National library card sign-up month

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month!  This observance, sponsored by the American Library Association (who else?), runs all month.  It was launched in 1987 to meet the challenge of then Secretary of Education William J. Bennett, who said, “Let’s have a national campaign….every child should obtain a library card—and use it.”  Since then, thousands of public and school libraries have joined together each September in an effort to make that happen.  So if you know someone who doesn't have a library card, why not do the neighborly thing and suggest they drop by their nearest library branch to get one?  We're in Mount Vernon, Fredericktown, Danville and Gambier, so you don't have to go very far to find us. Unless, of course, you're websurfing from a location in Outer Mongolia or somewhere else that's substantially outside of Knox County, Ohio.  In that case, wait until your next trip to Knox County, then come and find us.  It'll be much easier that way.  But seriously, a library card is one of the most valuable things you can have in your possession.  It gives you access to an entire universe of information, education and entertainment in both tangible and electronic forms, and it's free.  So here's my new slogan: Friends don't let friends go without library cards.  Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend.  --JC