Kids are kids. Which means they often lose things, like library cards. And even if they manage to hang onto their library cards, they sometimes forget to renew them. All of which means that library usage decreases, which is a problem that came to the attention of two of the top administrators at the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Public Library.
Jill Rael, the library’s director, and Jena Gray, her assistant director, sometimes get together to brainstorm about various issues over coffee. It was during one of those sessions that Gray came up with the idea of using children’s school lunch numbers as identification for library use.
Gray first read about the concept in an article, then later learned more details at a Buffalo River Regional Library workshop called "Book Xchange: School Library + Public Library." The workshop touted a successful cooperative between public libraries and public school children in Murfreesboro.
The lunch numbers, which are assigned to students when they enter pre-kindergarten and stay with them until they graduate from high school, are easily remembered. Having those numbers double as library card numbers means students can rely upon memory, rather than physical cards with unfamiliar barcodes, to check out books from R.E.A.D.S.
There are no physical cards to lose and the lunch numbers don’t expire until the students have graduated. However, the lunch numbers can only be used for materials in an electronic format, such as those offered through the R.E.A.D.S. program. If students want to check out actual hard copies of books, they must follow the standard procedures for obtaining library cards.
This past spring, Fayetteville-Lincoln Public Library began a partnership with the city schools. Rael and Gray demonstrated the R.E.A.D.S. site and explained to the students how they could use their lunch card numbers to check out digital books. This happened just prior to the start of the library’s summer reading program.
The skinny on logistics provided by Rael is this: All children are entered into the library’s database with their lunch numbers, names and schools. If they already have library cards on file, their 10-digit barcode numbers become an alternate form of identification so they can use either number. If they decide after being issued access through the lunch numbers that they want actual library cards that allow them the ability to check out physical library books, then they can come in and go through library card application process with a parent or guardian present.
The results have been measurable. Kid’s Corner is a prominent button on the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Public Library webpage that links readers to R.E.A.D.S. for Kids! That has led to a sizeable increase in R.E.A.D.S. circulation. On June 20 of last year, the circulation stood at 1,219. On the same date this year, it was up to 1,592.
During the upcoming school year the dynamic duo of Gray and Rael will expand this offer to county and private schools in Lincoln County. They are certain that children’s R.E.A.D.S. numbers will flourish at those schools.
As for whatever new challenges lie ahead, there’s still plenty of coffee for Gray and Rael to share while they’re facing them!
