Celebrating Libraries and Library Workers at a Difficult Stage

In times of book bans and censorship, libraries need your support more than ever.

April has two specific library-focused celebrations. The month of April is School Library Month, the week of April 7 is National Library Week, and April 9 is National Library Workers Day. Here at EveryLibrary, we believe every month is Library Month and every day is Library Workers Day, but we’ll happily celebrate even more for these observances!

But what do these celebrations mean in an era of book bans and laws that dictate prosecuting library workers who go against the recommendations of groups like Moms for Liberty? It’s hard to celebrate when censorship, book bans, and even book burnings are taking up so much of the oxygen in discussions about libraries.

More than ever, libraries and the people who work in them need not just our appreciation but also our support. Here are some ways, big and small, that you can help your local library.

Sign the pledge to vote for libraries!

If book banning and censorship worries you—and it should—April 11 is Take Action for Libraries Day. Officially, it’s a day when libraries invite their congresspeople to visit the library and see firsthand what great work is done there.

But patrons can be involved too; if your library has a congressperson coming to visit, try to meet them there and express your concerns. Otherwise, contact your congresspeople to let them know you don’t approve of book bans. (If you don’t know who your representative or senator is, this site will help.)

But why stop there? Libraries face challenges at local levels all the time. Contact your local school board or library system (county, city, district) and speak up for your library.

Speaking of school boards, consider attending local school board meetings to learn what challenges your school library may be facing. If someone is proposing a book ban or other form of censorship, let the board know you disagree.

Your donations help support libraries across the country. 

For National Library Workers Day, consider nominating your favorite library worker for the Galaxy of Stars. And while you’re at it, consider letting the library worker know you did that and why. Maybe even find out who their supervisor is and tell them. It’s amazing how a quick moment of praise can make an enormous difference in a library worker’s day.

April 8 is the Right to Read Day. On that day, the annual State of America’s Libraries Report will be released. The report will include a list of the top ten most challenged books. Find the report, locate the list—and request them from your library. When you pick them up, thank the library workers for having them available. (If they’re unfortunately not offered in your system, perhaps politely request they be added.)

If your local library system has a means of accepting donations, consider doing so. If they don’t, and you want to support a library advocacy group, look no further than EveryLibrary. Our mission is to help libraries grow, thrive, and receive the respect they deserve. You can donate here. Together, we’ll keep fighting book bans and censorship and help libraries carry us into the future.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0