So, it is that time of year where Americans celebrate the awesomeness that is libraries! If you have a great library near you, make sure to see if they have any cool events going on to celebrate.
Here's what National Library Week is all about - per ALA.org:
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.
Many school libraries also celebrate the month of April as School Library Month sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians, a division of ALA, with the same theme as National Library Week. National Library Workers Day, celebrated the Tuesday of National Library Week (April 14, 2009), is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
Yay! April is also School Library Month, so I'll have a bit of stuff to show you about my school library later in the week as well!Here on the blog, I've sought out some blogging librarians to talk about different aspects of what they do! I'm really excited to be celebrating National Library Week - I even have a display up at school waiting for the kids full of books about books and libraries. I'll post some pictures up and talk about it later this week!
So, stay tuned all week as you get a bit of a sneak peek into the job of a real life librarian!
In celebration of libraries and librarians... I am also holding a contest this week for some lucky commentors!
I recently went through some of my TBR books from ALA last year and stacked them up for a giveaway. Most are Young Adult novels. I'll be selecting 3 different winners to receive one book of their choice from the prize pile. I will be using random.org to select these winners.
Basic rules:
1. You must leave a meaningful comment - a sentence or more please!
2. Comments only count on National Library Week posts (all of them will start with National Library Week) - includes this one!
3. Ends Sunday, April 18th at 8 pm CST.
4. Contest is International.
Stay tuned in a few for my first guest librarian!
Yay! I am excited to read about the life of a librarian! I have to say, it sounds like a glorious job...getting to read and being near all the books...and maybe even getting to pick what is bought for the library. I am sure it isn't all fun and reading all the time, so this will be a very interesting segment! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love good libraries. I remember going to the library with my mom as a child & spending time looking through the books so I could check out a whole stack. (My mom said as long as I read them, I could get them). : ) It was awesome & one of my favorite things to go do every month or so.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to college, the library was definitely inferior to the one I'd left, so with homework & lack of library, I didn't get to read as much as I had when I was little... well, now that I've graduated & am in a new town with a good library, I'm reading all the time again. All of that to say, "Hurray for Libraries!" ; )
I'm excited to learn about librarians & what they do all day. Currently, I might envy their job just a little (think about all the books they get to spend time with!) : D
I can't live without my library. I moved from a small town with limited resources to the big city of Atlanta and absolutely love the fact that I can go online and request and renew books and then just walk in and out of it in five minutes when I'm in a hurry.
ReplyDeleteBUT.. on my afternoon outs, I'm often there, sitting on a comfy sofa and just reading. It's an amazing atmosphere and I love it.
That is so great to honor libraries! I spend a big part of my time off in the library. I am excited to read about the life of a librarian!
ReplyDeletekpic724 (at) gmail (dot) com
That's really cool that you're interviewing guest librarians. At first I thought it was you saying that and then I realized...
ReplyDeleteAnother surprise was Prom Nights From Hell. I'm sure it's checked out a lot for teens, but I figured it was not really my thing. I was pleasantly surprised by both Cabot and Meyer's stories in particular - it takes quite a bit of work to cut a story down that short and they did it.
I'm looking forward to what the librarians have to say. I don't go the library as much as I should. But I would love to see what my local library has in store for this week.
ReplyDeleteI love libraries. I read one of my most loved books in my school library. I also worked there and I really enjoyed !!! The best things of work on libraries are that you are all day with books around, so you never get tired of them.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in the end of the day you dont want to get out!
kisses!
I live farther from the library than I'd like, but growing up I think I lived at the library during the summer. I hate that current budget crises are being balanced on the back of the libraries. Funding cuts in my county have led to drastic cutbacks in hours and days that the library branches are open. :(
ReplyDeleteI fully support National Library Week!
My best friend is a librarian. She and I started our school's Book Battle and it has grown from there into an area wide battle with more than 30 schools participating. I love being in a library, and am glad to help support them in any way possible. If I weren't too old I think I would head back to school and become a librarian myself.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading avidly since I was 10 (over 55 yrs) and thought I would like to be a librarian when I grew up but I didn't. LOL.. I think a school library is one of the most important dept's of any school. When the library is in the school more students have access to books and begin reading early. Of course a public library allows everyone a place to go and read.
ReplyDeleteOver the yrs I have donated over 2000 books to Friends of the Library so they can buy more books for students and adults to read.
I fully support National Library Week! YAY for Libraries..
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
This is such a nice idea. I love being a high school librarian and contests help me get more books into my students hands either as donations to the collection or as prizes for contests I do for them. The first library I visited was the Denver Public Library. My mom took my sister and I once a week or so. I'm so glad we have great public libraries and that I can work in a school library every day!
ReplyDeleteI can think of no better year in recent history to be celebrating libraries and librarians. In our school district, librarian positions and funding for our school libraries are being cut dramatically. To me, libraries are an essential in education, not an extra. We need to find creative ways to keep our libraries full of books. Here's to the great unsung heroes of literacy! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteSounds really cool! I'm curious to see what's going to be posted the coming week!
ReplyDeleteBecome a librarian is a dream, it's a great job. I love libraries. The good thing of the contest is that you can get more fantastic books to read.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Spain! :)
Cool that you're doing this I've toyed with going back and getting my media specialist license. I know how important libraries are especially in schools. My daughter and I are super excited because our town is building a brand new library! and it's huge!
ReplyDeleteAs a children's librarian, I can't wait to read your interviews! Thanks for spreading the love during National Library Week!
