Allendale library launches card design contest for residents
A local resident could design the image every AHJ library cardholder carries, with entries due June 30 and the winner unveiled Sept. 1.
A student, artist or longtime resident from Allendale County could end up shaping the image that sits in wallets, purses and back pockets across the tri-county library system. The Allendale-Hampton-Jasper Regional Library System is asking for original artwork for a new library card design, turning a small civic object into a point of local pride.
The contest is open to anyone who lives, works, goes to school or volunteers in Allendale, Hampton or Jasper counties. Entries must be original and cannot include copyrighted material, offensive language, inappropriate images or AI-generated components. Digital submissions must use the library template and may be sent as PNG, PSD or PDF files at 600 DPI, while paper designs may be created with any flat medium that can be scanned. The deadline is June 30, 2026 at 5 p.m.
Library officials will announce the winning design on Sept. 1, 2026 on the system’s website, social media pages and in branch locations. The judging panel will include library staff, members of the AHJ Regional Library Board and select members who oversee library appropriations. For a region where the library has long served as more than a place to borrow books, the contest gives residents a chance to put their own work into daily circulation.
That symbolism carries extra weight in Allendale County, where public library service dates to 1905, when citizens organized a small library in J. Patterson’s office. In March 1941, Allendale, Hampton and Barnwell counties formed South Carolina’s first multi-county regional library system with Works Progress Administration support, including salaries, books, operating expenses, equipment and a bookmobile. Barnwell withdrew in May 1942, and Jasper joined in October 1947, creating today’s tri-county AHJ system. The Allendale County Library and regional headquarters opened in the War Memorial Building in 1950, then moved in 2011 to the renovated downtown Allendale building now known as the Allendale County Learning Center, developed with Denmark Technical College.
The contest also arrives as AHJ marks 85 years of service and continues expanding what a library card can do. Patrons can use Libby for eBooks, audiobooks and magazines, Hoopla for streaming and downloading movies, TV shows, music, audiobooks, eBooks and comics, NewsBank’s South Carolina Newspapers collection with access to 75 newspapers, South Carolina State Park Passes and VOX Books. For a county that has watched library service grow from a single office in 1905 to a regional system, the new card design will become part of that public story.
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