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Library Card Sign-Up Month!
NC3 Interview with the Outreach Librarian from the Fremont Area District Library.
1. Stephani, tell us about your role and why September is a special month at the library.
My role as an Outreach Librarian at the Fremont Area District Library is to keep our community informed about the services, collection, and events at the library. September is a special month at the library because it is Library Card Sign-up Month! Of course you can always sign up for a library card, but September usually marks the beginning of a new school year, and we want to remind parents that they can get library cards for their children and teens. All ages are eligible for library cards, and we want to promote it this month because library cards give people free access to so many things, and can really help to enrich a person’s education.
2. What is the benefit of signing up for your first Fremont library card in September?
It is always free to get your first library card, but in September, we are giving a small prize to everyone who signs up. In addition, each person will be entered into a grand prize drawing. Adults will be entered in a drawing for a gift card very generously donated by Walmart for $250! Children and teens will be entered into a drawing for one of four gift cards for a free meal generously donated by Arby’s. As a bonus, if you already have a Fremont library card but refer a friend and they come in to get one, you can also get a small prize if they tell us you referred them. You’ll just need to pick up your prize by October 15th.
3. What are the benefits to getting a library card?
You can still get the benefit of our services and all events at the library without a card, but a card will give you access to our huge collection. You can check out tons of books, audiobooks, magazines, DVDs, CDs, children’s tablets, and now we even have Wi-Fi hotspots available to check out! Your Fremont library card also gives you free access to our digital collection. Libby and OverDrive have digital books, audiobooks, and magazines. Hoopla has digital movies, TV shows, music, comic books, books, and audiobooks. We also now have a subscription to Scholastic Teachables which you can use for thousands of educational printables in all subjects for grades Pre-K through 8th, and we have access to World Book e-books. For genealogy research, we provide access to Ancestry.com on our library’s computers. You can get started browsing our collection at llc.bibliocommons.com.
Having a library card can save you a lot of money on both education and entertainment. The average cost of an adult hardcover book is $27.45, the average cost of a hardcover young adult book is $19.13, and the average cost of a hardcover children’s book is $16.65. (All of these prices are for fiction.) New DVDs cost about $20. So let’s say all you check out in a whole year is 1 adult book, 3 children’s books, and 2 DVDs. That alone would save you $117.40. I have two kids, and (not surprisingly) I enjoy reading as well. We always have many items checked out--you can have 100 items checked out at a time! If I had to pay for everything that we checked out in a year, I’d be spending a fortune on those items. Let’s raise readers who will be the future thinkers and leaders in our community.
It’s important to remember that when we read and watch stories about people who have had different experiences than us, and who have lived in other places and in different cultures, it helps us to understand each other and promotes empathy. Reading also reduces stress. Plus, getting a library card is free, so why wouldn’t you want to get one?!
4. Where are the libraries in Newaygo County?
There are public libraries in Fremont, Grant, Hesperia, White Cloud, Newaygo, and Croton Township. Where you get a card depends on where you live, but once you have it, you can use it at any library in the county and most libraries in West Michigan.
5. How can a library help families with young children develop a love of reading?
There’s a quote I love that states, “Reading to children, even before they can understand words, teaches them to associate books with love and affection.” We want families to come in and pick out beautiful and fun picture books to read to their kids while snuggled up together. We want kids to have fun playing in our children’s department and picking out the books that they want to read—books that they are interested in. And we wants adults to continue reading their own library books for pleasure too, because children are more likely to read for pleasure if they see their parents modeling that behavior. Programs in libraries like 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten and the Summer Reading Program help to incentivize children and families to read together with the hope that it builds a foundation for a love of reading. Research has shown that families who start reading aloud to their children at birth help to strengthen their language skills and build their vocabulary – two important tools for beginning to learn to read when they enter kindergarten. You can see the Children’s Department at the library if you’d like to sign up for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, which can be done year-round and provides you with lots of tips for how to be successful at reading to your children.
6. There are many households in our community that are financially struggling. In what ways can a library help out someone in this situation?
In addition to saving a lot of money on books and entertainment which I talked about above, we also have resources that can help empower people. We have free computer and internet access, wi-fi, and hotspots to check out. Our staff at the reference desk can help you research and find materials, and can help connect you to resources in our community for your unique circumstances. We have many books about writing resumes and cover letters, and we have databases like Learning Express Library, which contains a resume builder and lots of practice tests for the ACT, SAT, and more.
7. What are upcoming events at the library?
We’ve got some fun and educational events coming up this fall. Keep an eye on our website at www.fremontlibrary.net and follow us on Facebook or Instagram @Fremont Area District Library for the most up-to-date info! You can also sign up for our email list to get our event e-newsletter and important updates sent straight to your inbox at
Here’s a list of some of our upcoming events. We hope to see you at the library!
Toddler Storytime (for ages 0-3): Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m.
Family Storytime (for ages 0-5): Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday Storytime (for ages 0-5): Sep. 18 & Oct. 23 at 11:00 a.m.
Daytime Book Group: Sep. 23 at 11:30 a.m.
Afternoon Movie: Luca (Rated PG; 95 min) on Sep. 23 at 3:30 p.m.
Wayne Premo Presents Water Wonderland: Sep. 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Spooky Movie Monday: Hocus Pocus (Rated PG; 95 min) on Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m.
Life Storytelling Workshop with J.Q. Rose (Registration Required): Oct. 5 at 6:30 p.m.
Junk Journaling (for ages 10 and up): Oct. 14 from 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Spooky Movie Monday: The Sixth Sense (Rated PG-13; 107 min) on Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Afternoon Movie: Halloweentown (Rated PG; 90 min) on Oct. 21 at 3:30 p.m.
Spooky Movie Monday: A Quiet Place (Rated PG-13; 90 min) on Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m.
Pumpkin Painting for Kids (Registration Required): Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m.
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List of libraries in Newaygo County: