew, so too did the inclusion of younger readers. Libraries also became key battlegrounds in the fight for civil rights. Acts of protest, including the Greenville Eight in South Carolina (1960), the Tougaloo Nine in Mississippi (1961), and the St. Helena Four in Louisiana (1964), led to the desegregation of public libraries in the American South.
Today, libraries continue to evolve. From digital catalogs and media streaming to cultural preservation and tech workshops, they’ve adapted to meet the needs of modern communities. Still, their core mission remains unchanged: to provide free access to knowledge, support literacy, and promote lifelong learning.
For older generations, the library was often the only place to find information, long before smartphones or internet searches. If you wanted to learn about something, you had to visit a library, find a book, check it out, and read it. That experience may seem foreign to today’s digital natives, but it speaks to the essential role libraries have always played.
In a world where public spaces are increasingly commercialized, libraries stand apart. They don’t require a purchase, a membership, or a social status to enter. They are free, open, and welcoming to all. That’s why libraries are often called the last truly public space; a safe haven for curiosity, creativity, and community.