CHICAGO -- It's valuable to know that one school supply is free -- a library card.

According to a 2008 poll by Harris Interactive, library-card registration is at an all-time high, with 68 percent of American's reporting library-card ownership. Use of public libraries is also on the rise, with 76 percent of Americans visiting their local public library in the past year, compared with 65.7 percent two years ago.

September is the American Library Association's Library Card Sign-up Month. This celebration comes at a time when Americans are visiting their libraries more than ever -- Americans visit their public libraries 1.4 billion times and check out almost 2.2 billion items each year.

Libraries offer children free access to the tools they need to succeed in school, including books, computers and Internet resources.

This year's Library Card Sign-up Month theme is "The Smartest Card. Get It. Use It. @ your library." Studies show that children who are read to in the home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifetime learning.

For more information, visit ala.org.

Check out OCL

The Orangeburg County Library is a countywide system with libraries in Orangeburg, North, Holly Hill, Elloree, Branchville, Santee and Springfield; a bookmobile and book deposits for senior citizens at several locations.

The main library is at 510 Louis St. in Orangeburg. Hours of operation are Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 803-531-4636.

Information from orangeburgcounty.org/library/

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