Novato students get dibs on expanded library access program

Students in the Novato Unified School District are getting digital library accounts under a partnership between the Marin County Free Library and the Marin County Office of Education.

The 7,000-student district, the largest in Marin, is the first in the county to benefit from the partnership, known as the Student MyCard project, or MiTarjeta de Estudiante in Spanish. The program also allows students to have library cards delivered to them at school.

The digital account allows immediate access to audiobooks, e-books, magazines and free one-on-one tutoring in English and Spanish. With the digital account, Novato public school students can access all library resources with their student ID numbers, just as they would with a library card number.

In the elementary grades, students have received access to a physical library card. The physical library cards are being delivered this fall to the younger students at their schools.

“One of the biggest advantages is bringing all library resources directly to the student with this access,” said Lana Adlawan, director of the Marin County Free Library.  “We remove any transportation and time barriers to both parents and students to provide families with this service.”

Besides the personal access to digital publications, students can use the MyCard to see classroom materials such as reference databases and to coordinate class instruction with their teachers.

“The best thing and biggest advantage of this program is that every student automatically receives a library card,” said Tracy Smith, superintendent of the Novato Unified School District. “There are no barriers for families to get their child a library card.”

Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan, whose district includes most of Novato, said he is excited that the students get a chance to take Student MyCard system for the first spin.

“The library is a special place — available to our youth year-round, whether that be through story time, teen book clubs, tutoring and homework helpers, internet access or computer usage,” Lucan said.

“Libraries are a place for youth to gather, instill a love of reading, and sometimes provide resources that may not be available at home,” he said.

Adlawan said she met recently with John Carroll, the county superintendent of schools, to discuss plans to expand the program to other districts.

“It’s a great day when 7,000 students can easily connect to an abundance of resources available through their local library system,” Adlawan said.

More information is available online at marinlibrary.org/mycard.