Monday, April 12, 2010

National Library week - April 11- 17th



This week is all about celebrating your local library and the community connections that it can help foster. This year's theme is "Communities thrive @ your library," which we certainly agree with here at the RPL. We'll be celebrating this week with events at your local branch, so be sure to stop by and see what we have in store!

There is also a national schedule for this week, which includes:

Tuesday, April 13th  - National Library Worker's Day
Wednesday, April 14th - First annual Bookmobile Day
Wednesday, April 14th - ALA releases "Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2009."
Thursday, April 15th -  Support Teen Literature Day




This year's Honorary Chair of National Library Week is none other than Neil Gailman, winner of this year's Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book.  Gailman is scheduled to speak via live web broadcast about his lifelong love of libraries from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12th. You can join in on this broadcast live or RSVP for the Tuesday broadcast by clicking here. If you miss out, don't worry - the talk will be archived on the this ALA website after the event.

The American Library Assosciation first sponsored this week 1958, when research in the mid-1950's showed that Americans were spending less on books and more on radios, televisions and musical instruments. Concerned with this apparent trend, the ALA and the American Book Publishers formed a nonprofit organization called the National Book Committee in 1954, which concerned itself with promoting reading, developing a strong family life and improving incomes and health. It seemed natural that these sentiments would eventually culminate in a National Library week, as a library encapsulates all of these things. From 1959 on, this week has been observed in libraries across the nation.

How can you participate in National Library week? Stop by and see us! Use a service that you haven't tried before - try out our online language software through your account, attend a free seminar, join one of our book clubs, bring your kids to story hour at your local branch. Tell us how the library has impacted your community and what you might like to see in the future.

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