librarycardgirl640480 This is Library Card Sign-Up Month, which probably lots of people don’t know and have never celebrated. Yet we’re looking at this just-arrived press release from Long Beach Main Library manager Darla Wegener, titled “Long Beach Celebrates Library Card Sign-Up Month,” and in the first paragraph it reports that Library Card Sign-Up Month has been around since 1987.

Meaning? We’ve got 25 years of not-partying in the library to make up for. Clearly, all that catching up isn’t going to get done at once, not this year— there’s little more than a week left in Library Card Sign-Up Month.

Meaning? Now that we check the time stamp—Sept. 12 … and today is, wow, Sept. 21—it may have been a bit imprecise to describe Ms. Wegener’s press release as “just arrived.” Still, it’s not like this really presses anybody for time. When it comes to Library Card Sign-up Month, it goes pretty fast—definitely no longer than it takes to sign up for a library card.

But there are some easy ways to make the experience meaningful and memorable. Parents can bring their kids to the library to sign up for a card. Repeated mention can be made of all the studies showing that children who are read to in the home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifelong learning. And how about checking out the Family Learning Centers at Long Beach Public Libraries, which offer after-school homework help and skill building—parents can even use these centers for education and job support.

So go sign up for a library card this weekend. Long Beach Public Libraries are open today and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Great time for a party.