Local branches serve as hubs for free community resources
Nushrat Rahman
The Detroit Public Library has an ambitious goal — get 41,000 more people to sign up for library cards by April.
The effort launched in September and will wrap up during National Library Week next year. Though patrons can get a library card anytime, the recent push is about educating people on the importance of libraries, the resources available at local branches and getting cards into the hands of Detroit students.
“It’s free. It’s easy. The process is simple,” said Atiim J. Funchess, assistant director of marketing and communications for the Detroit Public Library.
There are 16 open library branches in neighborhoods across the city and the main branch in Midtown Detroit. The Detroit Public Library shuttered most of its locations during the pandemic, to curb the spread of COVID-19, and began opening more of them up last summer. At the time, the closures left some Detroit communities without a hub for free resources like access to the internet. Four branches — Skillman, Monteith, Conely and Chase — still remain temporarily closed because of restoration and construction. The Wilder branch closed Nov. 27 for eight weeks to install a new HVAC system.
About 20% of Detroiters and Highland Park Residents have a Detroit library card, according to the Detroit Public Library. The library system has more than 131,700 active card holders. Before the pandemic, there were more than 3 million visitors in the 12 months ending June 30, 2019. Between July 2020 and June 2021, after the pandemic took hold, roughly 45,800 people used the library system, which enforced temporary closures and capacity limits at branches. About 121,800 users visited from July 2021 through June 2022.
One of the reasons the Detroit Public Library is trying to get more people to sign up for a card is to emphasize the importance of libraries in civic life.
Public libraries play a key role during economic downturns. It’s a place where patrons can access the internet and fill out job applications. Prior to the pandemic, Detroiters relied on their neighborhood branches to pick up tax forms and organize community events.
Patrons can do more than borrow books. Here are five things Detroit Public Library cardholders can do.
Borrow books from libraries outside of Detroit
Detroit Public Library card holders can visit dozens of other libraries across the state, to access print materials, as part of the MILibrary
Card system. It’s a network of participating libraries, from Charlevoix to Benton Harbor, that’s meant to increase access to resources for Michiganders. Detroit Public Library cardholders can go to nearby Royal Oak Public Library, for instance, and borrow books if they can’t find what they are looking for in Detroit’s library shelves.
For more information, go to www.milibrarycard.org.
Get discounts at museums and state parks
Library patrons can get free and discounted passes at select museums, parks and recreation areas, through the Michigan Activity Pass, a coalition of Michigan public libraries and destinations. Library card holders can reserve passes online for select venues and dates by using their card information. By using their library card, Detroit Public Library users can get an activity pass to visit the Detroit Historical Museum and the Cranbrook Art Museum.
For more information, go to miactivitypass.org.
Host a book club
Patrons can check out multiple copies of a book as part of the Detroit Public Library’s “Book Club in a Bag” program. Books are available for eight weeks and packages include the copies, discussion questions and book summaries and reviews online. Titles range from Malcolm Gladwell’s “Talking to Strangers” to Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Customers must apply for a separate book club library card at their local branch.
For more information, go to detroitpubliclibrary.org/services/book-clubs.
Research and special collections
The Detroit Public Library offers a range of online databases, including newspaper archives, and collections ranging from African Americans in the performing arts to sports. The rare book collection features first editions and manuscripts. The Burton Historical Collection, which started as the private library of attorney and Detroit historian Clarence Monroe Burton, is a look at the history of Michigan, the Old Northwest, Canada, New France and Detroit. Patrons can search online databases to research their ancestry, through Census, birth, marriage and death records.
For more information, go to https://detroitpubliclibrary.org/research.
Other resources to check out
Patrons who need access to a computer and printer can visit their local branch. Printing fees are 10 cents per page for black and white ink and $1 a page for color copies. Visitors can print from a public computer or a mobile device. They can also watch movies and TV shows through the streaming platform Hoopla or use the Libby app to access e-books, magazines and audio books. Library visitors who are 18 and older, with an active Detroit Public Library card specifically and government-issued photo ID, can also reserve a laptop and Wi-Fi hot spot for up to 90 days, by calling the Detroit Public Library at 313-481-1400 or visiting a branch.
How to get a card
The best way to get a Detroit Public Library card is to go to a physical branch, Funchess said, and provide some form of identification, like a Michigan driver’s license or state ID. People with permanent residences outside of Detroit, but who go to school in the city, for instance, can also get a Detroit library card.
Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com; 313-348-7558. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @NushratR.