MIDLAND, Texas — The Midland County Commissioners’ Court proclaimed September as “Library Card Sign-up Month” in Midland County on Aug. 22. Now, the Ector County Library and Midland County libraries are doing their part for the month of September.
September means one thing for any student: school in full session.
With students trying to learn as much as they can, it’s the perfect time to sign them up for a library card.
"It’s a chance for the public and community to come out and support the local library and also to be a card-carrying member, which comes with a lot of benefits," new Ector County Library Director Howard Marks said. "This has been in operation nationally since 1987, so we’re on our 35th year of making every September a chance to sign up for a library card."
The Ector County Library is starting their special month right after Labor Day, by increasing their hours to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, giving the public more chances to come to the library.
The library has an incredible 200,000 books, along with 20,000 e-books and nearly 100 databases you can access for free using their Techshare database. If you're into anything, they have something for you.
Ector County is doing their part by providing a bunch of events people can attend, including an art event headed by Austin artist Heidi Pitre, who makes iconic library card-based art.
She's going to be teaching people who attend how to make her evolutionary art on Sept. 16 and 17. Their other events coming up can be found here.
The Midland County Public Libraries are also in on the action, launching their second annual “One Card. One Community. A World of Opportunity” event that will reward library card holders with several discounts:
• Marble Slab Creamery – 10% off a purchase
• The River Fine Arts - $10 off tuition
• Popbar Midland – 20% off a purchase
• Shipley Do-Nuts – Vouchers handed out
• Museum of the Southwest – Free admission (excluding Sept. 9-11 during SeptemberFest)
• Kendra Scott – 10% off a purchase, with 10% of proceeds benefitting the MCPL Foundation
• Cpl Ray’s Coffee – 15% off a purchase
• Wagner Noel Performic Arts Center – Special discount on December show.
There are also prizes that cardholders will be able to enter to win.
"So what will happen is every time someone checks out an item in the library, they can fill out a slip and put it in whatever drawing they want to be considered for, everyday throughout the month and we’ll draw and see who can bring home a nice little prize," Director of Social Impact and Community Engagement Matthew Glaser said.
This includes Yeti tumblers from Black Rifle Coffee Co., a $150 gift card to Fair to Midland and boxes of cookies from Crumbl Cookies, among other prizes you can win.
Their goal is to get everyone who lives in the Midland area to sign up for a card. "We are hoping to get as many people who have lived in Midland for a while to sign up for a card. They don’t have to pay for our card, we have an online source online," said Glaser. "We are trying to offer them something to do that supplements their day-to-day life and that we’re a community gathering space first and foremost."
Midland County Libraries also have an abundance of events going on in September including some STEM programs for kids and teens, a book club, an embroidery class, adult coloring class and a knitting class, among others.
At a time when many of us are glued to our phones - libraries want to give people access to education and tons of books... with cool prizes being the cherry on top.
If your children are bored someday this September, your local library may have something for them. More information about events, prizes and discounts is available on their websites: