Over 100K CMS students use instant library card to check out books

Over 100,000 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students have used their student IDs to check out books, borrow music or use library computers as part of a program to make accessing those materials easier.

CMS and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in August launched ONE Access, a plan to give all CMS students unfettered access to a range of materials by using their IDs as public library cards.

Since then, 52 percent of students have used it to check out physical books, while 29 percent have used it to access digital materials, such as e-books, magazines, music and videos, according to a library news release.

“Creating the access was the first step, but we always knew the bigger measure of success would be students” using the library’s resources to bolster their education, library CEO Lee Keesler said in the release.

Schools Superintendent Ann Clark said CMS challenged teachers and media specialists to get at least 100,000 students to use their ONE Access accounts before winter break. Some teachers took a creative route, such as a Newell Elementary School teacher who took her first-grade class on “safari” by using online animated picture books and digital science resources.

The library doesn’t issue overdue fines for ONE Access accounts, but users are responsible for fees on lost books.

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Over 100K CMS students use instant library card to check out books."