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Partnership between Schools and Public Libraries Helps International Students Obtain Library Cards

September 8, 2000
Newly-arrived students to the county and their families will now be able to obtain a public library card when they register for school at the Montgomery County Public Schools International Student Admissions Office. Assisted by multilingual staff and handouts at the admissions office, families new to the county and often to the country will have an easier way to sign up for a library card.

Library Director Harriet Henderson, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jerry D. Weast, and other county officials will be available on Monday, September 11, at 2:30 p.m. at the International Students Admission Office, Rocking Horse Center, 4910 Macon Road, Rockville, to welcome the students and their families.

The innovative library card program came as a result of the "September is Library Card Sign-up Month," a campaign to remind parents that a library card is an important school supply.

"Research and 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," said Henderson. "We are pleased with this opportunity to partner with MCPS and the International Student Admissions Office in this important effort. This initiative will ensure that every international child and students returning home from studies abroad attending our public schools will have a library card for the academic support they will need during the school year. The library card also will provide the entire family with access to print and non-print library materials, collections in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese, sources of information to learn English, as well as recreation, and programming at their neighborhood libraries," added Henderson.

Superintendent Jerry D. Weast cited the public libraries in Montgomery County as an invaluable resource for supporting the school system's early literacy initiatives. "I am so pleased that access to this wealth of materials now will be made easier and more convenient for international families moving to the community," he said.

For more information, contact BettyVald‚s, Community Affairs Officer for the Public Libraries, at 240-777-0017, or Nivea Berrios, Supervisor of the International Student Admissions Office, 301-230-0686.

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