Pilot program sees DE student IDs act as library cards
Salisbury, Md. – A new program to help expand access to reading for students coming to Delaware.
On Wednesday, Governor Matt Meyer announced a pilot program that lets students use their school-issued student IDs as juvenile library cards.
Officials say the move helps remove barriers between students and books, research materials and learning resources available through Delaware libraries.
The initiative is in partnership with the Delaware Division of Libraries, the Colonial School District and New Castle County Libraries. It will begin with students at Eisenberg Elementary School during the 2026-27 school year. Meyer also recognizes September as Literacy Month and Library Card Sign-Up Month.
“Improving literacy is not the responsibility of one school, one library or one state agency,” said Meyer in a statement released by his office. “It takes all of us working together to make sure every Delawarean has the tools and opportunities to become a confident reader. Fewer forms, fewer hurdles and fewer delays mean more time for kids to read, learn and discover what they are capable of when government has their back.”
Secretary of Education Cindy Marten said the initiative promotes an actively literate society, which she says goes beyond reading words off a page.
“Being actively literate means we have an entire populace in our beloved communities that is choosing to read and read deeply,” she said. “They are questioning. They are creators. They are communicating. They’re making meaning through all of the coding systems, numbers and letters, music and arts, civic literacy, all of that, it lives across languages and across science and art. It’s an actively literate society, and I see that as an engaged society. That’s the vision.”
Officials say the pilot removes the need for students and their families to complete a separate library card process, allowing participating students to use their IDs to access library services except those that require parental guidance, like internet access.
“It starts with a very beautifully simple idea,” she said. “A student already has a school ID, so why should a family have to figure out another application, another card, another process just to get access to books and learning?”
