Happy National Library Week! Tomorrow, April 8, kicks off the start to a week of celebrations in libraries nationwide. This year, we celebrate with the theme “Libraries Lead,” and we recognize 60 years of National Library Week, which was first sponsored in 1958.
On Monday, April 9, the State of America’s Libraries Report will be released. This annual report, compiled by the American Library Association, gives updates on what’s happening in school, academic and public libraries, as well as identifies some issues and trends in library services. However, the most popular topic covered in the report is the annual book challenge report. Books are challenged daily across the country in entities like public libraries, schools, universities and special libraries. Look for my column next week for more details on the challenges we saw in 2017.
Tuesday and Wednesday give library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups the opportunity to recognize the valuable contributions made by library workers and bookmobile staff. April 10 celebrates National Library Workers Day, and April 11 recognizes National Bookmobile Day.
Nominate a stellar library worker you know at www.ala-apa.org/nlwd. The “Galaxy of Stars” will be updated regularly to showcase why people across the nation love their library workers.
Thursday, April 12 is designated nationally as Take Action for Libraries Day. We’ll be celebrating one day early in Ohio as we head to Library Legislative Day at the Ohio Statehouse, sponsored by the Ohio Library Council, on April 11. This is an opportunity for librarians across the state to head to Columbus and meet with their legislators to advocate on behalf of Ohio’s public libraries.
Library officials from all library systems in Delaware County have appointments scheduled to meet with representatives Andrew Brenner and Rick Carfagna, as well as Senator Kris Jordan during Legislative Day. This year, we hope to communicate with our representatives what Ohio libraries are doing with regard to workforce development and training, technology and bridging the digital divide, and fighting the heroine and opioid crisis on a local level.
Additionally, we are always proud of Ohio public libraries’ ability to prove our value through return on investment. Ohio’s public libraries have the highest usage per capita in the nation and regularly return $5 to Ohioans for every $1 spent.
We’ve got a busy week ahead of us, so I hope you’ll stop in to celebrate and thank a library worker at some point during the week. While you’re in, check out the LibraryReads list, a list of the top recently published books that librarians are loving.
• “The Broken Girls” by Simone St. James. More than 60 years after one of four friends in a reputedly haunted boarding school goes missing, journalist Fiona Sheridan resolves to learn her sister’s fate before a harrowing discovery is made.
• “Sometimes I Lie,” a novel by Alice Feeney.” Depicts the harrowing experiences of a coma patient with shut-in syndrome who while unable to move or speak must listen to those around her to figure out what happened and who is responsible for her injuries.
• “Every Note Played” by Lisa Genova. A once-celebrated concert pianist who is gradually succumbing to ALS is forced to accept help from the estranged wife he pushed away, a situation that forces the couple to reconcile their past before time runs out.
• “Alternate Side,” a novel by Anna Quindlen. Living in a quiet Manhattan brownstone that has become its own little community, Nora discovers her true self in the wake of a violent attack that exposes the racial, economic, marital, and interpersonal tensions beneath her neighbors’ facade of harmony.
