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Welcome!
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About the Collection
Thanks for visiting my collection! My name is Cory Peterson, and I'm the owner of this collection of library cards. I created this site because I wanted to share the collection with other fellow library enthusiasts. I got a lot of enjoyment in creating it throughout my childhood and hope that it will be of interest to others. Enjoy your time and always feel free to contact me if you have questions!
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Want to add a library card to my collection? See here for more details.
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Follow my collection on Facebook here! I'll post interesting content on library cards, my collection, and perhaps feature some library cards I receive in the mail from time to time :)
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I'm working on putting together an interactive map of my collection with pictures of each library card attached so that you can explore the collection. Stay tuned!
In the Beginning
You might be wondering: how does one get into collecting library cards? It all started in 1999 at the age of 7. I grew up loving reading and books from an early age and would often visit the little branch of our county library in Suisun City, California (San Francisco Bay Area) where I grew up. At some point I thought it would be interesting to see what different library's cards looked like, and so I asked around at a few libraries. Then, while visiting family in Washington State, I asked to see the library card at the Anacortes Public Library (about 90 minutes north of Seattle), and they offered me a sample, unactivated card to keep as a souvenir. I never looked back! Pretty soon I was writing emails to libraries all around the world asking for sample library cards to add to my collection.
The Collection Grows
After getting my first library card, I started to send emails to other libraries across the western United States before expanding out to the rest of the country, Canada, Europe, and eventually all corners of the globe. I owe a large part of my early library cards to my grandpa Chuck Hart (pictured with me circa 1999-2000) who sent a lot of emails on my behalf from his home in Whidbey Island, Washington. He really wanted me to see my collection grow and was the foundational seed that made it happen. He died not too long after in 2003, but I still continued on collecting throughout my childhood. By the time I'd reached high school, I'd been collecting for eight years and had amassed over 3,000 library cards from every continent (except Antarctica).
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I also set up a (very) old website circa 2007 where I had started to upload scans of library cards. Feel free to peruse it if you would like here.
How did I build my collection?
Mostly through email! I sent thousands of emails to libraries all across the world asking for sample, unactivated library cards to add to my collection. I also sent a lot of letters through snail mail, and visited well over a hundred libraries in person. In fact, when I was eight years old in 2000, my mom and I took the first of what we called "library card trips." Each summer when my mom was on summer break from her job as a teacher, we would spend a week driving around to libraries across the western United States and asking for library cards to add to my collection. My mom would always take a picture of me at the library with my card, back in the days of film instead of iPhone pictures :) The one to the left is me at the library in Umatilla, Oregon with my 2,000th library card. These trips lasted every summer for about 7-8 years and visited 10 states, thousands of miles on our Subaru Outback, and over 100 libraries. Some of my best childhood memories are from these trips.
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Soon I'll set up a page that has more details (and pictures!) about these trips for those that are interested.
The collection today
Currently, my collection numbers over 3,900 cards from all 50 U.S. states and 74 countries. I keep it in nine 1.5 inch three ring binders with plastic pages that hold nine cards each. Recently, I went in and replaced the binders and pages that had been enduring over the last twenty years, and restored the collection to its former glory. I'm hoping to now pick up where I left off in childhood and grow the collection.
Over the years, it has been featured in an article from The Atlantic, Daily Republic (Fairfield, California), and numerous library newsletters. It also toured several branches of the Washoe County Library in Reno, Nevada as part of a traveling exhibit back in around 2006-2007.
Want to add to my collection?
I would love to see your library's card in my collection! It's currently nearing 4,000 and counting, and I hope your library's will be the next :) Send any cards to:
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Cory Peterson
P.O. Box 932
Roseville, CA 95661
U.S.A.
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Feel free to reach out to me at cpeterson9692@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns!
ABOUT ME
I grew up in Suisun City, California (San Francisco Bay Area) and when not collecting library cards, enjoyed going to sporting events (baseball, hockey, and college football), participating in Boy Scouts (reaching the Eagle Scout rank), hiking, camping, and hanging out with friends. I attended college at California State University, Sacramento where I got a BA in Geography. I now work as a transportation planner for a local government in the Sacramento area and live in El Dorado County, California with my lovely wife and two slightly neurotic cats. My hobbies (besides library cards) are hiking, disc golf, watching sports, Geocaching, and taking day trips around Northern California.
And in case you're wondering, I do love to read! Some of my favorites include historical fiction (particularly WWII), Harry Potter, and travel writing. A couple of my favorite authors include Bill Bryson (hilarious!) and Jon Krakauer.