It’s national Library Card Sign-up Month, and in addition to all the usual (and unusual) perks you get with a local library membership, you can add freebies and discounts from more than 30 local businesses throughout September.
Your SLO County Public Libraries card gives you free access to books, county and state parks passes, museum passes, board games, musical instruments, sewing machines and much more. But this month special deals also await you at participating businesses in Atascadero and Cambria, including The ARTery, Monarch Gallery, Bramble Pie Company, Malibu Brew Coffee, Cutruzzola Vineyard, and many others. A full list of Library Card Month partners is available online.
You can also enter a prize drawing by collecting stamps from businesses on special bookmarks available at Atascadero and Cambria libraries this month.
But every month, your library card gives you free access to hundreds of thousands of books—from the latest bestsellers to literary classics—as well as DVDs, eBooks, audiobooks, digital magazines through Libby and PressReader, and movies and series through the online streaming service Kanopy. Learn a new language for free with LingQ, or borrow a pickleball set, parks pass, or portable induction cooktop through the Library of Things.
Historically, Library Card Sign-Up Month has been celebrated every September to remind parents, caregivers, and students that signing up for a library card is the first step on the path to academic achievement and lifelong learning.