IMAGE COURTESY CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH

New Library cards are coming to all students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Public Schools and the City of Pittsburgh announced the launch of CardFest, an initiative to improve learning outcomes by connecting students, families and educators to the many library services. 

The program was launched in five PPS schools as a pilot during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. These included Pittsburgh Beechwood PreK-5, University Prep, Pittsburgh Faison K-5, Pittsburgh Miller PreK-5, and Pittsburgh Westinghouse Academy 6-12. The program now has expanded to all 54 schools in the district.

For the first time, students will have their own active, ready-to-use library card that will provide free resources at their neighborhood library. 

Inspired by the national ConnectED Initiative, the Leaders Library Card Challenge is a national call to action led by the Urban Libraries Council to ensure that every child enrolled in school has access to resources at public libraries.  

“We were inspired to create this program because we know the vast world of public opportunities can help young people with their academic and personal lives,” says Andrew Medlar, president and director of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. 

In mid-October, more than 14,000 CardFest cards will be mailed to the homes of city school students who still need an active library account. The library and Pittsburgh Public Schools worked closely together in preparing the CardFest materials for distribution. Cards that don’t automatically arrive in mailboxes will be distributed to the student directly through their school. New students who enter the system later in the school year are encouraged to stop by their neighborhood library branch to register for a CardFest library card. 

Every fall moving forward, CardFest cards will be created for kindergartners, new students to the district or those whose library cards may be expired or lost. 

“We want to make sure that there are no barriers for people to get a library card and through this program, activated library cards will appear in the mailboxes of PPS scholars,” Medlar says. 

CardFest has been made possible thanks to funding from The Heinz Endowments, The Frank J. Lucchino KIDS funding for the program for kindergartners and partnerships with the school district and the city Mayor’s Office. For more information, go to carnegielibrary.org/cardfest.