September Library Card Sign-Up Month
Greg Wilson/Anderson County
It just might be the best free perk available. September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month and the Anderson County Library System is celebrating the simple card that unlocks a world of resources and opportunity.
Library cards are free to anyone who lives, works, owns property, or goes to school in Anderson County. The library card brings not only access to books, but digital offerings, including: eBooks and digital magazines, audiobooks, movies, concerts, and lectures with (also free) Libby, Hoopla, and Flipster apps. The Anderson County Library System also offers passes to S.C. State Parks, the Children’s Museum of the Upstate, book club kits, fishing equipment, learning tablets for children, and even free seeds for gardeners.
The The Electric City Creative makers’ space provides a range of hands-on creative opportunities for all ages, focusing on arts, crafts, DIY, and STEM learning with access to creative equipment, materials, and technology for personal projects or small businesses including: regular classes and workshops covering crochet, linocut printmaking, painting, cartooning, and trendy crafts such as paper flowers and art journaling; self-guided programs and themed challenges, like the “Ultimate Master Builders Challenge and build a Vehicle” using LEGO, open to tweens, teens, and adults.
Library cards also provide access to reliable information and research resources. Research your family’s history with Ancestry: Library Edition and HeritageQuest or Ancesstry.com. Search or browse past issues, local and national publications, or take an online class at your own pace with Universal Class or practice for the GED, SAT, Praxis, and other college and career exams with LearningExpress Library.
Visit any Anderson County Library System branch to sign up or renew a library card. More information online at www.andersonlibrary.org
More than ever, Anderson County’s libraries are vital to educational and civic life. They expand horizons, bridge the digital divide, support literacy, and help residents of all ages build brighter futures. Signing up for a library card is not just an invitation—it’s an investment in opportunity aa the Anderson County Library System continues to grow, with the number of people visiting one of the library’s nine branches up almost 40 percent in 2024.
The recent library Community Report lists total visits to the library last year at more than 400,000 and 114,499 residents of the county now have library cards (more than half the population).
Anderson, Belton, Honea Path, Iva, Pendleton, Piedmont, Powdersville, the Westside Community Center and Williamston branches all reported an increase in users. Upgrades to several of the branches, and construction on a new library on the town square in Iva also improved services last year.
A total of 831,083 items were checked out from the library in 2024 and at the main library in Anderson, groups used the public spaces for meetings more than 4,000 times. The Electric City Creative makers’ space served 3,553 patrons.
With 435 story times, the youngest readers were given more opportunities to participate and learn. There were 435 programs for toddlers ages 0-5, 195 programs for children ages 6-12, 30 programs for Tweens ages 8-12, 147 programs for teens ages 12-18, 523 programs for adults and 27 programs open to all age groups.
Meanwhile, use of the library’s digital collection continued to rise, with more than 325,000 digital checkouts in 2024.
The library also served as a community hub in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, working with Anderson County Emergency Management to open the main branch for people whose electricity was knocked out by the storm for extended periods to come in and charge their electronics, read and enjoy the air conditioning. A FEMA Survivor Assistance Team also set up shop at the library helping almost 3,000 residents file the paperwork to report storm damage.
