Friday, June 22, 2012

Evolution of BPLD's Library Cards (Part 2)

Well, I promised you a part 2 and a part 2 you shall receive (unless you forgot about part 1, then in which case we'll call this part 1..it'll be our little secret).  Anyways, I showed you the evolution of our adult cards at the Buena Park Library District in part 1 so this will of course focus on our juvenile cards. 

Let's begin, shall we. 

  • 1982? - 2000
"The yellow card"

The year is 1982.  Ronald Reagan is president, the USSR is beginning to crumble, and kids get their own library card.


This striking yellow card makes perfect sense for children and teens alike as it sticks out, which is great for kids keeping track of their cards.  You'll see below.

  • School ID - Can't find it!
  • Bus Pass - Where is it?!
  • Bright Yellow Library Card - Check! Wow that was easy to find!

See what I mean?

However, remember our little secret from part 1 about the purging of the flies?  Well, it didn't stop at the adult cards.  The juvenile cards also got the dreaded plague.  Once again, I felt the need to reveal it to the world (or whoever is reading this blog) and I circled it in bright red at the bottom for you to see. 


  • 2000 - 2004
"The mouse card"


Times were changing.  Yellow was so last year and lavender-colored cards with a computer mouse and Microsoft Word Clip Art was so in.  The computer mouse represents our growing focus on providing computer access to our community in addition to books.  It was designed by our former employee, Sonia.





And look, there's no purging of any flies on the back of this card as it's been simplified similarly to the adult card.  Unfortunately, you hardly ever see any of these around as the children and teens who had these have grown up and gotten the adult cards.

  • 2004 - present
 To make up for our lack of juvenile cards (I agree, 22 years and only 2 cards to choose from for our young demographic is by no means acceptable!) we gave them a plethora of cards to choose from.

  • 2004 -Present?
"The purple card"

This card was the most popular among children and teens.  Its nice purple color is perfect for youngsters while its maze design is suitable for the more mature crowd.  It was designed by one of our former employees, Sonia or Vince (but Vince designing a purple colored card seems almost absurd so probably Sonia).  Unfortunately, due to the high demand, we have run out of stock on these cards but after numerous requests from kids of all ages, we are seriously considering bringing it back (perhaps yet another blog about a library card?).

  • 2004 - Present
"The hand prints card"


This card is now the most popular since the purple card has been discontinued for the time being.  It is especially popular among younger children because it's bright, colorful, and cheerful.  And there's hand prints everywhere!  And who doesn't like hand prints? For the record, I love 'em! 

  • 2007 - Present
"The gray card"

 This card came a few years later to help complement our other juvenile cards. 


 This card is...well, it's sort of popular...among teenagers pushing 18.  This is the guy card.  The manly card.  The mature card.  The card kids or teens choose when they want to look tough or adult like.  It takes a while to notice but there's a large computer mouse taking up about half of the card on the left which leads to...well, we all think it's a CD, computer, and a book (perhaps to emphasize that we're tech savvy, which we are! But I'm no mind-reader).  To really find out what it means, you would have to ask our former co-worker, Vince, who designed it (I really gotta stop giving him a hard time in these blogs but I'm not feeling like it today).


What's your favorite?



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