ReplyDeletejpetroroy at gmail dot com
This is such a great idea. Despite knowing librarians through various blogs for almost 4 years I never knew there was a national library week. How cool is this! I'm off to my local library to check what they got going on...
ReplyDeleteIt's a little hard for me to be excited about National Library Week this year, because the Seattle Public Library system is going through some upheaval, and I know that a lot of librarians are upset about it. Then again, I personally appreciate all of Seattle's librarians for their hard work, (and help!). I guess I will think more of the librarians than the library system this week.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like fun. I've always wanted to know how librarians feel and stuff. I love the library and I love that there are people there to help me find the books I want to read!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little my dad would always take me to the library. I would alway check out the maximum amount of books and always won the summer reading challenges for kids. I don't get to go anymore because we don't have a car. I miss the library
ReplyDeletemstlee2000 @ hotmail.com
Cool! I love libraries, reading and books! My mom would always bring me and my sisters to the library and we would spend so much time there reading. I used to want to be a librarian when I was younger :)
ReplyDeletebunnybx at gmail . com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love libraries, firstly because of their imagery. I love seeing loads of books! I also love the fact that they are kept in good condition, because i hate seeing a ripped book or whatever, if its accidental then okay! There is this library in my city and the floorboards are creeky which i love because it gives it an authentic feel, plus it smells of books! :) Libraries are quiet so its a peaceful feel when you read in there, and when your credit card is crying from being spent on books-the library is a good therapy because you can loan out the books you wanna read. When i build my dream house, its going to have a huge library with those ladders that have a railing across the bookshelf so you can slide/reach to get your book :)
ReplyDeletebianca.riot.08(@)hotmail.com
I had no idea there was a National Library Week. I am excited to read the posts about what the librarians do :)
ReplyDeletethrouthehaze at gmail dot com
Oh, I can't believe I forgot it was this week! I guess that happens when you are the one-woman show in your library. But, I will have to think up some library love for my blog this week...shouldn't be hard :) Hooray for celebrating libraries!
ReplyDeleteLibrary week is a great thing to celebrate. I think a lot of people dont realize how important they are. Hopefully some of them will stumble upon these posts and see how great a opportunity they provide.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great posts. I'm a Library Technician in a College Library in Toronto, Ontario. I love working in this field. Its really nice to hear all the wonderful comments and posts about the love people have for Libraries and Librarians
ReplyDeleteThank you for this giveaway and espcialyl for making it international! I'm curious to read about the life ofa librarian, as I don't have any friends or acquaintances who work as librarians! Somewhere I read on a site where librarians gave tips for a successful CV and job interview and they said that the biggest mistake to say/write is taht you want to become a librarian because you like to read! That shocked me. They said that was because a librarian does much more than that, he/she has to have good reserach/communication/people skills, etc. and it is a huge misconception that librarians sit at their desk all day long and do nothing but read! So I'd love to read the details of the life of a real librarian to see! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you,
stella.exlibris (at) gmail DOT com
What a great giveaway! Thanks. As you can probably tell from the comments I left this morning I am catching up on my reader and am glad I did. You have had such great posts so far this week.
ReplyDeletei'm a lucky girl - not only do i live near an awesomely redone county library, but in the other direction is a wonderful city library! i don't know what i'd do without them, as i practically grew up in libraries.....
ReplyDeletek_sunshine1977@yahoo.com
I've been pretty lucky most of my life and lived in a community where libraries are abundant and in great use, not just for book use, but as great community centres where you can rent rooms and all sorts of activities occur there. I even met Kelley Armstrong at my local library when her first book was released at my library. The community where I currently live also has a great library and is planning on building a second one in the near future. I don't think I ever appreciated how lucky I was, and how such things didn't exist in other areas. I donate money to my local library quite often (and no, it's not always in late fees (lol)) as I believe it's such a gift to the community.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place when I was in school was the library. I loved handling the books and reading.
ReplyDeleteI still love books.
I always hang out in my school library. I love to read!
ReplyDeleteMy library is one of my favorite places to hang out, and I love my librarians! I look forward to reading your posts this week.
ReplyDeleteLibrary Week? Didn't know there was one. How cool!
ReplyDeletedcf_beth at verizon dot net
The library near my house is the best. The people are friendly, and the books are awesome.Most of all the dedicated librarians make the trip even better :)
ReplyDeletecindyc725 at gmail dot com
These days, I usually buy my books (then donate them to the library when I'm done with them), but when I was younger, I couldn't afford to buy. I practically lived at the library. I went there at least two or three times a week to feed my book habit. It is so important to maintain our libraries so that everyone has access to books and information, not just those who can afford to buy.
ReplyDeletejen@delux.com
I have such a hard to going to the library now a days because I work late hours but I will always hold libraries close to my heart for all the great memories - meeting friends there after school and pretending to do homework or even meeting a boy I like there because my parents didn't allow boys over. I'm looking forward to reading more on this feature.
ReplyDelete~Yesenia, Silly Little Game Called Life
I just love that this is actually an event - National Library Week. The fact that libraries and the wonderful people who give their time, dedication and valuable knowledge are recognisied annually is so great! They deserve it and I'm glad to have read the posts you've scheduled this week. It's made me that much more appreciative of my own public and school libraries and the fantastic librarians.
ReplyDeleteThank you for celebrating this on your blog!
I'm way late on this - considering the week is over :( But this is such a great idea! I have such fond memories of my childhood library and I love the one in the town I live in now :)
ReplyDelete