Abilene Public Library and Abilene Independent School District have a new, exciting initiative and partnership.
The Library Express program allows all registered students of AISD to use their student ID number as their library card with their parent’s permission. This partnership between AISD and APL maximizes resources and services for the benefit of AISD students and the City of Abilene.
Once parents have given their permission for the participation, students have access to all of the public library’s resources – both print and digital.
Abilene Public Library director Lori Grumet is very pleased with the initial stages of the initiative.
“We are so pleased that the young people of Abilene have easier access to library materials,” she said. “This new partnership with AISD is an exciting enhancement for us.”
Students may request physical materials from any APL location to be brought to their campus for convenience, and they may be returned in the same way, via AISD’s Pony Express courier and the Abilene Library Consortium’s courier.
Privacy for the student is paramount, and the service is entirely free.
During the first three months of the program, 10,507 students have joined the service. A total of 1,165 books have been checked out by students during this period, while digital resources have been utilized 116 times.
”It is so rewarding to see AISD students taking advantage of this new partnership, whether they’re choosing to have traditional APL library materials delivered directly to them at school or using their AISD ID credentials to access the public library’s digital resources,” said Kristy Compton, AISD Head Cataloger and Secondary Lead Librarian. “This initiative is one that serves our students well, and I imagine we’ll see big increases in both traditional and digital access in the future.”
