Do you have a library card in your wallet? Yes, I am talking to you. For many residents, part-timers, and even visitors, a Grand County Library District card is essential.

Like a credit card with no annual fee and zero percent interest, they wield it frequently and with gusto. They use it for books, movies, New York Times digital access, pickleball paddles or passes to the Denver Zoo. Some use it without ever stepping into one of the five physical libraries via the library’s website, gcld.org.

I for one, have my library card memorized. And my brain does not play well with strings of numbers, especially numbers that are 14 digits long.

But I am not so naïve as to think that everyone has a library card. Maybe the last time you used a public library was before you could see over the check-out desk. Or you might have an app for that. Or possibly you find Amazon more convenient (to which I say — we have a local bookstore — support it!).

But if you have an empty slot in your wallet, I’m going to make a case as to why you might want to fill it with a library card.

First, getting a library card is easy. Visit a library (there’s one in every community except Parshall and Winter Park) with valid identification and proof of a mailing address in Colorado. If the mailing address is tricky, you can use an email address and phone number for a limited use card, which allows for up to five check-outs at a time.

Because it’s so easy, the Grand County Library District has 6,531 active library card users. That is 41% of the county’s population (which is 15,769, according to the 2020 census). And they are in good company because 3.1 million Coloradans have library cards, which is over 50% of the people living in this great state.

This brings me to my next point: Once you have a library card to one Colorado library, you can get a library card for almost ANY Colorado library. That’s right, there is a statewide program for reciprocal borrowing privileges at other Colorado libraries. It’s been around since 1991, and it’s called CLC —Colorado Libraries Collaborate.

In addition to the easy resource-sharing that allows local library card holders to borrow from 36 Marmot Library Network member libraries with the click of a “Place Hold” button, this program allows you to get cards for libraries farther afield, like Denver Public Library or perhaps the University of Colorado.

When my son was a toddler, I visited every library on our route from here to where I grew up in New Mexico. We discovered that Leadville has clean bathrooms and that Alamosa has terrific puppets. Pueblo has an amazing selection of Star Wars books and Buena Vista has fun games and puzzles for a quick pitstop. All these libraries are open to the public, but if we fell in love with a book, I could get a library card and take it with us. All because I have a card here in Grand County.

Colorado does libraries very well, and your library card opens doors at libraries across the state. All you have to do is sign up.

And since September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, there’s no time like the present. Your wallet will thank you.

Anna Szczepanski is an avid library user and the Colleague On-Call Consultant for the Colorado Library Consortium. She serves rural and small libraries across the Western Slope with free assistance.