Children & Library Cards

A Child's First Card is a Library Card

Yes, even very young children can get a library card! Learning to use a borrowing card is a big step in any child's life. Here are some ideas that families have used to help children succeed in using a library card.

To get Books Back on Time 

• Take a phone photo of the library receipt – it is harder to lose than that slip of paper. 
• Use the web to check your due dates from home. Librarians will be happy to show you how.
• Set and use an early calendar reminder to hunt for any mislaid books, and renew any the child is not ready to return.
• Some families visit the library on a regular schedule (every Saturday, for example), and return all young children's books each time.
• Some families check out the same number of books at every visit, so they always know how many to look for and return.
• eBooks return themselves, for kids who use these.

To Hang on to a Library Card

Most kids don't carry a wallet, and the library card is the first card they need to keep track of. Here are ideas for how to keep it from getting lost:

• Use a hole punch and string so the card can be worn around the neck for library visits. A bright-colored cord is fun and also makes the card easier to find and harder to lose. This really helps!
• Learn to keep a library card in one special place (not in a pants pocket or tucked in a book).
• Keep the card on a clip attached to the inside of a child's daypack or book bag, or in a special pocket of the bag just for the library card.
• Keep the card in a 'treasure box' or hang it on a hook on the wall.
• Many families prefer to keep younger children's cards in a parent's wallet.

Make a Family Plan for Handling Library Fines or Lost Books

It’s hard when a child loses a book or doesn't succeed in returning books on time, but these events are also powerful moments for learning. Your child is finding out how to share and how to borrow. Learning how to do a good job of sharing and borrowing is a very important part of life. Learning how to handle problems like this as children can even help new adults avoid making big mistakes later with grown-up problems like loans and credit cards! 

• Everyone slips sometimes, especially when they are learning. 
• Even teenagers may panic if they lose a library book and can’t imagine how to pay for it or what their parents will do when they find out.
• (How did your own parents react when you made a costly mistake?  Was it helpful?  If not, what do you wish they had done instead?)
• It helps if your children know what you expect them to do, and what you will do. Then if there's a problem, nobody needs to panic. Having a family plan that every family member knows about helps everyone to keep their cool and make practical decisions, the kind that keep any problem from getting bigger – and keep kids reading and learning.

A Basic Plan

• Before a book is due, you have the power to renew it! Big kids can learn to do this themselves.
• If a book is already overdue, ask an adult for help. (Kids will do this if they can count on the adult to stay calm and be helpful.)
• Return an overdue book to the library right away. This is a good habit that prevents the build up of 'library guilt'. Return the book as soon as you can, even if there is a fine and you can't pay it right now.
• If you can’t find a book, or it’s damaged, and the library asks for a replacement fee, kids need to know that their parents will pay for it.  They also need to know what will happen next. Will they really be fed to the alligators, or will they be washing dishes for a week?