Soldotna library cards are getting a makeover this year – and you’re invited to participate.
The Soldotna Public Library will open a design contest later this month that will put three pieces of original artwork in the pockets of thousands of library card holders on the central Kenai Peninsula.
Kim McMilin is the library’s program coordinator and is spearheading the contest. She says it’s being launched to coincide with Library Card Sign Up Month, which is in September.
“The biggest goal is that people remember how powerful a library card is,” she said. “I mean, the library card is more than just a card.”
McMilin says Library Card Sign Up Month is all about helping people understand all the perks that come with being a cardholder. In Soldotna, those perks include access to everything from books and movies, to ukuleles and sewing machines, to Chromebooks and classes.
Around 7,500 people on the central Kenai Peninsula hold Soldotna library cards, according to McMilin – a lot more than the number of people who live in Soldotna’s population. McMilin says the library serves more than just city residents. That’s why the contest is open to everyone.
“We’re really excited to revamp the library cards, even if it is temporarily, to give a little pizzazz,” she said.
The library will accept designs Feb. 17 through the end of March. Then, a jury of library board members will review the submissions and winnow them down to three in each category. The public will vote on the finalists and winners will be announced during a celebration of Library Card Signup Week on Sept. 1 at the library.
There are three categories: a kids division for ages 12 and under, a teen division for ages 13 to 18, and an adult division for anyone 19 or older. Contest guidelines will come with templates that show size restraints and the size of the city logo that will go somewhere on the card.
The process will be familiar to those who voted in Soldotna’s “I Voted” sticker contest, which turned local art into wearable election accessories. But McMilin says the library needs some time to get the cards ordered, which is why the contest is happening so early in the year.
“We needed to have this contest start earlier in the year so we can give the community a chance to have enough time to develop their ideas, vote on it, of course, and then have them printed and ready to go by September,” she said.
Artist designs will mark a start contrast to the current card design – it’s a solid bright lime green, which McMilin says is meant to make it stick out in someone’s wallet. The revamped cards will have a certain exclusivity, which the library hopes will spur new sign-ups and renewals.
The design parameters are pretty open-ended. But McMilin says they should celebrate Soldotna and libraries – political or obscene designs won’t be accepted.
“We want to celebrate libraries, but if it doesn't specifically celebrate a library, that doesn't mean it won't win,” she said. “But the ultimate goal is that our library card shows a celebration of libraries, a celebration of community.”
The contest will get its own website that can be accessed from the library’s webpage on the city website. If it’s successful, McMilin says they hope to make the contest annual. She’s planning to submit a design and emphasized artists of all ages and artistic abilities are encouraged to participate.
