Library Card Sign-up Month History

The campaign started in 1987 as a response to then Secretary of Education William Bennett, who stated, “Let’s have a campaign … Every child should obtain a library card and use it.” Read a thoroughly-detailed account in the August 24, 2015 blog post at the American Library Association Archives, A Library Card for Every Child: Library Card Sign-Up Month, by Cara Bertram.

Library Card Sign-up Month Honorary Chairs

2025 No Honorary Chair
2024 Transformers, courtesy of Skybound Entertainment and Hasbro
2023 Disney Pixar's Elemental characters Ember and Wade
2022 Idina Menzel and Cara Mentzel
2021 Marley Dias
2020 DC Comics' Wonder Woman
2019 Disney Pixar's Toy Story characters
2018 Disney Pixar's The Incredibles
2017 DC Comics' Teen Titans
2016 Snoopy, the world-famous beagle featured in the Peanuts comic strip
2015 Snoopy, the world-famous beagle featured in the Peanuts comic strip
2014 Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, X-Men, Iron Man, and the Fantastic Four
2013 NBA two-time All-Star Luol Deng
2012 NFL two-time Super Bowl winner Troy Polamalu
2011 Baseball Hall of Famer and author Cal Ripken
2010 NBA Star and Olympic Gold Medalist Dwyane Wade
2009 WNBA Star and Olympic Gold Medalist Candace Parker
2008 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA's all-time leading scorer and author

October 14, 1987, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., 1987-1988 ALA President Margaret Chisholm, then-NCLIS chairman Jerald Newman, and William Bennett with Garfield the Cat.

(Prior to Honorary Chair designation) Library Card Sign-up Month Spokespersons

2007 Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback of the 2006 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers
2006 George Lopez, actor-comedian and author