Library Cards

© Government of Yukon 2010

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Have you ever wondered about the history of the library card?  Library cards now come in all shapes and sizes, and even children are urged to get one.

Briefly, the library card came into existence because of the development of the model for modern library circulation. The 1955 ALA publication, Charging Systems by Helen Thornton Geer, explains John Cotton Dana’s role in its creation around 1900, and the machine based on that model that was introduced by the Gaylord Brothers in 1932.

An overview of the history of library cards, as well as insight into some of the more frequently asked questions about them appears on the Professional Tips Wiki page on Circulation.